Shriner's Hospital evaluation

We went to Shriner's Hospital today to get Kerwin's initial orthopedic evaluation. He was seen by the nurse, the doctor, had x-rays taken and saw the physical therapist all in one visit. It was so nice because they have everything in-house so they just moved us from one exam to the next really quickly. The x-rays showed that his pelvis and spine were fine. The doctor said that he does not want to jump into any treatment at this point. Instead, he wants us to participate in a month-long home physical therapy program to see what shape we can get the legs into with routine stretching. Then he will see Kerwin again and re-evaluate him to see what progress has been made and what the best course of intervention would be at that point. He did not seem to be leaning toward surgery but instead would consider bracing or casting the legs for a period of time to lengthen his tendons. But the big hit of the day was with the PT. She gave us a loaner walker until we can come back for a full PT assessment and order another one. But the loaner is beautiful. It is brand new and shiny green. Kerwin loves it! He was immediately flying up and down the halls in it. He is a bit reckless. We will be working on control here in the near future. But it will give him so much independence to always have something for balance. Especially since he will be starting school in the near future.

We have an appointment on Friday to get his referral process started to send him to the Kentucky School for the Deaf. I am so anxious for him to have someone else to learn sign language from: someone who is actually fluent in American Sign Language! He will learn so quickly in that environment. After a few days, he will be teaching me. I'm going to have to work hard to keep up.

Tomorrow is the pediatrician and Occupational Therapy evaluation. He did such a great job today and we were there nearly four hours. I hope he is not too burnt out when we get there tomorrow. Hopefully there will be lots of fun new toys like they had at Shriner's.