a little update…

Just a quick medical update on Henry for those that have asked.  We’ve been scrambling the last few weeks to get things in place so he can see a brachial plexus injury specialist.  We’ve quickly realized just how much goes into getting an appointment with a specialist… referrals, more appointments, initial paperwork, follow-up paperwork, medical reports faxed hither and yon, and so on… We’ve also discovered how frustrating it can be to have the whole process held up as we wait on a required signature or for a report to be released…  It wouldn’t be a big deal, except that with each additional week, the chance for a successful surgery gets less and less.

The really good news is that the leading BPI specialist in this corner of the country wants to see Henry as soon as possible.  So, we actually have a appointment scheduled for next Friday (the 29th) in Seattle.  This is nothing short of a miracle since he is a very busy man.  I think it has something to do with Peter’s dad’s persistence (bless him!!)  The surgeon would really like the MRIs that the neurologist has requested — but they won’t be done by then, so we’ll have to follow up as soon as they are.

We’ve also been going in circles with our insurance company trying to figure out exactly how much will be covered… (MRIs are pretty spendy and he needs four of them… plus he has to be put under for them, so it adds up quickly…)  I think we’ve finally figured it out — but *wow!* is it hard to get a straight answer from them! 

I am trying to stay cautiously optimistic about the possibility.  It would be incredible if a nerve graft surgery is still an option to give him back some use of that arm.  Yet I also know that there is a verrryyy slim chance… and really, he is such a tenacious little kid — if surgery isn’t an option, having a handicapped arm will NOT keep him down.  Several people have told me that it’s actually easier for kids to have never been able to use a limb than for older children to lose one because then they have to re-learn everything.  Henry doesn’t remember ever being able to use his left arm and is certainly adept at figuring out how to do without it!  But still, we feel so strongly that we need to do everything we can to exhaust our options… to look at every possible scenario and follow each lead through to the end.

I also have to say that as we’ve been scheduling appointments and talking with doctors these last few weeks, I’ve been so aware of how relatively small this potential surgery is.  I can’t imagine how difficult it would be as a parent to schedule open-heart surgery or another high-risk surgery.  This is just an arm.  I can’t imagine walking through the anguish of loving a child SO deeply and yet having to release them to the Lord every day because of a terminal disease or life-threatening condition.   It makes me appreciate each day with my kids even more just thinking about it…