Saturday, February 11, 2012

Pinless halo

Short story- the two main doctors treating Maggie in Dallas differ on how to treat her. One says we need to correct her immediately either by halo or spinal fusion (the Atlanta doctors concur); the other says we need to wait a few years and really see if we can determine what the underlying issue is before we do anything drastic. Both have valid points.

Anyways, the doctor who wants to hold off on the major stuff suggested a pinless halo brace. I agreed to try it but told him that I doubt it would work because so far Maggie has been able to either remove or maneuver all braces so they are rendered ineffective. But anything is worth a try.

So we went to Scottish Rite on Thursday and I was elated to see that this pinless halo is an AWESOME brace. She cannot get out of it or manipulate it to her liking- and it makes her straight! (Why they didn't give us this a year ago, I'll never know, but I know we can't look back).

Maggie hates it, of course. She can't walk because it's heavy and awkward. But she'll learn. We are working our way to wearing it 24/7 except for baths and stretching.

I'm not sure what the other dr will think. I'm dreading to think he will still want the real halo because we can't take it off at all and he thinks she needs that unrestricted straight growth for 4-6 months. I'm praying that this pinless halo will quickly retrain her to be straight. So Justin and I need to be super committed to making her wear it as much as possible. Which, I might add, is very hard to do.

The past few days I've been totally catering to every whim of Maggie's because I feel so bad for her with her pouty lips and sad eyes. This afternoon she said she wanted to go "bye bye in car." We didn't really have anywhere to go but I put her in the car anyways and we went to the Redbox kiosk at the grocery store. I snapped this photo as she was waving to everyone and saying "hi" to the shoppers. I mean, seriously, what a great sport this child is...




(How hilarious is that curly hair popping out of the top? She looks like a little science experiment.)

People couldn't help but smile. Then one lady asked me if she had fallen on her head. Translation: "You must be an idiot mother for your child to end up like this." And then I just had to leave...

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

4 comments:

  1. Lee,
    I just caught up on your blog. I will be praying, praying, praying that your doctors begin to see the results that they hope for with this new halo. I can't imagine how hard it is to make her wear it when she's crying to take it off. Drew had a doc band for 10 weeks that he hated and it broke my heart, but he was just 7 months old and that doesn't even begin to compare to what Maggie is feeling. But as a mom it's hard to see your child upset. I am so sorry - you have so many people praying for sweet Maggie and for you so hopefully you can feel HIS strength and comfort right now.
    Loved reading that Maggie gained a whole pound - that is great, great news!!!
    Maggie really is so so lucky to have you for a mom! You go above and beyond every day and your hard work is paying off, even though it may not seem like it day to day.
    emily

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  2. I'm all for that pin-less halo if it will do the trick! As strange as it may look (I think she looks pretty darn cute), it definitely looks like it'd be better than a real halo. And at least there some relief - even for an hour a day - that the other doesn't afford. Praying for all of y'all while she adjusts!

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  3. Lee, I just know that God has something marvelous in store for Maggie. I've know it from the very beginning and I'm still getting the same message from Him! Love to you all! Lynette

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