sharktooflady's Journal

I saw one of my favorite patients on Thurs. Have to be careful here because of the Hippa laws, so names will be changed to protect the innocent.lol

Sam is a 10-yr. old boy with several conditions affecting his young life. He has Scoliosis, leg length discrepancy, feet are two different sizes, and the big one; Proteus Syndrome. Most people know this condition as Elephant Man syndrome.

This is the cutest blonde headed, intelligent kid I have met in a while. He wears his "Harry Potter" glasses, that are pretty thick. His Mom is a precious soul who loves her son and fights for him. They have a special close bond that is inspiring to all around them. Mom has the bluest eyes I've ever seen. They are a turquoise color, Not that this matters, I just wanted to throw that in.

Sam & mom came to us a year ago for the first time. This kid & I bonded very quickly. He touched my heart & he mentioned his love of fossils and sharks teeth. I told him on his appointment to be fitted in garment, I would bring in my Meg's for him to see. He knew instantly what they were.

Doctor wrote Rx for compression garment from waist to thighs. Sam's right side is larger than the left & needed compression on a tumor in his lumbar/bottocks region. I decided to make him "biker shorts". They would look like regular shorts, but tight. It's important for kids to look normal around other kids, & this garment would go unnoticed by others. Did my measurments, gave Sam his stickers & told him I'd see him on next appointment to be fitted.

Sam came back, Garment was a perfect fit. I gave him a container full of "shark teeth & sand". I really loaded the teeth in there, so he could sift thru & "find" the teeth. He loved it. Was fascinated by the Meg's.

Well, Sam & mom came back last Thurs. for another compression garment. My, how he has grown. While measuring him, I noticed his lumbar/butt are had grown & was larger than last time I saw him. Mom whispered to me that Sam would have yet another operation in July. He did not know it yet. Broke my heart.

But I did have good news for them. His insurance would buy him one pair of the mis-mate shoes per year. That way he could have shoes that actually fit both feet & not have to stuff cotton balls in the toe of his shoe. He was excited. Plus, mom indicated the pain he was having from the leg length discrepancy. He was having to take a lot of Motrin.LLD can cause pain in the knees, hips, back, shoulders due to the body being shorter on one side.

Told Mom, we could do a shoe build-up to compensate. Measured Sam's legs and found his left leg is 1" shorter than right. Wow, that is a significant LLD. No wonder the little guy was in so much pain. We will fix that, just by building up the sole of his left shoe and put him straight again.

I really believe God put's certain people in our lives for a reason. Sam is an inspiration to me. His positive attitude and youthful outlook on life is something all of us can learn from.

Sam is dear to my heart & always in my prayers. I just love that little guy!