In Other News.....

Besides Joseph and I spending far too much of our time researching anything and everything about Phoenix, we don't have a whole lot to report.

I suppose the "biggest" news is that our little Kaitlyn has a new nickname.....Gumby.

I have noticed since she was about 6 months old that she seems sort of floppy to put in really childlike terms. :) I asked our pediatrician about it and she of course, brushed it off as nothing. Do I make it obvious enough that I don't like our peds office?! Ugh! At her one year check up, I asked her again, but this time was more specific that I noticed when she stands that her feet bend out so that she is sort of walking on half ankle half foot. Her legs still seemed rather "Gumby-ish" to me as well, but the Ped just said, "yeah, well, I suppose I will give you a referral to a OrthoPed to check it out. It's probably nothing."

One week later: Went to the Orthopedic Surgeon and he looked at her pretty well, though in my opinion rushed us through pretty quickly, telling me not much more than "she has sever pronation in her feet. No physical therapy, but here is a prescription for these Straightlast Shoes. The guy there has been doing this for years and will be able to help you a lot."

One week from the appointment with the OrthoPed (today): Went to the shoe store (The Shoe Train in Potomac.....wonderful place!) and talked with Ed Jurgrau, owner. He looked at the prescription and then said, "Hmmmm, do you mind if I take a look?" So, we stripped her down to her onsie and a shirt and he moved her legs all around, had me walk her around the store, watched her cruise, touched her feet some more, and said, "I have a lot of respect for Dr. Masciuch, but this time I think he is way off." He then went on to explain to me in detail about what the type of shoes that Dr. M prescribed do and showed me a pair of them. To spare you too many details, I agree that he was wayyyy off.

Mr. Jurgrau, in short, said that Kaitlyn has very low muscle tone and very severe pronation in her feet which is due in part to her low muscle tone. Her knees hyper extend and her lower back sinks in a bit when she stands . . . all due to low muscle tone. Thus the name Gumby. :) When he saw the look of horror on my face at the price of the inserts she would need for her shoes ($160), he said, "Since I am doing something different for her than is written on your prescription, I would like to give you some gently used inserts to use and then you just have to buy the shoes to go with them ($50). He really wanted to get her into something now and get her away from walking the way she was. Phew. Thank you! He spent an hour and half with just us (being interrupted only a few short times when another shoe guy needed his opinion on some inserts for other kids)....the store was packed and it was easy to see that pretty much everyone in there had some sort of special need for their feet. It was neat to see how much he cared about these kids and how much the parents liked and trusted him. He took time to explain everything to me, made sure I didn't have any more questions, tried several different things, and wrote down some notes for me to take home. He also suggested that I call Montgomery County Infants and Children to see if she qualifies for an evaluation and possible physical therapy. He thinks she will since there are other signs besides just her feet that her muscle tone is low. He was actually really shocked that she can even cruise as well as she does. He wants me to let him know what the county says and then we will go from there. So, here we are . . . a new adventure for our little girl.

Anyway, here's a little picture of her little shoes and Leap Frogs (name of the insert). The white part on the front of the Leap Frog is a toe lift that he added to it because her toes still curl a lot when she stands.

It is seriously crazy the difference in how straight and stable she walks (from hips to toes) when she has  this get up on. 

P.S. There are 3 other new posts below this one with pictures and videos. Don't miss em. :)