Everything went well today...

Andrew's appointment with the Physical Therapy team went really well. They did his evaluation and measurements and we're excited to hear that his range of motion is the same on his right leg & ankle as it was in October 2007. His left leg has actually improved a bit which was a surprise since it is the leg that he will be having the surgery on. But it has not improved enough to dismiss the lengthening surgery.
We met with Dr. Park later in the day and he was optimistic that Andrew will recover quite well from the lengthening surgery. He was pleased with his progress but stressed that an increase in physical therapy and stretching is best for his progress. He also agrees with Dr. Dobbs in having just the PERCS on the left leg and to leave the right alone at this time. They both feel that doing just the left leg will trigger his right side to correct itself. Which is all great news. His hamstrings are tight but not to the point of needing them lengthened at this time. His heel cords are the ones causing all of the walking problems that he has. Dr. Park is confident that after this surgery and with continued PT and stretching that Andrew will be able to walk more normal. He will have no more falling, no more crouching and less foot dragging. He should also be able to walk with a better heel strike which will improve his posture and balance. He's pushing Andrew to do more physical activities like soccer, karate, basketball etc. The more exercise the better. He is stressing that more running is the best exercise for him. He was pleased to hear that Andrew ran the half mile fun run this summer and is very proud of him. He was positive that the Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy surgery he had almost 4 years ago had a huge impact on his Cerebral Palsy. So much that he said that Andrew would never have been able to run in that race at all if it weren't for the SDR. He really wants Andrew to throw away his leg braces after he's healed from surgery. We see that the braces are having an impact on his running and walking abilities even though it is helping to stretch him out. We all HATE the braces so we're all excited to hear this.
We're so thankful to have such a great neurosurgeon working for Andrew and always keeping him in his best interest.