8 yr Anniversary of Emily's SDR Spinal Surgery Approaching... - Reflection and Gratefulness...walking down memory lane

It's already been 8 years since Emily had the irreversible spinal surgery to take away the spasm in her legs. Every time around the NCAA basketball time I am reminded about how much this was out of our hands and in the hands of the Father. And through prayer, tears, and relying on faith, courage, and HOPE, GOD found the surgeon, the surgery, and the timing to HEAL our dear dear child Emily.

Emily is 12 years old now. Oh she is smart a child. And I know every parent says their child is the smartest, most beautiful, and perfect. Emily is truly hardworking child and hard work does pay off. I truly believe that she learned about working hard at a very young age. This kid went through so much physical therapy prior and after her surgery. But through it all she always smiled and did her BEST even at a very young age.

That "work ethic" as I am going to say has carried through to her tween years. Emily does work hard in her academics and the results show as she is an A+ student.

She has dedicated 7 years in art and as a result is an amazing artist AND truly enjoys her hobby.

Portrait of K-Pop Star Suzy Bae from group called, "Miss A"

Emily has also began enjoying playing the piano. Yes, I said PIANO. As a result she is part of the Evolve Worship Team at Newsong Community Church. She sings and plays the keyboard.
We are just grateful and thankful to GOD for watching out for Emily. This kid has reached a milestone in one year where she is serving in Preschool at Newsong every Sunday. She has made some amazing friends at church. Both David and I are seeing how mature she is growing in the Word, serving with friends and loving on the kids, and enjoying going to church. It's definitely not the boring church that we grew up knowing and attending at her age. We are grateful for Pastor Mike for truly loving unconditionally on these kids AND teaching them to connect and grow with each other.

So you look at this 12 year old that God has given to us. What a blessing and such a precious gift. Thank you, Jesus, for Emily. Thank you for giving her this radiant smile as she is growing as a tween in 2014. It's a complicated world. But you have given her a great church with a GREAT Middle School gathering (which is called EVOLVE). From here you have guided her in finding a wonderful group of friends and sisters-in-Christ. I am so excited to see how you are shaping and molding her as she goes from tween to teen to a young adult, etc..etc...

Thank you for "fixing her legs" so that she can wear the cute boots and CONVERSE just like her friends. Thank you, Jesus, for "fixing her legs" so that she can dance, run the mile at school, try out for cheerleading and being a cheerleader at her school. Thank you, Jesus, for building more muscles in her legs so she can walk up and down the stairs without holding onto the rails. And thank you for helping her build self-confidence, and smile with joy and happiness. Thank you for loving on her and loving on us.

This is a video I made few years back of Emily had her Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy Surgery. I'm not a video expert but just a mom who decided to make a mini video clip on iMovie.  I made so that each year Emily can watch it and be grateful for God has given to her and how far she has come!

CLICK ON THIS YOUTUBE VIDEO Please... 

It's April 14, 2013 marks the 7 year anniversary of Emily receiving, what I call, her "MIRACLE SURGERY". I am reminded about the biggest MIRACLE God revealed to our family, and that was the MIRACLE of Emily's legs. The journey of how Emily born with a condition called Spastic Diplegia, had a miraculous spinal surgery called Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy, performed by the renown Dr. T.S. Park, neurologist at St Louis Children's Hospital, who has had 100% success rate with the SDR surgery. And to see our little doll get stronger and stronger each day is just a miracle of itself.

The beginning of 5th grade has been a blessing. Emily has been able to meet and make some truly sweet friends who are genuinely nice and true. God has been so good to allow Emily to meet good friends who truly lift up Emily's spirit.

The summer of 2012 was a difficult time, but through the difficult event God shined and showered His grace upon Emily and to our family. God revealed to Emily that she is a beautiful person and not to listen to the ridiculous peer pressure comments nor to take a "Truth or Dare" from a classmate that leads down the path of destruction towards Anorexia.  I believe God allowed Emily to "tip her toes" into the world of eating disorder, but YANKED her out IMMEDIATELY. And we praise GOD for loving HER and SAVING her from that deadly path! That was a time that I do not wish upon any parent out there! It was hellish.

But look at her now! She was on a volleyball team at school. She's going to be on cheerleading squad in fall of 2013 at her school. She's a top-notch academic student in her class. She is a happy camper and has made good friends who keep her healthy spiritually, emotionally, and physically!

Now let's go down memory lane and reflect on the journey God took us back in 2006....



