Shriner’s Hospital Visit

Thank you to those of you who prayed for Ellie’s Minneapolis adventure at the Shriner’s Hospital.

Ellie’s parents were HUGELY impressed with the Shriner’s Hospital. They said absolutely every single person they came in contact with during their 7-hour day at the hospital was “fantastically helpful, friendly, and nice.” As you might know, that is not always the case!

They met first with the doctor who impressed them as very trustworthy. When asked about SDR for Ellie, she said it was her professional opinion that Ellie should be at least five years old before even contemplating that surgery. She has had extensive experience with SDR, so knows what she’s talking about. Some kids might benefit from an earlier SDR, but she didn’t feel it was right for Ellie.

When asked about Botox, the doctor thought it best to wait a bit on that too, at least until next summer.

As for the Baclofen pump, the doctor felt it might be a really good option for Ellie. However, because the pump is the size of a hockey puck and implanted under the skin, Ellie would have to be bigger before seriously considering one.

The doctor ordered x-rays of Ellie’s hips, then went through the x-ray evaluation with her parents, showing them why she was concerned about Ellie’s hips. Her right hip is nearly out of the socket, and the doctor was fairly certain that Ellie would need surgery sooner than later (probably within the next 18 months) to lengthen the tendon.

After that, the doctor and two therapists examined Ellie’s AFOs (leg braces). They all agreed that they were too bulky and need some “tweaking”. They have a state of the art on-site lab and make their own braces, so it didn’t take them long to fix them up.

Ellie isn’t too thrilled about wearing her AFOs since they inhibit her crawling and sitting sometimes, so it will be a challenge for Mom and Dad to get her to wear them. However, since the braces stretch out her tendons, which helps stave off surgeries, it’s a must!

The Shriner’s therapists figure Ellie will probably outgrow her current braces within six months, so her next pair they’ll make from scratch at no cost to her parents.

After a long day of being checked-out and playing, Ellie was pretty tired.

Ellie has a follow-up appointment in January for new x-rays of her hips to check on the bad socket, and she’ll probably get new AFOs made. All expenses, once again, will be paid.

They also invited Ellie to a one-week long Aquatic Therapy camp next summer, so Ellie and her parents may be seeing a lot of Minneapolis!

Shriner’s is such a blessing: more expert opinions and much better equipment, all at no cost.

Can’t get better than that.