My Seussical Life for 2004 October 30

This week has been especially long and tiring. Atticus has been scheduled for heel cord transfer surgery on his left leg since April, but the reality of it all hadn't sunk in until we saw Dr. Olney at Children's Mercy Hospital for a second opinion on Thursday. Dr. Olney explained to us that we've pretty much exhausted all of our non-surgical options, like botox shots, serial casting, stretching, etc. Now we have the choice of following through with the heel cord transfer surgery, or scheduling a heel cord tendon lengthening surgery. The transfer seems pretty aggressive and invasive; here the surgeon detaches the Achilles tendon and attaches it to a new spot a little higher up on the heel. On the contrary, with the lengthening, the surgeon simply snips the tendon in several places, weakening it and allowing it to pull apart a bit, making the tendon longer. Both require a long recovery in a cast (4 weeks for the lengthening, 6 weeks for the transfer). The one benefit of the transfer is that it hypothetically is a one time only deal, while the lengthening surgery must be performed as needed through the growing years (typically 2-3 times). So, the short of it is that we are going through with the transfer this week, hoping for the best.

I have a dear friend, whose husband is struggling to recover from a bout with cancer while dealing simultaneously with the frustrations and complications of Multiple Sclerosis. She has passed on a quote by Plato the pretty much says it all: "Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle." Everyday for everyone is different and challenging in some way, sometimes especially so, even in simple ways. I guess a looming surgery isn't an ordinary challenge, but everyone has something difficult to face, and this is our "thing" this week. Good luck with whatever you are tackling.