Home again, home again...

What a day.

Another go-round in The Clinic. You know you have been spending too much time at The Hospital when everyone knows you by name - and they have more than a thousand other patients...

We didn't get to see The Doctor; instead we saw his NP, Cathy. We get along well with Cathy, and Twinks responds well to her. We saw all of our favorite nurses as well; before it was all over we were everywhere but X-ray today.

Cathy went back over everything again. Why The Twinkies' feet hurt. Why they won't ever be "normal". What will happen if she has the surgery - and what will happen if she doesn't. Why they don't want her to be in a wheelchair - but they understand if she needs it.

All in all, Cathy spent just a bit more than 30 minutes with us, patiently answering questions, going over things again so that Twinks understood everything. With all of the bad news, there was a tiny bit of good news: the Hospital will be doing an "Outreach" clinic in our Greater Metro Area next spring, so that will mean one less trip to the Hospital. Outreach appointments are rare; we are lucky if we get an Outreach Clinic here every other year.

Then it was over to O & P - the braces that we went to get just eight weeks ago already have to be replaced. Twinks has had a growth spurt, and so one of the reasons why she started hurting again is that the braces no longer fit as they should. Big J introduces us to New David - the newest member of the O & P staff. New David survived Hurricane Katrina, and then decided he was never going back to The Big Easy again. He and his family moved to Hospital City, and New David is very happy to be working and living there. Big J did the casts that will create the molds; New David will make the molds, and then drape the plastic over them, shaping and creating the braces that will hold Twinks feet so that they don't hurt when she walks. Big J will do the final fittings; he will take the "raw" braces and truly customize them for our Twinkie Girl.

The problem is, the new braces won't be ready this time until after Thanksgiving. The braces that Twinks has now are too small - and because they were molded so perfectly to her feet, there is little "adjusting" that can be done. Big J did as much as he could today, but the fact remains: Twinks is just going to have to stay off of her feet as much as possible until the new braces are ready. New David pledges to do his best; if he can get them done sooner, O & P will call us.

Now we wait, and hope that New David can get Twinks new-and-improved braces ready in record time. In a fit of optimism, I am leaving the suitcase out...