PLEASE CLICK ON THE YOUTUBE VIDEO FOUND BELOW...

Emily's Miracle Story Video

During this time of Lent and Easter I am always reminded about how much GOD loves Emily and excited to see what HIS plans are for Emily's life. She is now 10 years old, in 4th grade, enjoying her new school, making great friends, loves to learn, work hard, and love GOD. Oh she is such a hard worker and aims to be "like the other kids" when it comes to running, walking, etc...Emily has to work at it. Her legs do get weak, she occasionally loses balance and falls down, but she gets up immediately and keeps on going. That is who she is. 

Stronger, happier, a "go-getter"

I am so thankful that I love to research and look for vital information on the Internet. I truly believe that God used the Internet to guide me on this adventure (that I did not ask for) in finding this miracle for Emily. It was not luck...it was not coincidence...it was not good karma...it was all GOD and ONLY GOD and His Perfect Exact Timing. I truly believe HE used this story for Emily and for us to share. Maybe it will be an encouragement for another child, a parent, a friend...

It is this period of time leading up to Easter that I am reminded to be grateful, thankful that the Lord has shown us this miracle for our only child EMILY.

When the medical community here in Orange County said that Emily should just "live with her mild cerebral condition", get Botox in her legs for the rest of her life, and wear braces in her legs I could not help but be bitter, angry, and sad. I truly hated the orthopedic surgeons, the therapists, and everyone else in the medical community who told me to just "live with it." Uh...I think NOT! Did they think that answer was good enough for ME? One thing I would NOT do is to give up! I would not give up because she was diagnosed as "mild condition". I believed there was hope and I would do everything I could to find where that HOPE is....

Oh I prayed quietly but loudly in my heart to God. Many times throughout of the day I would be shouting silently to God - if that makes any sense. I was having a nervous breakdown inside my heart and agonizing over this pain. But God heard it all and He heard it constantly...

So let me walk you through what happened and how GOD used the Internet and my determination that led Emily to her miracle: Here we go....

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The evening of March 19, 2006 (Sunday) after we put Emily to bed, David was watching his DUKE basketball on TV. It was the start of NCAA March Madness. If you know David he has his heart on DUKE, his Alma Mater!  I was sitting on my favorite corner spot on the family room couch and surfing on the web. Usually surfing on ridiculous stuff my heart was compelled to google about mild Spastic Diplegia. I found many stories by parents who experienced very similar scenarios as myself.  So I began to read some more. In one person’s story, there was a link to kid power message board www.kid-power.org. I subscribed to this group so that I could read more and also post a question out there. Not expecting much, I started to check out this message board.

March 20, 2006: I received several emails parents from that message board from mothers from all over the USA. There are 2 particular emails that I received that made a huge impact on me. One is from a mother name Julia in New Jersey. She emailed me and said that my story of Emily was a mirror story of her son when her son was Emily's age. Julia mentioned to me that her son could go to a normal school and do all the things as other kids except for the physical activities. Her son had difficulty with balance and gait. Then Julia mentioned that her son had a spinal surgery called Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy at St. Louis Children's Hospital when he was 4 yrs old. She shared how her son can now jump, run, ride a scooter, roller blades, etc. do all the things a normal child his age does. (He is now 5 yrs old).

I received another email from a mother in Colorado. She has a daughter who also had SDR surgery in St. Louis at the age of 4. Prior to surgery, her daughter also had difficulty with balance and gait. Though she did not need to use a walker or anything, she wore DAFOs, a special brace worn inside shoes, just like Emily.

From these stories, I became more curious about this Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy Spinal surgery and googled "Selective Dorsal Rhiztomoy, St Louis Children's Hospital". Both mothers showed me how much their children benefited from this spinal surgery and what they could do now after having this spinal surgery.

The girl from Colorado who had this surgery was in gymnastics, taekwondo, and dance. And she was only 6 years old. Oh I was getting goosebumps...is this for real????

So I went to the St Louis Children's Hospital web site and and read about this procedure. "Oh my goodness. I can't believe what I am finding. I think we found something to help  Emily's legs!!"  David paused his game and asked me what I was talking about. So I informed him about what I found and we began to read about the procedure; we read the list of very specific criteria a candidate needed to be considered for SDR. 

And Emily met all of the criteria!

The doctor who performs the Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy is Dr. T. S. Park, who is the renown head pediatric neurosurgeon at St. Louis Children's Hospital. His method of performing SDR is different from others. He removes one vertebrae and finds the nerve that is causing the spasticity. His success rate is perfect. Seriously! It is perfect!!!  He has performed this surgery over 3000 times. 

