The casting continues

We got our plane tickets and we are off to Philadelphia on May 6th to see Dr. VanBosse, the arthrogryposis foot specialist, at Shiner's Hospital. He suggested casts last summer but John and I were not able to stay on the east coast. Here in Seattle Dr. Mosca did casts last fall for Luca's left foot with some improvement but his foot has not held in the position. Currently, Luca is limping when walking bare foot. Recent X-rays showed the front bones in the foot all on top of each other again and going inward, opposite of his heel bone. Dr. Mosca said he thought Luca needs a surgery that removes part of the heel bone and puts it in another place in his foot but Luca's bones are more like that of a two year old than three year old. His bones are not yet hard enough to do surgery on so this would be a least a year out.
Dr. VanBosse last summer thought he could further correct the foot without any surgery. We don't know if he can do it but we are going to give him (and Luca) a chance. Now is the time to try since Luca's feet are still somewhat moldable, plus, I am on maternity leave and John can take FMLA (family leave) although mostly unpaid.
We will be gone for 3-5 weeks and will know more after the first 3 appointments in Philly. Thankfully, Juliette is an easy going baby and will hopefully travel well. Luca will be in long leg casts (as we understand) so we are already trying to think of ways to keep him busy while we are out there as he will not be able to walk. We are also grateful that John's aunt and grandma live about and 1 1/2 hour drive from Philly and we are able to stay with them. We can also stay at the Ronald McDonald home in Philadelphia on nights before early morning appointments.
Our biggest need right now is find a car to use, if anyone knows of one, let us know:) We bought one way tickets because we don't know how long we are going to be gone but guessing 3-5 weeks. We will keep you posted...

Luca went to open gym gymnastics this morning and loved the ladybug stamp he got on his foot so he was showing that to the camera. We also enjoyed another sunny day here in Seattle! Yay for Spring! We are loving the sunshine!