Perspective

Today we had a follow-up appointment with Dr. Woo, because he wanted to us to come in once Eli had his new leg. I brought my camera along, because I realized that after all of our apts. with Dr. Woo, we had never gotten a picture of him and Eli (I was not expecting to be in the pic, but Dr. Woo insisted...).

Its typical to have to wait 1.5 - 2 hours to get in to see Dr. Woo - he's just cool like that. So today, as I was waiting and keeping Eli off the floor, I couldn't help but notice all of the children in the waiting room with serious medical issues. Believe me when I tell you, that, for the most part, Eli's case was fairly simple. It was just another one of those moments where, I realized that this whole FH thing is not a big deal.

So once we finally got to see Dr. Woo, I filled him in on the leg sagas and shared with him my concerns about Eli's lift. He made me feel a lot better about things, for the most part. He assured me that Eli will learn to walk with the lift, and that he won't hurt/sprain/break his ankle (because the lift is so high, sometimes Eli falls in a weird way over the lift, that I worry about him hurting his ankle). He said that you don't see those types of ankle injuries in babies, because they don't weigh enough. He said that Eli will just adapt and that his ankle will eventually get stronger.

He said that in terms of leg length difference, Eli's right leg was/is not that much shorter than his left. Yes he is missing his fibula bone and yes his right foot was deformed, but in regards to the length issue - Eli's FH is one of Dr. Woo's minor cases. So, for now, we have to deal with the lift. Dr. Woo assured me that Eli won't go to kindergarten with it, but might need it for 1-2 years (worst case). BUT, in the long run, Eli's situation is good. The fact that his right leg is long, means that (hopefully, God willing) he will need no further surgeries in the future to lengthen his femur.

Just talking to Dr. Woo and getting reassurance from him felt good. It's not that I am nervous that Eli won't walk, or super anxious for him to start walking, its more like I am upset that he has to deal with the lift now, in addition to his prosthetic leg. I was hoping Dr. Woo would have another idea or some other solution that would help us eliminate Eli needing the lift. But, it is what it is. Its another one of those things that I don't like and don't want for my baby, but I have zero control over it and just have to let it go. Like I always tell myself, its just going to be that much sweeter when Eli does take his first steps.