Get a look at this.....

Claire had a follow up with her Orthopaedist on Tuesday. Dr. H did x-rays of her back and pelvis area and gave us the thumbs up! Praise God, Claire's spine looks straight right now and her hips look really good. It is common for spina bifida patients to get scoliosis and have hip issues so these are things that will be monitored as Claire grows. But, one of the things our dear Mrs. Denise noticed during physical therapy is that Claire does not straighten her knees completely. This is due to tightness of the hamstrings and the remedy.....

These lovely knee immobilizers! Now Claire has to sleep in her Dobbs brace and these contraptions!

Just the fact that there is still as smile on her sweet face after being put to bed this way should give you an idea about the fact that this chick is one tolerant girl! I noticed she had a little trouble settling down last night but not so much that she fussed or anything. She did not even attempt to take the immobilizers off until she had permission this morning.

Let me just say that between cathing, dressing, and fastening all her braces on, we are going no where in a hurry in the mornings.... and don't get me started on her bedtime routine! Actually, do let me get started because if I don't start at 8pm there is no way she is getting in bed on time! I wonder if there is a full body brace they'd like to put her in.......because we don't have enough Velcro in our lives right now! Count them people, that is 16 Velcro fasteners-3 on each foot and 5 on each leg! Add that to the Velcro on her AFOs and shoes.....I wish I'd invented that stuff! Genius!

For those of you interested...I looked it up. Yeah, I'm just that geeky...hey I am a teacher! The multi-million dollar industry of Velcro was the brain child of a Swiss mountaineer named George de Mestral. He discovered the hook and loop idea after getting burrs all over his clothes on a walk with his dog. He took a look at the burrs under a microscope and noticed the small hooks clinging to the loops of the fabric on his pants and the idea was born. Of course he was laughed at....but whose laughing now?! The name Velcro comes from a combination of the words velour and crochet. By-the-way, that stuff was patented back in 1955! Who knew!