Strong visit, decisions ahead .....

We made it home and it is good to be back in St. Louis. The trip was worth all the coordination, expense, time, etc. and overall everything went as planned. It was very nice to stay with a good friend and experience Southern hospitality as opposed to a hotel. We enjoyed awesome food, had fun shopping at a jewelry place (had been there previously) and the weather was sunny and 70s.

More on the gait test …. the director of the center greeted us and he explained that he had talked w/my Chicago dr. earlier that morning (Thurs.). I was glad that he had the medical case background. He explained what would happen and that it would take 25-30 min. for them to hook up all these electrodes at certain spots on my legs, feet and hips. I then walked over this platform area and 10 cameras simultaneously took pictures and recorded my walking movement as the floor measured what muscles were working and the strength of each. Mom and our “chauffer” friend watched the entire thing from the side. I was the only patient there our entire time. It was a smaller office in Baylor hospital, which made it nice. Later this week I will receive a CD from them with pictures from the test on it.

We got to see several computer generated graphs and a computer simulation of a person walking the way I walk. The graphs & readings showed that the tendon that allows your foot to drop down and step through when walking is overworking …. The tendon is like a rubber band that is supposed to contract-relax-contract-relax, etc. ….. mine stays contracted nearly the entire time and when it does relax it is not happening at the right time. This explains why when doctors often ask me to relax the foot, I can’t! We’ll never know why it has happened, but the next hurdle is making the best choice in how to correct it.

The other doctors that we consulted with also came to the same conclusion, but the test confirmed what they thought. I made my usual “pro vs. con” list for the two possible treatment options on the plane ride home. I need to learn more about each, before I can explain them.

Doctors would like patients to be able to push down w/the foot (gas pedal motion) at a minimum of 40 degrees. My normal foot is 72 degrees and the surgical foot is 24, which also prohibits me from pushing into a shoe. So, I am not “off” by miles, but it needs help. Much to close to give up was what I heard ……. THANKFUL FOR THAT NEWS!

There was definitely one of the three doctors that I thought that if I needed to begin working with him, I would be comfortable. His office was very impressive with 17 orthopedic surgeons and they have a long history of strong medical credibility. We have a friend in Dallas that is diabetic & was told that he needed to have his leg amputated by multiple doctors. The dr. that I saw and liked ended up saving his leg and now 18 mo. later he still has his leg and is doing better than ever …. somewhat encouraging to hear a success story.

I plan to talk with my St. Louis & Chicago doctors this week and get their opinions on what we learned. There is no big rush to make a decision on anything immediately, but hopefully we can come to some consensus by the end of this week. The longer I wait to decide the slower it is to move toward treating the tendon issue.

• Pray that the Chicago & St. Louis orthopods will be open to new ideas, agreement will happen, they’ll be candid about what they think is best and that it will be very clear w/which treatment option to choose (two options).

I sincerely thank you for praying for us over the past four days. I had stamina to make it through our long day on Thursday, & all our organization efforts paid off. One dr. told us that he’d never seen post-op records spiral bound before ….. not everyday that he sees someone w/as much surgical history either!

Keep praying for clear direction this week and wisdom in decision making on my part.

Love & hugs,
Jenny