In addition to this information about Dr. Park, we found out that he graduated from Yonsei Medical School in South Korea, which is the same medical school my father graduated from. Though my father is 10 years his senior, I was getting extremely excited because I knew that my father would contact Dr. Park and he could also get more information. So I called my dad with so much excitement – an excitement I had not had for a very very long time.

 


March 21, 2006:  David sends an email to Dr. Park (email address which we found online) with detailed information about Emily. The email asked if Emily qualifies for SDR. David expected that by sending a letter to Dr. Park through the email address found online, he would not hear from Dr. Park for awhile, but he gave it a shot.  And we are so glad that he did because Dr. Park contacted us the next day!!! 

March 22, 2006: David receives an email response from Dr Park himself in less than one day. Dr. Park told us that from David's email, Emily does sound like a perfect candidate. And he will have his physical therapist be in touch with us via telephone and email Her name is Joan Puglisi.

March 23, 2006 : Joan is in touch with David via telephone. She tells him what needs to be sent to Dr Park’s office for the evaluation. Once we received the packet, we were able to gather all the necessary items to mail out to St. Louis as quickly as possible. We were able to get Emily in for an x-ray March 28th, found the MRI from our files, completed out the entire evaluation information, and mailed the entire packet on April 1, 2006. In the meantime my dad contacted Dr. Park at his home and spoke to him as well as his wife. I was so thankful for this connection because I knew that Dr Park would take Emily’s case as his top priority.

April 4, 2006: David receives a phone call from Joan that Emily's evaluation has been approved! And got a date to schedule surgery for April 18th – the day after Easter Sunday. Emily’s friend Shelby and her mom were at our house for a playdate; so I was able to share this incredible news with Marie!
 
April 8, 2006:  David's parents planned trip to California. Dave's dad will leave on Saturday, April 15th; David's mom will fly out to St. Louis with us on April 16th.
And then it was just getting things ready for our trip to St. Louis.
David was able to find 6 plane tickets on Southwest at the last minute.

(he purchased it from craigslist). He also was able to book 2 hotel rooms at ParkWay Hotel, which is a hotel that has an indoor connection bridge to the St. Louis Children's hospital. We were also able to get a wheelchair delivered to our house to take to St Louis. Everything was in place without a gliche. I KNEW this was all because of the Lord. HE was in control of this!!!

April 13, 2006: Went to pick up Emily from Creators Corner preschool. The entire school made a HUGE banner wishing Emily GOOD LUCK in St. Louis and to see her back stronger and straighter! Emily also received a Build a Bear cat from her best friend Shelby with a recorded a special message for Emily: Hi Emily. This is Shelby. I hope your legs get better. I miss you." It was so cute and so so special. Emily named the cat, “Shelby the cat”! We were blessed to see how much the teachers there care for Emily. I couldn’t stop crying and those who know me well KNOW that I don’t cry in public! I don’t even cry in front of David! So all this was overwhelming and I just cried and cried. 

April 15, 2006 : What an amazing Saturday. Emily had so many friends stop by to wish her good luck on her surgery. Crystal (Emily's classmate) came over with presents and also played with Emily for awhile.  Katrina gave Emily coloring books to keep her occupied on the plane and hospital. Bessie came by too with a care package for Emily to play with on the airplane. I also appreciated Bessie coming over and saying a special prayer for Emily and successful surgery. One of my oldest and closest friend Linda Pyun whom I've known since 10th grade at Phillips Exeter Academy and is now living in Allen, Texas had mailed a huge care package for Emily too.

And leading up to this day we had so many caring friends who sent us cards, coloring books, toys all for Emily to occupy herself on the plane and in the hospital. Special thanks to Ruth, Raymond, and Iris, Stephanie, Alan, Marcus and Ally. And many thanks to so so many people who are praying for Emily's surgery and for her post-op treatments too.
We are truly feeling the love and care from so many friends. Wow! Thank you very very much. 

Six of us are flying out of Irvine to St. Louis, Missouri on Easter Sunday. We had one stop in Las Vegas. We had to take a wheelchair. The flight attendants and everyone we came in contact with at the airports were extremely nice and caring towards all of us! God was right there with us!!! I could feel his presence! We finally arrived in St. Louis and checked into our hotel.

