Doctor Update

Friday we went to Dr. Shafron. Our friend and physical therapist, Rachel, was able to meet all 3 of us there! We waited for 2 hours. Meg did so awesome. Even put her front paws on the table to say hi to Hope. She slept the whole time the doctor was in there. Anyways, Rachel, Dr. Shafron and I had a good conversation about Miss Hope. The Botox is actually doing well. It has worn off some but did do it's job. He put in for continued Botox injections at a higher dose. Here's hoping I don't have to file another appeal. Probably will though. Hope had a growth spurt while her toe was broken. This resulted in her inner thighs tightening up again, to the point that her knees are rubbing raw in places and forming calluses in other spots. Dr. Shafron feels that her problem is a mixture of spasticity (the tightness) and dystonia, a movement disorder. Nothing can be done for a movement disorder. Since she did so well with the pump and that would only relieve the spasticity, the question was raised if a Dorsal Rhizotomy should be considered. A Dorsal Rhizotomy is a neurosurgical procedure that selectively severs problematic nerve roots in the spinal cord. After raising that question we talked about how she was 10 degrees away from having hip surgery before she had the second pump put in. (Having the pump for a month was long enough for everything to stretch and release for a while) Hope has now been referred to an orthopedic surgeon to see how close we are to hip surgery and if they feel she is a good candidate for a Dorsal Rhizotomy(DR). I'm still not sure of my feelings on the DR, it is very permanent and does include some high risks. Haven't received notification on when the appointment is yet. Have to wait for insurance to approve it first. They're a big pain in my butt! (Let me tell you how I really feel!)
On a positive note, us girls went to the water park yesterday. Meg was scared and ready to attack another dog at first but settled nicely. I didn't attach her leash to Hope since it was Sunday and there were a bunch of kids running around. Once the mornings warm up a little more we can go while everyone is in school and try again.
I need to go for now, still lots to do!