Year end Up-date!

Devin is doing very well. As you can see from the following pictures, the Orthopedic has kept Devin restrained in some way throughout his first year of life. We were given the O.K. to have Devin wear the ILFELD Splint only at night shortly after Devin’s 1st Birthday and he continues to do so. He has been crawling around the house at Mack speed ever since. In addition to the crawling, he goes up on his knees to reach for things and is doing more standing on his own.
We go in to see the Orthopedic at the beginning of January. It is likely that they will replace his Ankle Foot Orthotics with something that includes the knee as his feet stay turned inward as he stands. He corrects the right one better than the left and we attempt to put them into correct position if possible.

We have gotten to know quite a few families who have children with Spina Bifida and many of them have gone through surgeries and broken bones after 1 year of age in an attempt to correct hip problems. All of a sudden these devices do not look so bad. The only 2 surgeries that Devin has gone through so far are the initial 2, one to close up his back and one to put a shunt in for the Hydrocephalus. We have been blessed and hope that Devin’s health continues with the successes we have seen so far!

Devin continues to be our little “Smilie Guy”. Peek-a-boo is one of his favorite things to do and we often catch him playing it with strangers. He loves to cuddle and be close to others. As long as Cooper and Allie are around, he finds things to explore and keep himself busy. He uses some words and some sign language to communicate his immediate needs. I have been trying to post something monthly, but it is getting harder and less eventful (which is a good thing!).