I couldn’t believe how much God was in control. 
(1)A re-now physician emailed us back within 24 hours from an inquiry email.  
(2) We were able to gather everything we needed to mail, get appointments for x-rays, etc..to send out the pre-evaluation packet to Joan Puglisi within one week. 
(3) And then within a week, we receive a phone call with a scheduled surgery date 2weeks away. 

One thing Dr. Park told us is that there is a HUGE difference between a "mild disability and NO disability." And after Emily has SDR, she will have "NO disability". She will also not need any orthopedic surgeries later on. She will have balance and will not fall. And though her gait will not be 100%, it will be normal enough. On a scale of 1= very bad and 10=perfect, Emily will be an "8". She will also be able to run, play hopscotch, jump rope, and do all the things that her little friends can do. Oh that is what I needed to hear and that is something I could accept for my Emily! David was willing to travel anywhere in the world if another option was available but none of the therapists, Pediatricians, Orthopedic Surgeons we spoke to here in  Orange County were willing to help us. Thank you, Dr. Park, for giving us hope!

I always remember what my mom told me. She said that God has blessed me tremendously all throughout my life. Without an ounce of struggles or hardships in my life, I went through life without putting God first;  And so as an adult, God wanted to show me that I do need HIM and I need to put HIM first in MY life!

What is even more perfect is how David's company RiverOne was bought out by I2 Technologies, Inc. With this transition, David got a better PPO health insurance and also had more flexibility in his work schedule to make it out for Emily's surgery. 

When we arrived in St.Louis, we could sense God's hands were upon us everywhere we went. The smallest things as finding the best parking spots wherever we went, good rooms in the hotel on the third floor which had the connection bridge from hotel into the hospital, super kind people always willing to lend a helping hand, good seats on airplane, kindness of the doctors and staff here at the hospital, getting a nice hospital room for Emily for post recovery. 

I do not believe that any of this is coincidence. If any of you think it is just a coincidence, I am really sad for you. My God in Heaven heard every last tear of sadness in my heart. He heard my anger and rage. He heard my frustration and denial when someone would call Emily, "disabled", "special needs child", " handicapped". He heard my sadness and frustration when someone would ask me if Emily can go to a normal school or would have to go to a special education school. He has even heard me ask Him if God is punishing Emily for all the rebellious things I did growing up. And God would say, "no, I am not."
God has heard it all both things that I may have said, mumbled, and buried deep deep down in my most inner private soul. And I love Him so much for hearing and listening to me.

April 17, 2006: Emily had a busy morning starting at 7:30am when she had an appointment with Dr. Park's office. Emily was evaluated. We met with Dr. Park, Joan, and also a physical therapist who gave Emily an evaluation. This process took almost 6 hours. Afterwards we took Emily to the St. Louis Zoo which the hospital staff recommended. They said we need to make Emily as happy and fun on this day because tomorrow morning is the surgery.

(my parents and Dave’s mom flew out with us)

 

April 18, 2006: SURGERY DATE 
Emily is scheduled for surgery. We arrive at same day surgery at 6:30am. Emily is set for surgery at 7:45am. Emily has no idea what is going on and she is sad, scared, and nervous. David and I try to comfort her as much as possible. It was great having the grandparents there too who were trying to make Emily laugh.
Her surgery lasted total of 4 hours.
Emily is then in Pediatric ICU for 48 hours.
Then she is moved up to 12th floor.
Emily has not eaten anything. She is on lots of IVs....
She has a "zipper" on her back of her spine where the incision was made to remove the spastic nerve permanently. 

And this is the outline of the SDR procedure that the surgeons did on Emily.  You can see where the incisions were made, how the nerves were removed, and the serious extent of this permanent surgery. Emily, age 4, went through alot! And the picture above shows Emily's "zipper".
SDR involves sectioning (cutting) of some of the sensory nerve fibers that come from the muscles and enter the spinal cord.

Two groups of nerve roots leave the spinal cord and lie in the spinal canal. The ventral spinal roots send information to the muscle; the dorsal spinal roots transmit sensation from the muscle to the spinal cord.

At the time of the operation, the neurosurgeon divides each of the dorsal roots into 3-5 rootlets and stimulates each rootlet electrically. By examining electromyographic (EMG) responses from muscles in the lower extremities, the surgical team identifies the rootlets that cause spasticity. The abnormal rootlets are selectively cut, leaving the normal rootlets intact.This reduces messages from the muscle, resulting in a better balance of activities of nerve cells in the spinal cord, and thus reduces spasticity.

