Ana wrapped up this session of treatments one round early! 🙌 Her feet were super responsive to casting and took great correction. Next week she will get her AFOs (short leg – day braces) repaired and KAFOs (long leg stretching – night braces) adjusted and a few days later check in with Dr. Feldman before we leave town and head back North. 🧭
She’s super excited to have a few more days of free legs than she expected to have and celebrated this morning with a goofy dance and then by showing us how she can stand on one leg while lifting the other WAY up! 😱 Pretty amazing for a kid who a) has very little muscle in her legs whatsoever (just some very weak quads) and b) was born with her legs fixed in a bent position so she couldn’t even stand on them until she was three and a half years old.
10 years later we’ve made amazing progress with her mobility and function, in both her legs and her arms/hands. She is SO incredibly functional! We have a couple/few more years to ensure it “sticks” and then once she stops growing, she should be able to maintain all the gains we’ve worked so hard for, without the annual treatments. 🌟 For how long, no one can say, but she should get at least a few decades of good mobility from it. Hopefully, during that time, new treatments will be developed that can help her preserve her range of motion and mobility for even longer.
For now, we celebrate the end of another round of treatment, prepare to deal with the barrage of big bills that always follows, and make sure (once again) to share with you all how IMMENSELY grateful we are for this amazingly massive and dedicated village we have found ourselves surrounded by over the years. 🙏
It is ONLY with your assistance that I can continue providing Ana with the ability to move her body, experience physical freedom, and continue this vital care to support her future. 🥰 I could never make all of this happen for her alone! You are ALL a HUGE part of this journey and I hope you know this and feel good about it! I hope you feel just as proud of your part in Ana’s life and future as I do! ✨ We’ve worked so hard, we’ve come a long way, and Ana will reap the benefits for many years to come. 💙
