Very Little To Update

In my haste fundraising for the upcoming CureSearch and HopeKids walks, I failed to mention any "medical" updates that we have for Brynlee. Well, there really isn't a whole lot going on.

 

I had mentioned after Brynlee's last scans that she was diagnosed with hip dysplasia. We were able to meet with an orthopedic doctor regarding this at the end of August who pretty much left me with the impression that we wasted his time. This doctor works a lot with cancer kids, mostly kids with bone cancers, so I think that is why they had us meet with him. From my point of view, he wasn't at all interested in meeting with us and basically said that her hip dysplasia was very mild and that there was nothing that needed to be done at this time. We will just have to do x-rays every 6 months, and we are scheduled to meet with a hip specialist at that time. Basically, I left the orthopedics clinic unimpressed and irritated by it all, but I will be honest and say that it takes a lot to impress me (at least at the PCMC) these days.

 

We also got Brynlee enrolled in the Early Intervention program, which is a state program that is run through the school district. We will most likely be utilizing them for physical therapy, but as Brynlee gets older we might add to this with other services depending on what she needs. I am somewhat excited to work with another physical therapist and see what she thinks. In our brief meeting that we have had so far, it seemed like she had some ideas for some different things, but we haven't had an official PT visit from her yet.

 

Regular outpatient physical therapy has NOT been going so well. I don't know what is the problem, but things have not been going well and Brynlee spends most of the time crying at therapy. I also feel as if our therapist doesn't try very hard to help Brynlee because of the crying, but I also don't really know what to expect the therapist to do. Some weeks it just feels like a complete waste. We will be meeting with another therapist this next week as our therapist will be out on maternity leave soon, so I am kind of hoping that things will go well. Maybe a new set of eyes on Brynlee will help.

 

Horse therapy, however, has been going really, really well, and I am sad that we only have until the end of October before it is too cold and they take their winter break. They did try for a couple of weeks to ride without a therapist on the horse with her and then we switched to side riding because of her hip, but we have gone back to Brynlee sitting on the horse regularly and with a back rider, and she has been doing great.

 

I know we have been asking for prayers for Brynlee for over a year, and we continue to ask for those prayers. I have found myself to be somewhat overly frustrated with the physical challenges that we face with Brynlee. I am grateful that mentally Brynlee is all there, but her physical disabilities are more than overwhelming, and we have found ourselves kind of in a depressed daze about it all. Figuring out the best path or the right things for her have been a heavy burden, and I physically feel this burden every single day. It's a heaviness that doesn't leave me very often. So, we do ask for your continued prayers, not only for her physically but also for her cancer. Even though she is not currently on active treatment, that could all change at anytime, and we won't be out of the woods with her cancer and the late effects of chemotherapy for a long time, if ever.

 

And finally, a picture of Brynlee doing one of her favorite things, swinging! This is her favorite place to be in our back yard, and she could swing for hours if we could tolerate it.