It's the Little Things That Matter

Last June, Alyssa turned three years old. Although she's getting bigger and doesn't need to go to the doctor as much, I still take her to her annual exam. Well, at last year's exam in July, I made it a point to mention to the Nurse Practitioner that I was concerned with the way she was walking. As I mentioned before, Alyssa started walking at 13 months. She was always my little chunky monkey, so I never really gave it any mind when she would walk and then fall a lot. Time went on, and I started to realize that she was falling a lot more often than what seemed normal. I also noticed that she really wasn't running around like all the other kids her age. Again, I let myself think that she probably didn't run around a lot because she was a little bigger than the other kids and not as agile. I would walk behind her and I notice that her left foot would curve inward while her right foot would walk straight, in turn, causing her to trip herself. Well, at the three year check-up, I mentioned all of these things to the N.P. and she looked at her feet and said that she noticed that she was flatfooted. She could also tell that her feet curved in a bit and suggested that she might also have a condition called "intoeing (a.k.a. pigeon-toed). She referred us to a Podiatrist for futher care.

Things went well at the appointment with the Podiatrist. He was very kind and I really liked the way he was so gentle with Alyssa. You know how tricky it can be with little ones at that age. I also appreciated the way he spoke to us in a kind way. He didn't rush us, as some doctors do, and he made sure to really take the time to let us voice our concerns as well.

Turns out after examining Alyssa's feet, the doctor confirmed that she was indeed flatfooted and had intoeing. He decided that she needed to have orthotics. I was shocked because I had never heard of children wearing orthotics. He talked about the fact that she might only need them for a few years and that hopefully she would just grow out of the condition with the help of the orthotics. We went through the whole process of making the impressions for her custom orthotics that day and we went back a few weeks later to pick them up. She finally started wearing the orthotic inserts in September. I will spare everyone with the details of what these two little inserts cost, even with insurance. I will just say that I'm glad they let me set up a payment plan:)

Where am I going with this, you might ask? Well, remember that I mentioned we were on our way to the doctor yesterday? Well, we were going back to the Podiatrist's office for a check-up. As we were getting ready to go, I was telling Alyssa all about what were going there for and she told me that she wanted me to mention to the doctor that she is still falling a lot, which is something that is still happening. Turns out, when we got there, she ended up telling the doctor herself! He examined her feet and had her walk up and down the hall. He decided that he would like for her to see a Pediatric Podiatrist. He told us that he would set that up and give us a call with all the info. After looking at her feet, he said again, like before, she just may need time to grow out of it, or at the very worst need to have casts put on her legs. He said we would need to wait and see what the other doctor had to say about everything.

When he mentioned the possibility of casts, you can imagine how that made me feel. My heart sank to think of all of that. I know it may seem dumb, but it hurts to know that something might be wrong with my little girl's legs. I really would just love to see her walk and run freely just like like all the other kids.

Well, if you don't mind, I would love it if you would keep Alyssa's feet/legs in your prayers. I just want her feet to be normal and for her not to have to go through anything extensive. I know we serve a big God...and one that cares about all of our concerns, even down to the littlest details.


Lord, thanks you for reminding me that I need to put my full faith and trust in you. With you Lord, all things are possible...