Johns Hopkins Appointment

Today was the big appointment. At Johns Hopkins. It was a half hour appointment. Ugh. I now have an overtired baby that won’t go to sleep.

 

Anyway…Details. Gary, Addison and I left here about 11:30 for Baltimore. I was extremely nervous the entire drive. Usually when you see the doctor, you have somewhat of an idea of what he or she is going to say. I had no clue. I knew what was wrong with my little girls body but I had no idea what the doctor was going to tell us. My biggest fear was surgery on her little body and the thought of that happening made me want to cry. I had so much encouragement from wonderful friends over the past weekend and their words kept running through my head. One friend had left me with this scripture.

 

Mark 9:20-29
They brought the boy to Him. When he saw Him, immediately the spirit threw him into a convulsion, and falling to the ground, he began rolling around and foaming at the mouth. And He asked his father, "How long has this been happening to him?" And he said, "From childhood. "It has often thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!" And Jesus said to him, " 'If You can?' All things are possible to him who believes." Immediately the boy's father cried out and said, "I do believe; help my unbelief." When Jesus saw that crowd was rapidly gathering, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, "You deaf and mute spirit, I command you, come out of him and do not enter him again." After crying out and throwing him into terrible convulsions, it came out; and the boy became so much like a corpse that most of them said, "He is dead!" But Jesus took him by the hand and raised him; and he got up. When He came into the house, His disciples began questioning Him privately, "Why could we not drive it out?" And He said to them, "This kind cannot come out by anything but prayer."

 

“Help my unbelief” is what I prayed the entire way to the hospital. We arrived and were greeted with the most efficient check-in process ever. (And I have checked-in at so many places) We were quickly taken back to a room and went over the pregnancy history and Addison’s growth with a resident. Within minutes we were meeting with the head of Pediatric Orthopedics, Dr. Sponseller. He did an exam of Addison, looked at her x-rays and quickly had an answer for us. He basically told us that we had to wait. There is a 70% chance that surgery is the right route. But there is a 30% chance that the rib and vertebra will not effect her at all and she will not have surgery. Around her first birthday she will have another x-ray and see how the rib has grown, if it has grown, and how it is making her spine curve. So its a waiting game we play.

 

In the mean time, we are considering seeing a doctor at Penn State Children’s Hospital in Hershey. Its so much closer especially if we are only going for checkups. My mind can rest easy. I know God is in control! He now has 8 months to do His thing!