Details of our SDR procedure Different surgical techniques are utilized to perform SDR. Neurosurgeons typically perform SDR after removing the lamina ( laminectomy ) from 5-7 vertebrae. That technique was also used at our Center to perform SDR on over 140 children with CP. However, we were concerned about possible problems that can arise from removal of such a large amount of bone from the spine. Additionally, because of the extensive removal of the bone, we could not offer SDR to children with weak trunk muscles or to adults.

In 1991, we developed a less invasive surgical technique, which requires removal of the lamina from only 1-2 vertebrae. We refined the technique further and currently remove the lamina from a single lumbar vertebra (Figure A&B).
 

SDR begins with a 1- to 2-inch incision along the center of the lower back just above the waist. The spinous processes and a portion of the lamina are removed to expose the spinal cord and spinal nerves. Ultrasound and an x-ray locate the tip of the spinal cord, where there is a natural separation between sensory and motor nerves. A rubber pad is placed to separate the motor from the sensory nerves. The sensory nerve roots that will be tested and cut are placed on top of the pad and the motor nerves beneath the pad, away from the operative field.

After the sensory nerves are exposed, each sensory nerve root is divided into 3-5 rootlets. Each rootlet is tested with EMG, which records electrical patterns in muscles. Rootlets are ranked from 1 (mild) to 4 (severe) for spasticity. The severely abnormal rootlets are cut. This technique is repeated for rootlets between spinal nerves L2 and S2. Half of the L1 dorsal root fibers are cut without EMG testing.

When testing and cutting are complete, the dura mater is closed, and fentanyl is given to bathe the sensory nerves directly. The other layers of tissue, muscle, fascia, and subcutaneous tissue are sewn. The skin is closed with glue. There are no stitches to be removed from the back. Surgery takes approximately 4 hours. The patient goes to the recovery room for 1-2 hours before being transferred to the intensive care unit overnight.
Advantages of our technique over other techniques for SDR
We believe that our SDR procedure has these significant advantages over others:

1. Reduced risk of spinal deformities in later years
2. Decreased post-rhizotomy motor weakness
3. Reduced hip flexor spasticity by sectioning the first lumbar dorsal root
4. Shorter-term, less intense back pain
5. Earlier resumption of vigorous physical therapy

Possible complications The dorsal rhizotomy is a long and complex neurosurgical procedure. As in other major neurosurgical procedures, it presents some risks. Paralysis of the legs and bladder, impotence, and sensory loss are the most serious complications. Wound infection and meningitis are also possible, but they are usually controlled with antibiotics. Leakage of the spinal fluid through the wound is another risk.
Abnormal sensitivity of the skin on the feet and legs is relatively common after SDR, but usually resolves within 6 weeks. There is no way to prevent the abnormal sensitivity in the feet. Transient change in bladder control may occur, but this also resolves within a few weeks. A few of our patients have experienced urinary tract infections and pneumonia.

April 20, 2006 : Emily has her first real meal today. Up till now she could not have anything to eat except ice chips. Her tummy was so empty and flat. But she enjoyed having a plum, chicken nuggets, and few bites of mac n cheese. She is unable to move. Lies flat on her back. Is on lots of pain medication. Sleeping most of the day and night.

 


















April 21, 2006 : Suppository used. She was not a happy camper, but fell into a deep sleep after the suppository worked.
Emily also received 2 physical therapy sessions today.
Medicine reduced. Lots of machines taken away now.  Has to re-learn how to sit up, crawl, and walk.

First one included sitting up in her bed. She was crying because it was so painful. She also learned to roll to her side. Still crying from the pain.
In the afternoon, we worked on moving her into the wheelchair. Also having her sit upright, feet flat on the floor standing. She cried and cried in such pain. It broke my heart to see Emily is excruciating pain. But I didn’t want to be weak. I had to be strong for Emily. 

We took her to the 8th floor garden and down to 1st floor gift store. There was also a playroom on the 8th floor too - separated by ages. 
Emily was also able to get her hair washed by this wonderful nurse who went out of her way for us!

April 22, 2006: Emily received morning therapy on 5th floor where she practiced rolling, crawling, sitting, and standing. * Emily has to re-learn how to do all this now. *
In the afternoon, the therapist used a walker to get Emily upright and helped her to move her feet and learn to walk again.
The agony on her face with each exercise was excruciating. But she is such a tough cookie that she tried everything to the best of her ability. She would bite her lips, cringe her forehead and eyes, you could see her wobbly legs and arms, but she kept going without stopping.

