And, we're off!

An amazing journey is about to begin for our sweet girl, Mariel Rose.  For anyone reading who hasn't been with us on the trip so far, Mariel was born with a rare bone disorder that causes one of her legs to grow faster than the other.  If left untreated, her one leg could grow many inches longer than the other by the time she is an adult.  Mariel currently walks with the aid of a 3 inch lift on her shoe.  By the time she becomes a young adult, her leg length discrepancy (LLD) will become too great to be remedied with a shoe lift.  This conclusion led many doctors we've met along the way to suggest amputation and prosthesis as a possible solution.  Enter the answer to our prayers, Dr. Dror Paley.  We first met Dr. Paley in January 2010 in West Palm Beach, Florida.  He is a world renowned orthopaedic surgeon who is the most experienced at limb lengthening and deformity correction in the United States and world today.  He has pioneered many innovative surgical techniques for the treatment of limb-length discrepancy and has literally written the book on the subject.  As he examined Mariel for the first time, we waited with our breath held for his thoughts.  Hearing his words that day brought tears to our eyes.  He said confidently, "I can fix this."  Finally, after almost two years of devastating consultations with others, we began to exhale.  On December 15th, our tenacious 3 year old will undergo a life changing surgery, followed by a 3-4 month rehabilitation, that will add three inches to her right leg.

We will set out on our trek to West Palm Beach in just a few days.  Although we are excited and grateful beyond words to have found an excellent doctor to help Mariel, of course we are filled with nervousness and worry.  At the same time, we are certain of Dr. Paley's ability and completely motivated by our love for this incredible child, our beautiful daughter who is going to surprise us all.  We hope you will follow along as we do our best to keep information coming through our blog, "Mariel's Rose."  Stay tuned, and please keep Mariel in your prayers, especially on the morning of Thursday, December 15th.  In the meanwhile, you can check Dr. Paley out here:  http://www.paleyinstitute.org/

Our mantra, "We can do this!"

Rose coloredly yours,
Mary, Dan & Mariel