Abby had a follow-up today at CHOP. They are very encouraged by her progress. The X-rays may have shown some movement of one of the rods, but it may also be the angle of the X-ray. He wants to follow-up with her in another 6 weeks and do repeat X-rays. But to be safe, the halo is going to stay on for at least an additional month, which means it won't come off until the end of April at the earliest.
We hadn't gotten our hearts set on a date for this very reason, so it's fine. We figured it would happen, which is why we are just saying it will come off in the spring. I'm glad he is erring on the side of caution.
The orthotist changed the chin and forehead pads, as well as her brace shirt. Everything was SO nasty!! And there were crumbs all in her shirt!
I was able to gently wipe her down while the brace was off, but it was very painful because her skin is so raw. I see lots of lotion in her future after the halo is gone!
We were also able to get them to manipulate the halo headgear a little bit to make her ears a little more accessible for hearing aids. The right side had become nearly impossible to put in! Abby didn't like all of that much, but I do believe the end result is better.
It ended up being a more traumatic visit than we had expected, but she's happily watching Annie in the car now with a promise of ice cream in Middletown. (She's lost a few pounds since surgery, so we are increasing the ice cream intake!!) 😁
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