Update

Eloise had a checkup on Monday on both the left and right leg.  Her left leg lengthening is on schedule.  She already has achieved 5 cm of new length and only has 1 more week of lengthening!!  Usually there is some sort of tweaking (turning the fixator struts to ensure the new bone is exactly where it needs to be before consolidation) that is needed after lengthening, but we will not know if Eloise will need it for another few weeks.  This is probably the one thing that could keep us here longer than expected.  Some patients need a month or two of tweaking.  We are hopeful that if Eloise does require tweaking, it will be very minimal.  The only new news that we received is that Eloise will need an eight plate in her left knee / femur because her femur is slightly bent.  The eight plate will prevent knock-kneedness.  It is a simple, outpatient procedure and will be done on April 21st.

Her right ankle looks great.  Her hard cast was expected to be on 8-12 weeks but was removed on Monday (6 weeks since surgery) because of her amazing progress!  She now has a removable cast on for the next couple of weeks to protect her ankle.  She is scheduled to get the pins removed from her leg on April 21st.  Because the hard cast prevented her knee from bending, she is having to regain strength in her leg muscles.  Needless to say, therapy is a bit of a challenge right now!!

All in all it was an encouraging day.  Our next big appointment is on April 7th.  Hopefully, we will find out a lot more about the tweaking on her her left leg during this appt.  This will give us a better idea of when we can expect to come home.  Hope everyone is doing well!