Annie PT Update: Raisin' a Little Cane

It's been a long time since we went to have a workout in Miss Ashley's gym. Now that there's a new fiscal year for medical benefits, we started back with a full allotment of physical therapy appointments. Annie has been getting around pretty well at home and walking anytime we leave the house. She continues to grow, but her prosthesis is adaptable to that. She relies on her "magic stick" for stability and brakes on the downhills. When we put our brain trust together today, we all agreed that she's listing a little too much to the right. David had the idea of lengthening the cane a little to minimize the listing. Brilliant! Worked great.

Prior to PT, we got to see Annie's local orthopedic surgeon. It's been over a year since we saw him. He was amazed at her progress [this is the first appointment with him that she ever walked in on her own power] and quite pleased that her x-ray showed the bone on her residual limb getting a lot sturdier [because stress grows bone and she's been weight-bearing on that limb for months]. The metal rod that he installed between the thigh bone and the shin bone has worked its way out of the bone, but is still attached securely in there. He expected that to happen and there's no need for surgery on it. Also, the screw at her heel/ankle region has floated up a few inches from the very bottom of the limb. Again, no reason for any surgery on that as it doesn't seem to bother her. The kid's a champ and she reminds me a little bit of Jesus in the Temple the way she holds court with all the learned men and intrigues and amazes them.