Spina Bifida Clinic

Last week James David and I attended what they call the Spina Bifida Clinic at our local Children's Hospital. Its a day where we see almost all of our doctors there in one visit every 6 months so that we don't have to keep making multiple trips. Very cool because these doctors set aside this day to see only Spina Bifida kids. So not only are we seeing doctors but lots and lots of other kids with Spina Bifida of all ages and variety. We even ran into our two NICU compadres :)

James David's doctor appts. went amazingly smooth. We were there almost 6 hours but we got a lot accomplished. His orthopedic said that James David is functioning at a "mid-lumbar" level (talking about the level of his nerve damage). He has impeccable quad strength, but they see weakness in his calves and glutes. He also has uneven muscle function in his right foot causing it to turn inward. I say all this to say that he will definitely walk ("unless he suffers from severe retardation or obesity") neither of which are looking to be a problem right now. He may need forearm crutches or a cane to support himself, but who cares? My baby will walk! An answer to many many prayers!

For some reason though not as excited as I should be. I find myself picturing James David with forearm crutches and it saddens me. I know the hateful things people will think about him. People will stare. I guess I'm still struggling with the fact that I have a son with a disability. Hi. My name is Brittany, and I have a son with a disability. He will never play football, or be mainstream. Although I'm glad for that because mainstream in this town tends to mean concussions every Friday night and lots and lots of alcohol, I'm still disheartened. I love my son, and I want the best life possible for him. The life I know he will have. I'm still just finding it hard to get this preconceived notion out of my head.