Shriner's

Yesterday I took Athan to Shriner's Hospital in Lexington. Some of you may remember that we saw them last fall, and they recommended we just come back in a year. Lately, Laurie and I have noticed new signs of weakness in his joints, especially his ankles, so I called and asked them to move up the appointment.

It was a good visit. We really like the ortho guy, Dr. Serey, who follows Athan there. He was pleased with Athan's progress, for sure! :)

Basically, all of us (parents, docs, PTs) were somewhat ambivelent about whether some kind of ankle brace would help Athan. On one hand, some increased stability might help him learn to walk. On the other, too much novelty and rigidity might hinder some of his current skills (like scooting), so he could loose the strength he gains from them.

Still, after Laurie's input, our observations, and the evals by Dr. Serey and the PT at Shriner's, the consensus was that a small ankle stabilizer is worth trying. They took us to the orthotics folks and did little casts of Athan's ankles. We'll go back and pick up the braces in two weeks, spend the morning getting them fitted, and then bring them home.

After our talks, they seemed to trust our willingness and ability to try different things with the braces. We may try leaving them on all day for a few days and see how he does. If he's too hindered, we'll try just putting them on in smaller segments of time. We can play with the timing and see what works best for Athan.

We go back to see them for a follow up visit in 4 months.