The Verdict: #2

I feel a lot better today. I tell you that because I have been in a low the past couple of days. I realize that there are many of you that keep up with us through our website. I have posted this update through facebook and an email, but I need to update the family site. Here is a copy of the email I sent the morning after Maggie’s doctor’s visit:

I felt like I should update you all on our appointment since it wasn’t what we had hoped for. At our appointment 2 months ago, the doctor looked at Maggie’s Xray and was very optimistic. Her dysplasia in one hip was totally gone and the other was a few degrees off. He uses a chart that correlates to her age so the angle of her joint in the socket changes as she grows. He told us two more months in a different harness and he was confident that there would be no more treatment. So… all this time I have been psyched to last 2 more months.

We were the first appointment–4 pm. I had planned for us to eat out for celebrating afterward. Ana, Maggie, and me have all been fighting nasty head colds so the fact that the doctor showed up to the appointment at 6:30 didn’t help with that (did I mention that the girls hadn’t napped that afternoon?). So I was thankful to rush into his office and hear the verdict that I had hoped to hear the last 4 months. He looked at the xray, did his measurements, and then asked to see her on the examining table. After he examined her he instructed me that he was done and I could put her harness back on. I just looked at Greg. The doctor is not saying anything while he is “doing his work.”

Apparently, she now has dysplasia in both hips again, and all he said was “2 more months, and we will see.” I don’t think he remembered what he had said at our last appointment. Well, you know me. I can’t wait to leave the doctor’s office, so I immediately started weeping.

I can dwell on so many negative things right now. Besides the milestones I will continue to not see her pass in the next couple of months (or longer), I can’t even put her in the stroller. I looked so forward to walking with a neighbor this Friday using my stroller. Anyway, I am dwelling aren’t I? Maggie is healthy otherwise. She is such a content, smiley little girl. She doesn’t know life without her brace so it isn’t like something was taken away from her that she knew.

I am praying for God to heal both of her hips with his power. So if you can think to remember Maggie Kate in your prayers, please pray for God to totally heal her. I am sorry I didn’t call many of you in person. I was majorly bummed last night and it still lingers this morning. I didn’t really feel like talking to anyone. I realize that there are things so much worse that happen to children. I think that I am learning a lesson of getting my hopes up way too high. It is like I should wake up from a bad dream; however, it is life. And life goes on.

I just love our two little girls. A friend who happens to be a missionary, Nicole, encouraged me by saying that she hoped the smiles of my two little girls would cheer me up. Well they do, Nicole. Here are two pictures that make me smile:
Is it bad to envy your own daughter’s blue eyes?

Ana came out yesterday to show me her “baby carrier.” If you can’t tell, it is an udder. It goes with a cow costume my mom made for Halloween. I thought the udder was a perfect idea for carrying the baby around. 🙂

Life

We are coming up on a year living here in our targeted area. Where has the time gone? It has been awhile since I really sat down and reflected here on the journal. I wanted to record some thoughts I have had lately.

Our home

I absolutely love where we live. One year ago, we were about to see the “other side” of our first floor home. I was so nervous about what it would be like. It really couldn’t be any more perfect. Greg and I joke about the day that we will be kicked out of here because our landlords will need the first floor (they are elderly and climb stairs to get into their second floor home). It could happen, but it will make me really sad. I love the Pintos, and I love the layout of our home.

Our neighborhood

I was walking home yesterday from a meeting with Rachel and Larissa. It is a good 15 minute walk. Everything about my walk felt normal. I can remember 2 years before moving here walking the same exact streets with my teammates not having a clue that one day they would be “my streets.” I ran into Stephanie and Kimberly on the sidewalk before our street. We greeted and chatted for a minute. I said my hellos to the park ladies. People know me here. This is my hood. People still give me stares like “who is this strange white woman” more often than not. But I typically always have someone recognize me when I go out around my house. Nacho cuts our hair (he is across the street). Ricardo always parks his taxi on our street corner (he always gives me a fair deal when I need a taxi–I ran into him one day at the park when he was with his granddaughter). Staphanie’s family takes up the entire block across from us (she is still my Barrio BFF)

Rockin’ Cute Pigtails

I really don’t know what I would do if I had a daughter without hair to play with. 🙂 It is just too much fun. In my opinion, Maggie has some rockin’ cute pigtails right now. They were too cute to not take pictures of today. So… just because I wanted to, here they are:

And now for another comparison photo. Definitely sisters. (Ana is also 8 going on 9 months in this photo.)