life is beautiful. again.

So we went to Salt Lake to Shriners hospital on Wednesday this week. We sat the doctor down with saw in hand (his hand, of course) and said, "This cast is totally digging into her lap when she sits in her wheelchair all day, see how her leg is all red from the pressure?" He started cutting. Almost two inches came off the bottom of her cast. Next we say, "Her right arm is having a LOT of issues, the position that the cast has put her shoulder in is very good for her posture, I'm sure, but it keeps sticking straight up in the air and locking her elbow and getting stuck! It is pulling the muscles tight all the way down her back and we can't reach it to rub it out, not even with a wooden spoon! (thanks, mom...) Is there any way we could cut a window in the back?" Sure, he says, and starts cutting away. This is the point where he says, "Hey, it needs to be comfortable!" I looked at him and (laughing) said, "It's not EVER going to be comfortable, all we're looking for is wearable." So as he's cutting away at the window in her back, I thought to myself, "Why not..." and I said, "I know this is asking a lot and I'm sure that they are important to the structure of the cast (this is what the other dr. had said when I asked him) but she's been SOOOOO emotional about these handlebar straps over her shoulders. Would it ruin everything to get rid of them?" Nope, he said, and sliced them right off. Shawnie was hilarious. She just kept saying "thank you, thank you, thank you!" It ended up being one of the most worthwhile trips we've ever made to Salt Lake. Her spirits are high, her whining is low, and life is beautiful once again.