April 23, 2006: We just finished her last therapy session here in St. Louis. Emily walked holding my hands and Dawn, the therapist, hands. Her facial expression showed she was in pain, but she didn't say a peep or cry. She was so determined. What a strong girl she is, and just so brave!!!
She had one and half hours of therapy today. Did lots of stretching exercises, rolling, hamstring curls, etc...
After therapy, Emily was discharged from the hospital.  We are flying back home.
Emily had therapy at 8:30am.
Flight leaving at 1:30pm.
Should arrive at home 4:45pm

Even the airplane ride went so smoothly with the best flight attendants we could have asked for. I knew God had his angels hovering around Emily and embracing her for any discomfort she may have. Since we took Southwest, the flight attendant allowed us to board first. We got the closest seat with the most room. Emily was able to lay down across the 3 chairs. We had pillows and blankets around her body because any slight movement caused pain on her back. The plane ride was so smooth. Flight attendant was so nice and accommodating. Emily was heavily medicated with pain medicine and slept all of the way home. With her eyes opening here and there, she would just grin a smile to say, "Hi" and go back to sleep.

On a side-note, the only thing that I was annoyed at St Louis airport was security checkpoint. This woman wanted do thorough check on Emily. We had to get her out of the wheelchair. I was thinking to myself, "you got to be kidding. do you really think that we would hide drugs in our 4 yr old daughter who just had major spinal surgery?" Are you that dumb? So many passengers approached me and said, "I can't believe what that woman is doing to your little girl!" Then a Southwest manager came up to me and apologized for this woman’s insensitive behavior. At that moment, I knew God whispered "don't get all worked up, Esther. Just smile and let it go." And that is exactly what I did. I just laughed because it was pretty humorous. We got to the gate, we received first class treatment all the way. The entire crew on Southwest adored Emily and focused on making her as comfortable as possible on the flight home.  Even the stranger who sat behind us asked if we needed any help or assistance. He even offered his brand new neck pillow that he just purchased in the airport for Emily. God was there!
Emily slept most of the way home. When her back hurt from sitting, she did not peep a cry. She held in her pain and just whispered, "mommy, ouch ouch. my back hurts." Then my mom and I laid her down horizontally making sure her back was straight. And the entire crew made sure Emily was comfortable and that her back was straight.
We landed in 5 hours. Emily came home smiling. She had a good dinner. We found a surprise on our front door with a care package, a balloon, and a card. I showed the present to Emily. As she was lying flat on the couch, she asked to open the card. It was from Rick, Connie, and Ethan Yee. Oh my goodness. That was so sweet for them to say, "welcome home, Emily!" We will never forget that kindness and care you guys gave to Emily. She loved the present took it to her bed. It's tucked in at the feet of her bed!
Caleb and Susan (my cousin) Whang stopped by with tons of balloons and strawberry ice cream to welcome Emily home.
What a great way to come home. We are very exhausted, but HAPPY exhausted. We are anxious to see Emily move around with her "new legs". Even tonight, she wiggled her toes. That was something she could not do before. God is showing us miracle after miracle through Emily.

Home Schedule: Vigorous physical therapy 4 times a week at CHOC and lots of exercises at home. We have to keep in mind that she got "new legs" from God. And she has to re-learn to use those "new legs". The therapist said that within 2 weeks, we will see a huge improvement.
Now it'll be lots of intense physical therapy everyday for the next 4-6 months. Emily can return to preschool in 2-3 weeks while continuing therapy.
And we will be back in St. Louis or Houston (depending on where Dr. Park is) for follow-up visit in August.

Serial Casting: One additional thing that Emily will need to have done is something called Serial Casting because she hyper extends her knees and reduce muscle tightness and stretch out her heel cord. The serial casting will stretch and elongate her muscles from the calf to her heel cord. And she will need to wear it for 2-3 weeks. And every week her cast will have to be adjusted to get more stretches. This will be uncomfortable, but it'll really benefit her walking and balance in the long run. Without SDR where her muscles are extremely flexible, she would have had to be in the cast for many months! This way the duration is much shorter.
As a mom, I feel bad that Emily will have to endure this as well. But in the long run this will help her. 

In conclusion, we flew out on Easter Sunday = a new beginning for Emily.
We will always remember the greatest gift God gave to Emily on Easter Sunday, 
which is a new chance to tackle life with her "new legs"

This is a picture in August going to St. Louis for 3 months follow-up checkup.

And this Emily with Dr. Park, the most wonderful and caring doctor. Thank you, Dr. Park!

 And this is the therapist who evaluated Emily after SDR