Today was our first trip to the Shriner's Hospital. It is a really cute little hospital that is strictly ortho and for children. It is all about the children in the waiting area there is a ton of games and toys and even video games. Anyway we first met with the nurse that measured and weighed Lucas and he is barely 13 lbs. She also had us put Lucas in a hospital gown which was adorable. After that we met with the resident and he did the physical exam and then we had another xray. We were also able to see the xray and there was a little femur showing which is different from our last xray which just showed gray area. Finally, we met with the doctor-Dr. Ackman and he basically told us what we already knew. Lucas's case of PFFD is classified as a "D" on a scale from A-D with A less severe and D as most severe. We have three options:
1-hook a prosthetic to his foot and have him function that way.
2- For cosmetic purposes amputate his foot and at that point he would be considered an above knee amputee which may look a little better, but a little less stability for the prosthetic.
3- The surgery to rotate his leg in which the ankle becomes the knee joint and the knee joint the hip. This surgery would not take place until he is at least 4 years old.
For right now we will move forward with the prosthetic and we have an appointment in March for Lucas to be fitted for his prosthetic.
After we met with the doctor we met with a social worker. She was just there to let us know what resources are available and make sure that we are okay with the information that we received. She gave us information on a support group called FAIM (families and amputees in motion), and they have other resources at Shriner's like a dietitian for children.
So basically Lucas looked adorable in his hospital gown, he will get a prosthetic in March, and we will figure out a more permanent course of action later.
