Welcome!

My son, Merritt, was born with a left clubbed foot and congenital shortening of his left leg. Our journey in understanding his conditions and in seeking the best possible treatments has definitely had its ups and downs. This blog is my way of sharing our experiences. It is my hope that similarly situated parents may use information on this page as a resource and as inspiration. Thank you for visiting!

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Visit with Paley Part 1: Four toes...

So, I'm studying away and need a break. I thought I would share a bit of our visit with Dr. Paley. Rather than get into any real meat of the visit, I kinda got off on a tangent... this is one of my favorite stories to tell when I am kinda down about Merritt's funny foot. I hate to think that he will suffer and I hate not knowing exactly what is going to happen with him. So, whenever I start thinking like THAT (there I go again!) this really makes me feel better. But I promise to get into some "meat" soon... Anyway, here ya go!

We reached Dr. Paley's office, checked in and were sent directly to have Merritt xrays done. While in the xray waiting area, I "overheard" a mother talking about her daughter. Her daughter, now about 9, had been diagnosed with FH and had a large LLD already... about 6 inches. I couldn't help but cry while listening to the mother speak. She was so proud of her daughter. You see, the little girl had taken her LLD and ran with it... literally! She was an all star athlete on pretty much every sports team you can think of. The woman must have noticed me crying and then we got to talking. I explained to her what it meant for me - mom of this little guy in my arms who is not even able to sit up yet - to hear that her daughter was so, well, functional. I wasn't crying because I was happy Merritt would most likely be able to play sports, I was happy because he would most likely walk. I know, I know... our clubfoot doctor had told me that Merritt would walk, but I guess it just meant more coming from another mom who knows what I am going through. Plus, she was southern and had a serious accent. For some reason, I always trust Southern Folk more :P

So, we talked. Then, the cutest thing happened. The little girl - who was drop dead gorgeous, btw - walked out of the xray room. Her mother said to her, "Look here, this little baby has what you have." Then, and I will NEVER forget this, the little girl said to me in true Georgia Peach fashion, "Yeah, but see, I's only gots for toes!"

2 comments:

  1. A doctor can give you all the information you could possibly want to know, but it means the world to find another child and mom that is going through the same thing.

    So glad you got to meet the mom and the little girl.

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  2. That is TOO CUTE! What a beautiful story...

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