Sweet summer time girl.
Well, for those of you that wait to see what I'll post every 3 months, here I am again! I wanted to write a little update about Ellie's health, for those of you that don't know or haven't heard. She WILL have hand surgery at the end of October/ beginning of November. We saw a hand specialist in Louisville, and really came out of the meeting with a confidence that this was the right choice for our daughter. We are excited to see how this will change her motor skills! Right now she has trouble with the pincer grasp, and definitely with grasping larger objects. She has to use two hands to pick up a lot of things. Without this surgery, she would never be able to hold a can of soda, or grasp a steering wheel correctly. The consultation with her surgeon really made us realize how critical our hands are, and while this problem isn't affecting her life so much now, it will later. This surgery will widen the web space between her index finger and thumb. The doctor said her recovery should be about two weeks, and she probably won't even need pain meds! Let's hope!
Here is how you can still be praying! The doc said that after the surgery, he will monitor how she learns or "re-learns" to use her hands. If she is unable to break some of the bad habits she has been developing (using improper muscles and joints to move her thumbs to compensate for the abnormality), then he will need to do further surgery. This might involve a muscle graft to build strength in her hands. So. This could be one surgery on both hands, or multiple. It depends on how she adapts. Please pray that she bounces back and is able to use her thumbs opposably to grasp objects after one surgery.
Additionally, this Thursday we will FINALLY be able to see a genetecist at Vanderbilt. I will keep you updated, but please pray that this is not the result of a genetic problem. If it is, it will mean regular testing of other body systems (kidneys, thyroid, etc) throughout her life. The poor thing will already probably be in therapy 'til she's five for just her hands. I just don't wish ANYTHING else on her. So, please pray for my sweet little girl this week if you could. Also, our pediatrician will see her tomorrow, so I'm just praying we don't get sent to any other specialists! Sometimes "boring" is better!
