Visit to Shriner's Hospital

We have more good news to report about our little Wolf! We went to see an OI expert at Shriner’s Hospital last Friday (she happens to be the same doctor who sees Atticus Shaffer, the youngest kid on the TV show “The Middle”). The news she had for us confirmed what we had been hearing from our Kaiser doctors.


According to the doctor, despite the different types of OI out there, they tend to categorize actual symptoms into three main categories: mild, moderate, and severe. After examining Wyatt and looking at x-rays, she called his symptoms mild, with the main risk at this point being additional fractures in his femurs because of the bowing. She definitely advised us NOT to pursue treatment at this stage since it doesn’t seem necessary yet. She expects him to walk without too much trouble, although it may be delayed somewhat. She said that we were doing a fine job with him and encouraged us to keep doing what we’re doing.

Even though we didn’t really get any new information, I’m really glad we went to see her. She’s seen many, many OI patients, and knowing that an expert has examined our baby is comforting. It also gives us an additional measure of comfort that our doctors at Kaiser, while maybe not having the most experience with this, have been pretty good with their assessment. Still, I think if/when it comes time to get treatment, we’ll go through Shriner’s. The free expert care is just too much to pass up, even if it’s not all that convenient to drive into downtown L.A. (Although with God’s blessing, we shouldn’t have to do that very often.)

As for Wyatt’s development, things are going well. He’s two and a half months old, but he’s been sleeping through the night for a couple of weeks now. Julia is thrilled about that! He’s on a normal growth and weight curve, and his muscle tone apparently looks good, although it’s a bit underdeveloped from the three weeks he had to spend in the harness. He’s spending more time on his tummy now and his neck is getting a lot stronger.

Our little boy is doing well! We’ll keep you posted as things go on.