God totally answered prayer today about the decision regarding Zoey's foot and leg. Although the news is hard to hear, I know in my heart that it is her best option. The doctor very emphatically said that he recommends amputation. He wasn't sure until he saw her x-ray's--which showed a very abnormal ankle. There just isn't much to work with--and even if they did many, many surgeries and leg lengthening, she would still not have a foot that would be very functional. He told me that he could probably give her something to walk on--but she wouldn't be able to run or keep up with other kids.
Well...that pretty much clinched it for me. She is very athletic and active. It would be torture for her not to be able to participate in activities. She runs and hops on that little ankle in ways that make the rest of us wince. She needs to be able to keep running, hopping and jumping.
Jeff is on a plane to Italy, so I haven't been able to discuss this with him yet, but he was leaning toward amputation anyway, based on what the first surgeon had told us.
The doctor recommended that we wait for another year or so before we do the surgery. Zoey is getting around so well right now that he thinks its better to let her get to a point that she's starting to get uncomfortable. Emotionally, he thinks it would be poor timing to do it right now when she is getting around so well. He would also like her to have more time to get completely settled in our family before putting her through the surgery.
She is so spunky and happy that I think she will handle it pretty well.
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And now for my pitiful tale of woe, that occurred after the appointment (because I have no one else to vent to--ha).
The drive to the hospital is very convoluted. It twists and turns. Although I tried to remember the turns, I soon realized it was impossible and I would be dependent on the GPS. Well, it was dark when we finished Zoey's appointment and the hospital is in downtown Boston.
So. It's dark. It's rush hour. And I have no idea where I'm going.
No worries...I have a GPS. (Yeah....I can hear you snickering already.)
I got about three blocks from the hospital when I got stopped in traffic. The GPS said, "Turn left."
Well, I would turn left if I wasn't stopped dead in traffic.
As I sat there, it said in quick succession, "Turn left... Turn right.... Turn left."
I kid you not...it was losing it's mind. Then it went silent. Okaaay...well, I'll just turn right, since that was the original direction it gave. As soon as I turned, it said, "Recalculating." Argh... It told me to go back the other way. So I did. Then it said, "Recalculating."
For Pete's Sake!!! I came to an intersection while it was still recalculating so I had to guess which way to turn. And of course, when I did, it said,
"RECALCULATING."
argh!!
Needless to say, I seemed very, very lost and ended up in a bad section of town. Well, this was not good. The thing about a GPS is that it doesn't differentiate between roads in safe areas vs. not-so-safe areas. It was so dark--the streets were not well lit, so it made everything just that much more frustrating. My mind immediately began to run wild with memories of D*teline NBC stories about people who got lost in big cities and ended up murdered. Yeah...that was a helpful line of thinking. At one intersection, there was a creepy drunk guy walking up to cars asking for money. He came up to my window and just stood there. Staring. I could feel his eyes boring into the side of my head as I willed the stoplight to please change. If I truly thought he needed money or was hungry, I would have gladly given him something.
Awk...ward..... and a little scary.
I did get a bit panicked a few times when I would turn where the stupid GPS said to turn, and it would say, "recalculating." I started to think I would just spend the entire evening wandering and circling Boston.
Thankfully, I finally emerged from the city and was sent home a different way than I had come--which didn't go past ANY Panera Bread Co., which was what I had my heart set on eating. How rude!
Kinda like a scene from COPS--only without the cop
Well...that pretty much clinched it for me. She is very athletic and active. It would be torture for her not to be able to participate in activities. She runs and hops on that little ankle in ways that make the rest of us wince. She needs to be able to keep running, hopping and jumping.
Jeff is on a plane to Italy, so I haven't been able to discuss this with him yet, but he was leaning toward amputation anyway, based on what the first surgeon had told us.
The doctor recommended that we wait for another year or so before we do the surgery. Zoey is getting around so well right now that he thinks its better to let her get to a point that she's starting to get uncomfortable. Emotionally, he thinks it would be poor timing to do it right now when she is getting around so well. He would also like her to have more time to get completely settled in our family before putting her through the surgery.
She is so spunky and happy that I think she will handle it pretty well.
***************************************
And now for my pitiful tale of woe, that occurred after the appointment (because I have no one else to vent to--ha).
The drive to the hospital is very convoluted. It twists and turns. Although I tried to remember the turns, I soon realized it was impossible and I would be dependent on the GPS. Well, it was dark when we finished Zoey's appointment and the hospital is in downtown Boston.
So. It's dark. It's rush hour. And I have no idea where I'm going.
No worries...I have a GPS. (Yeah....I can hear you snickering already.)
I got about three blocks from the hospital when I got stopped in traffic. The GPS said, "Turn left."
Well, I would turn left if I wasn't stopped dead in traffic.
As I sat there, it said in quick succession, "Turn left... Turn right.... Turn left."
I kid you not...it was losing it's mind. Then it went silent. Okaaay...well, I'll just turn right, since that was the original direction it gave. As soon as I turned, it said, "Recalculating." Argh... It told me to go back the other way. So I did. Then it said, "Recalculating."
For Pete's Sake!!! I came to an intersection while it was still recalculating so I had to guess which way to turn. And of course, when I did, it said,
"RECALCULATING."
argh!!
Needless to say, I seemed very, very lost and ended up in a bad section of town. Well, this was not good. The thing about a GPS is that it doesn't differentiate between roads in safe areas vs. not-so-safe areas. It was so dark--the streets were not well lit, so it made everything just that much more frustrating. My mind immediately began to run wild with memories of D*teline NBC stories about people who got lost in big cities and ended up murdered. Yeah...that was a helpful line of thinking. At one intersection, there was a creepy drunk guy walking up to cars asking for money. He came up to my window and just stood there. Staring. I could feel his eyes boring into the side of my head as I willed the stoplight to please change. If I truly thought he needed money or was hungry, I would have gladly given him something.
Awk...ward..... and a little scary.
I did get a bit panicked a few times when I would turn where the stupid GPS said to turn, and it would say, "recalculating." I started to think I would just spend the entire evening wandering and circling Boston.
Thankfully, I finally emerged from the city and was sent home a different way than I had come--which didn't go past ANY Panera Bread Co., which was what I had my heart set on eating. How rude!
Kinda like a scene from COPS--only without the cop
