Put your hands in the air…

Maggie can lift her arms above her shoulders. Thank you for your prayers!

I had written previously about my concern that she had shoulder joint issues similar to that of her peers with Apert and that she would have restricted movement. It turns out, after seeing a physical therapist that she has the ability, just not the elasticity we need. So every day we work on stretching those arms. We are also working on tummy time or as Juan used to call it “THE TUMMY TIMES!!!”

I have always looked with amazement upon those moms whose babies joyfully laid on their stomachs and gurgled with delight at the prospect of using new muscles to accomplish a task. My kids would just face plant into the blanket where there cries would be muffled. So, of course I wouldn’t let them endure the struggle too long. Now here is poor Maggie. This girl should have the “Get Out of Jail Free” card, being that she is number four in the kid line up. Not so, Maggie, not so. You, my love, are working harder than your siblings ever had to, and she is making progress. Slow and steady progress.

Since I last wrote, we have been to see the neurosurgeon,plastic surgeon and the orthotist multiple times to make sure Maggie’s melon is cooperating, and it is. We are seeing growth in the front and back and she will receive a new helmet soon. Whenever we go in for the appointments we hear the words that every parent wants to hear. “Things couldn’t look better.” “This is precisely what we want to see.” “I’m amazed!” Yes, yes, yes. Thank you Lord. Everything is moving in the right direction and so we are continuing on in our pilgrimage.

This last week we met with the plastic surgeon who will release her fingers. The hope is that Maggie will have the first surgery in October. Both hands will have their pinkies and their pointers released at the same time. Three months after that surgery Maggie will have the remaining two fingers released on each hand. This, of course, is all contingent on Maggie being healthy so that she can be sedated in a safe manner. That is the part that makes me a bit worried.

Maggie caught her first virus at the end of last month. She had a high fever but took it like a champ. She had a cold afterward and ever since then has been congested. She can’t clear it all out. She gets better every week, but a congestion that lingers for almost 3 weeks?! I knew kids with Apert tended to have this issue, but goodness! The doctor said that it takes 6 weeks for the lungs to be completely healed from the effects of illness. What a deadline! It’s nuts. I want to put her in a bubble but I can’t; so I just have to hand it over and hand her over again.

“How can worrying add a single moment to your life…” Matthew 6:27. I have worried over Maggie and the worry hasn’t done me any good. The prayers, the surrender, the faith and trust, those things have moved mountains, but my worry has caused me to stumble, and scurry from scenario to scenario with no real fruit. So I place her back in your hands Lord, all of her needs, all of the factors surrounding the surgery and I trust you will give her more than anything I could ever imagine requesting.