the heroic details

This morning Anja went in for her third casting.  That means we only have one more casting next week before the big surgery. Life with a child in casts has been surprisingly okay.  I didn't know what to expect, so I had no expectations going into it.  I thought she might be angry about not being able to walk, but if she is then she doesn't let it show.  I thought she might get frustrated needing constant assistance, but she is mostly patient as she waits for help and I haven't heard her complain.  I thought she would be completely immobile, but she actually does manage to scoot around.  Yesterday I thought she was brushing her teeth but when I walked into the bathroom I actually found her sitting up on her little potty chair, she had managed to hoist herself up there.  She possesses pretty amazing strength for being such a little thing. Sometimes when I start acting like a cranky pregnant woman in her third trimester, I just look at Anja and am humbled by how my five-year

My daughter, Anja. has a foot deformity called Congenital Vertical Talus.  It is too severe to be corrected by casting alone so we have bounced the idea of surgery around for a few years.  Her ortho doctor, who is wonderful and I like him very much, never made us feel like the surgery was necessary , but that it was more of a cosmetic type of deal, so we never felt that it was urgent.  However, after repeated visits and x-rays, he finally decided to consult with a more experienced doctor up in Seattle. The x-rays were sent, and the reply was swift: do the surgery!  We were urged to consider surgery on her feet to help preserve her ability to walk.  Although she gets around well enough right now, there is a good chance that could change when she's older.  Doing the surgery now could keep her on her feet and out of a wheelchair for the long-term.  With this new revelation, we decided to go ahead with the surgery.  And we decided to try to do it before baby Isabelle comes, which means