Here we go....

Where to start...... There's so many things going on in my life right now that it's hard to find a starting point. I guess with the one that has been most dominant among us lately. My 12 year old daughter, Gabby, has been going through many trials lately. Back in September she hurt her right foot. We have no idea how the injury occurred but that it just seemed to get worse. She went through about 3 months on crutches and two different casts before she was eventually diagnosed with CRPS/RSD right before Christmas. For those who don't know what this is (I sure didn't) it is roughly defined as: Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) - a chronic pain condition that is believed to be the result of dysfunction in the central or peripheral nervous systems. Typical features include dramatic changes in the color and temperature of the skin over the affected limb or body part, accompanied by intense burning pain, skin sensitivity, sweating, and swelling. Also called: Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy. We are still struggling to understand what all she is going through. The hardest part is knowing that your child is in horrible pain and there is no quick fix for relieving that pain. It's been many days of tears, frustration, depression, and struggling to comes to grip with this. When Dr. Willinghelm from Waco Foot & Ankle diagnosed her with the CRPS/RSD, we decided to contact Cook's to get her the help she needed. Gabby already knew Cook's Children's because she suffers from migraines. So when we started looking up what RSD was and they mentioned it was neurological, I decided we needed to contact her neurologist, Dr. Kelfer. I can never say enough good things about the doctors, nurses, etc. at Cook's. I talked to Dr. Kelfer's nurse and she did everything she could to get us the help that we needed. Dr. Kelfer decided that we needed to get Gabby in to see their Pain Specialist as soon as possible. Luckily, they worked us in and we got to meet with Dr. Gandhi and her crew.

Dr. Gandhi and her crew are amazing. I was simply in awe with the care and the concern that they show to their patients. For our first initial appointment we met with Dr. Gandhi (pain specialist), Katie Willett (physical therapist), Fred Oriti (physician assistant), and a psycho-therapist. They all got together to do a thorough exam of Gabby and find the correct course of action for her. We had brought our copies of the MRI and Radiologist's report with us. Dr. Gandhi had their orthopedic department even look at them and do a consultation on Gabby's case. We also found out that Gabby still has a minor stress fracture. The stress fracture makes dealing with the RSD a little more difficult. See, with treating RSD, one of the things they need to do is to start moving your body as soon as possible. Yet, with the stress fracture, you are supposed to keep it stable and resting. So, Dr. Gandhi & Team decided to start Gabby on light therapy and medication for her RSD. This has been a battle for Gabby also.

Gabby is a fighter. She handles pain more than I think a lot of 12 year old would be able to. I have tried to make it my job to keep her as upbeat about everything as possible. Luckily, Dr. Gandhi has told us that we have caught Gabby's RSD early enough that she has a 95% chance of getting back to normal. Unfortunately, it can't be fast enough for Gabby. We have found a wonderful physical therapist at Providence Outpatient Therapy in Waco. Mary has the same kind of upbeat and sarcastic attitude as my Gabber. When I go to therapy with Gabby I can't help but laugh listening to Gabby and Mary. So, even though the exercises are painful, Gabby usually laughs while in therapy and comes out pretty upbeat.

We have another hurdle to conquer now. Gabby's one dream since she was a little girl was to be a cheerleader. Yesterday she found out that the cheerleader tryouts are now going to be in February. First thing Gabby did was talk to Mary about how they could do her therapy better so that she can tryout. Mary explained that she still needed to follow the prescription that Dr. Gandhi gave for the therapy but gave Gabby some things that she could slowly start working on at home. Also, we go back to Cook's on January 25th to see the Orthopedic doctor and Dr. Gandhi. Gabby tried to stay positive as long as possible but by dinner time last night her mood started falling. She was very upset and didn't see how she could be a cheerleader. I then sat with my little girl and told her that I would do everything I can to help her be able to tryout this year. I told her that we would start by talking to Dr. Gandhi and then we would go from there to talking to the school about the tryouts.

I am trying my best to do what is best for my kids. I know that God never gives us more than we can handle but sometimes I want to throw up my hands and ask Him "You really thought I could handle THIS??". Yet I know that as Philippians 4:13 says " I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me". I really am trying to lean on Christ to help us with this. I'm also trying to remind Gabby that God and all of His Angels are here to support us and help us through our trying times.