whew!

Today we had another visit at Shriner's in Houston with Dr. G and we received news that I was pretty sure we would get today. For the past year, we have been stretching and working on getting Jackson to "functional" point with his upper extremities---we have stretched and work from the day he was born, but over this past year, we have had intense focus to try to get him to a point to put palm to palm. Everything we have done has been successful, but Dr. G (and us) feel like we have reached a point that surgery is the only way to get closer to independence, especially in the area of self-care for Jackson.

I won't say that this is a decision that makes me or Jon happy, but it is a decision we are (well, at least for me) slowly coming to terms with. It will be tough to send my almost 4 year old back to the surgery area, when he is old enough to know what is happening, but I know in my heart that this is what's best for him.

I also take comfort in knowing that what Dr. G said today is true; "we have done ALL we can to help Jackson, the therapies, the stretching, the e-stim, etc., but the only way to give him the external rotation and range of motion is to do this surgery."

So, it is with a lot on my heart and my mind that I tell you, we head back to Houston in September to re-evaluate and get a surgery date for the first arm osteotomy. The second arm will be done about 3 months following the first one. In the interim, please pray for peace about this decision for us and strength and courage for us and wisdom for our medical team.

xo,

DJJ