May 2005
Billy just turned five, and for a present we found out at the LLD clinic that his discrepancy is now only predicted to be 6cm instead of 9cm at maturity! This means we most likely will be able to do a less invasive shortening procedure (technically it doesn't shorten the leg, it slows the growth to allow the other leg to catch up, LOL) on the longer leg instead of the lengthening surgery and wearing the fixator for six months on the shorter leg. This is huge news :)

After much debate, and two additional opinions, we have decided to go with the surgery to have titanium rods implanted on either side of Billy's spine from his ribs to his pelvis, in the attempt to try and "lift" his sagging Lspine out of his pelvic cavity. It has sagged there, since he is missing the left half of his sacrum. Dr. Betz at Philly Shriner's feels that doing this will give him a chance to get straightened out a bit and in an optimal position to do the lumbosacral fusion to stabilize the area for the future. This makes more sense to me (backed by three docs) than just waiting to see if his curve gets worse and the spine slips further down and then fusing it in that worsened position. This surgery won't be until the end of this year, or early next year, so we still have some time before that.

We do have some upcoming fun things. We have a weekend trip to our family reunion down the shore to look forward to, and Billy and I will be attending a VACTERLS conference in Denver, CO the end of June. I can't wait to see all our friends there!