Part II
My David is a trooper! Since we found out what was wrong with him, mainly the muscle and bone atrophy, we have called it his “booboo” leg. Perhaps I’m going a bit overboard by saying since LOL, really we stopped saying that when he was about ten, he is now twelve.
David would always be a fighter, never giving up. Whenever there was something that he couldn’t do as well as Nick, he would say, “Don’t worry Mom, I can do it.” Then he would practice and practice until he could do it! David went through PT. He had a tricycle that was made to help his leg which he would ride around to strengthen it. Nick got the same one, so they rode side by side, laughing and giggling and having a good time. He also had a small trampoline to jump on, it had a nice little handle to hold on to so he wouldn’t lose his balance.
The PT had him fitted for what we called a “boot”, it was plastic and was made to keep his foot straight. It had a wrap-around elastic top to keep it attached to his leg. Before he was fitted with this boot, his leg was cast to try and loosen up the muscles in his leg. As those of you with children who ever broke a leg when a toddler know, he acted as though there was nothing wrong after a day or two and ran around like the leg wasn’t even cast. The casting worked, and then the brace was fitted and exercise began. David worked long and hard for over a year and then we did PT at home, once ever two weeks someone would come to check on him at our house and make sure things were going well with his PT.
When David turned four he was fitted for another brace, he never got to wear this brace because that is when his father won custody. Never, and I mean never, break a court order!
Over the next four years David had some PT that was unsupervised. Then a miracle happened and my children came home to live with me again! David’s hamstring was so tight he couldn’t straighten his leg all the way. I got him back to Nationwide Children’s Hosptial for another MRI and to his Physical Medicine doctor. We started PT again the next week, three grueling times a week. Have you ever tried to get an eight year old to exercise? Finally he started getting into it, things went well for about seven months and then the PT started having a hard time getting David to work. We stopped the therapy and started the home therapy again.
David is now twelve, he still has a little stiffness in his left leg, but he wears a shoe implant to even out the length discrepancy. He doesn’t even notice it anymore. He plays soccer and basketball yearly. In the fall my little guy will become a teenager and will be in middle school involved in sports again. Where his leg is concerned, until a growth spurt, things are normal now.
The only learning disability that he seems to have is that he suffers from low grades and skills in reading comprehension. We have been going to tutoring for that at Ohio University. Its free and not only does it help him it helps them. Its still a problem and I’m sure it will continue for awhile but he continues to be a trooper and work long and hard. During sixth grade graduation he was awarded most improved in Math! I believe this to be a great achievement, since now-adays Math is all word problems and if you can’t comprehend what you read, then how are you supposed to solve word problems? I am a very proud Mom, he went from a C to an A in one quarter!
This was the story of my David, my hero!
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