Good Things Coming!

After several long, discouraging months, we have had a week of great news.  Make-a-Wish is granting Annie a wish, Annie's new wheelchair was approved by our insurance companies, and Annie's knee surgery is finally going to be scheduled soon!

First of all, Annie's wish granters came to our home from Make-a-Wish to learn more about our family and hear about Annie's wish to go to Give Kids the World, Disney World, and all the other Orlando attractions!  They brought our family MAW T-shirts and told us all about the wonderful things to expect on our trip.  Annie will truly be treated like royalty!

We have tentatively planned to go on her wish trip next October, but we'll have to be flexible as we learn more about when she'll need to have her major spinal fusion surgery.  But we are so incredibly grateful for MAW and the wonderful opportunities they provide for families like ours!  We are so touched by the generosity of that organization and all the people who donate their time and money.

We're also excited today because we just got word that Annie's wheelchair that we ordered last September has finally made it through the approval process at both of our insurance companies!  So next week we get to take her in to have a mold made of her back so they can make a customized seat back cushion to accommodate her scoliosis.  Her current chair is causing pressure sores where her ribs and back are twisting and curving from the scoliosis.  Once the mold is made of her back, they will actually place the order for the wheelchair and have it to us in probably 3-4 more months!  We're so excited! 

It is crazy though, how long of a process it is to get a new wheelchair (not to mention the ridiculous cost)!  We're starting to realize that Annie won't have this molded seat back long before she'll need a different seat back cushion once she has her spinal fusion and gets her rods placed in her back later this year.  The custom molded seat back acts like a back brace for her scoliosis, so we can't help but wonder if she had gotten this chair sooner if her scoliosis wouldn't have gotten so bad so quickly over the last few months.  But at least things are finally moving along.  We can't wait for a better, more comfortable chair for Annie!

We're also excited because we finally are able to move forward with Annie's double patellectomy (knee cap removal surgery).  We met with the doctor yesterday and learned more about the surgery and recovery.  Annie will most likely spend 1-2 nights in the hospital just to control pain, and then will need to wear knee immobilizers for 4-6 weeks.  There are concerns about her extender mechanism starting to pull to the side after surgery, just like her knee caps do now, which would start making it more difficult for her to straighten her leg, but the doctor thinks that if we are diligent with her physical therapy and keep her muscles stretched she'll be ok.  Right now, eliminating the pain caused by her knee caps is worth the risk of more stiffness down the road.  We're looking forward to not having her yell and scream at us every time we move her or dress her.  I think she's going to sail through this surgery like a champ and again surprise everyone at how well she does.  Like a few doctors have said... she's one tough little cookie! We're so grateful that Annie has so many good things coming her way!