Hi, Mark!  Awhile ago you wrote in a message to Ardith Hinton:   
      
   AH>  One of the endearing things about Nora as a baby was   
   AH>  that she'd quite happily adjust to the shape of the   
   AH>  person holding her.  And it didn't occur to me until   
   AH>  we lent one of her classmates a pair of boots that   
   AH>  I'd forgotten how to put boots on "normal" kids who   
   AH>  don't know how to help me.  :-)   
      
   MH>  Our son is also very flexible.  He can bend in ways   
   MH>  that would make something in my body snap.   
      
      
             Likewise WRT how Nora often bends her ankles, especially the one she   
   broke as the result of a fall when she was in her early teens.  The orthopedic   
   surgeon told us it was actually rather fortunate that her ankle bent until the   
   knob collided with other bones on the same side because a broken ankle is much   
   easier to fix & heals much more quickly than soft tissue damage... [wry grin].   
      
      
      
   MH>  After doing more thinking about the situation, we have   
   MH>  since decided to go back to our original surgeon (whom   
   MH>  performed the operation on our son when he was 1 day old).   
      
   MH>  About 3 weeks ago we had another contrast study and we   
   MH>  will be discussing the surgery with him this Tuesday.   
      
      
             IOW, you & your wife have agreed on taking this course of action.  I   
   think it's important that parents work together in such situations.  While she   
   may be chief breadwinner at present, her input is highly significant too.  :-)   
      
      
      
   MH>  The good news is the area has gone down in size, but not   
   MH>  enough.  He is going to need a temporary "redirection" for   
   MH>  around 6-8 months and then the final corrective surgery can   
   MH>  be done and all will be well.   
      
   MH>  We are all looking forward to that..  :)   
      
      
             Yes.  You've done your homework & you have confidence in the doctor.   
   If I understand the situation correctly you have time to be there for your son   
   as well because (by some people's standards) you are underemployed at present.   
   By my standards, the contribution you've been making as the father of this kid   
   is a pearl beyond price.  AFAIC there's no more important work even though you   
   don't get paid in coin of the realm for doing it.  If you truly believe you've   
   made the right decision, that goes a long way.  And as a nurse commented about   
   another four-year-old in a book I read when Nora was about the same age... she   
   didn't understand why she was in hospital, but accepted it because her Mom was   
   with her.  IMHO Bernie Siegel would approve.  At any rate I certainly do.  :-)   
      
             For those who tuned in years after Nora was diagnosed with leukemia,   
   and I hastily packed a hospital suitcase, and I grabbed the library book which   
   was on top of the pile on our window sill, and I finally got around to reading   
   it after memorizing everything you never wanted to know about leukemia because   
   oncology parents must pass a test on this stuff before their kid is discharged   
   ... Bernie Siegel is an oncologist who wondered why some people survive cancer   
   while others don't.  When I read his book I realized I'd been doing exactly as   
   he said (athough others thought I was crazy) & decided to do more of it.  That   
   was how this echo was born.  Her Nibs is still alive & well, thankyou....  ;-)   
      
      
      
      
   --- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+   
    * Origin: Wits' End, Vancouver CANADA (1:153/716)