Appointment Update

Thanks to anyone who prayed for the doctor's appointment this morning. I am feeling OK about the direction we are headed in....as good as you can feel when you know your buddy has to eventually go through several surgeries.


We are going to try Isaiah on Baclofen medication by mouth. This is the medication that they may eventually give him through a pump installed in his abdomen with a catheter to his spine. For now, we are not pursuing that surgery just yet due to the potential complications involved, especially in a child Isaiah's size. We will try giving him the medication by mouth since that is safer. However, there isn't a strong feeling that oral medication will work well for several reasons (if you want details, just ask), but it is worth a try. We will be trialing that medication over the next four months if he tolerates it.


We are also looking to do serial casting on Isaiah's right ankle and calf in the fall. This is a series of casts that change every week for about six weeks. The goal of that is to lengthen Isaiah's right calf muscles. Finally, we are trying a new set of derotation straps since he is overpowering the ones we currently have. The surgeon said about five times, "I can't believe a child that small can overpower derotation straps." He also mentioned that with the kind of force that his tight muscles are putting on his bones, they don't have a chance to grow right unless we get the muscle problems sorted out.


In four months, we meet with the orthopedic surgeon again and at that time he may be recommending a derotation surgery on Isaiah's tibias. At the time of that surgery, he will also move one of Isaiah's muscles (anterior tibialis) in order to attempt to get the feet to point straight. I was encouraged to hear that they move the muscle as well during this bone surgery since the muscle is causing the bone deformity. Isaiah will eventually need this surgery in his femur as well, but the hope is that we can put that surgery off for awhile. That will be assessed in October as well.