A Looonnnngggg Day

Four stickers, two hotdogs, and many xrays later, we are home from three appointments at the university hospital. It is not typical that we have three appointments in one day. Our clinic does a phenomenal job of scheduling things together, given the distance we drive. My overly organized plan to leave early came to a screeching hault when the check engine light came on in the car as we left the driveway. This meant I got to drive Tom’s tank (manual work truck) on the 1 ½ hour drive and park it in the ramp.


Our first visit was a series of x-rays of Sidney’s entire body, verifying there are no other anomalies in her skeletal makeup. Sidney was less than thrilled about the scan which did not allow her to move. She asserted herself by telling the technician, “no, mama!” We were pleased to find only her foot and hands are involved, and everything else in her bone structure is normal. Genetics requested the test as part of its preventative work up along with an ECHO and renal ultrasound in the fall. She has no obvious clicks or murmurs, but we need to be sure everything is okay.

After the skeletal scan was completed, we had time to let the kids tear around on the equipment outside, in the hospital’s play area and eat lunch. My mom came along to help corral the kids since Tom is working 75 hour weeks, and Eli is out of school. Next we headed to the hand surgeon to look at the hand completed in May. This was to correct the shape of the growth plate. Everything looks fine. We will take a preventative approach by having a splint made for bedtime. We are hoping to keep the finger from curving again.

By the time we reached our last appointment in the orthopedics office, Eli and Sidney had reached maximum capacity. Eli is typically well behaved (I am not bias: -), however even he said, “get me out of this hospital.” Sidney alternated between lying underneath the paper on the exam table with her head on the pillow and singing. She has begun singing the same melody over and over; however we cannot understand what she is singing. To add drama, she adds facial expressions while singing. I told my mom she looks like she is ready for show choir. There have been other times when out of nowhere, she starts doing choreographed movements. This is nothing we taught her, so we can only assume she was taught this in the orphanage. Did I say my daughter is sweet?

This circus continued until the orthopedist made his way in. This was her 10 month appointment to check on her leg. Again, Sidney is missing her fibula bone (fibular hemimelia). Her leg is fine, and we will continue doing lifts. Typically, patients with fibular hemimelia have a foot, but it is not in good enough condition to use. Amputation is the route most families take. We are blessed that Sidney’s foot is fully formed, and she is only missing her pinkie toe. Let me take this time to tell you how missing a pinkie toe is life altering and makes a huge difference in her ability to walk and function, NOT!!! We also found out, she can take her shoes off and go barefoot as much as she wants. We were unsure if this would have an impact on her spine. Her orthopedist said, she will compensate, and it will not have an impact.

Today feels like a major milestone. Hands are complete, leg is fine, and the other tests we have to complete are preventative. I won’t try to sugar coat things, it was scary the first time we walked into the doctor’s office and the unknown. I am unsure how anyone goes into adoption without faith.