Sasha Super Star

We just got back from a short trip to Philly for a braces check for Sasha. Everywhere and I mean everywhere, Sasha made a friend. Adults went out of their way to tell her she was beautiful in airports, bathrooms, airplanes, everywhere we were. My once reluctant talker was a social butterfly, starting conversations with adults and maintaining the conversation at a good back and forth level pretty well. For awhile it was all about talking about herself but she has already figured out that it is good to listen to the other person in a conversation too :) Not just women, but men were chatty with my daughter in a very social way.

If society as a whole were like this it would be so wonderful.

So I do have a negative to add to this post. A certain Iowa doctor that specializes in the spine told my daughter three weeks ago that the curve of her back was fine. In Philly her doctor immediately saw her and ordered a back x ray. Her back is curving rapidly and if not braced she will have not other option but surgery. This same Iowa doctor refused to help us with any of her treatment. If Sasha does not have her hip tendons released and her scoliosis treated then her shoulder will eventually touch her knee and she will be curled up like that the rest of her life! She will be stuck in a bed...exactly what her future was in Ukraine! But, this is America!!!! We are so blessed that this is not her future. We have an amazing doctor in Philadelphia that is treating her. Sasha will walk. Not perhaps, not maybe, but Yes! Her issues are really pretty treatable. Had she been born here she would have been walking a long time ago.

What I'm learning from all this is Fight for what you believe in. When people tell you no....ignore them and find the person that says Yes! There are wonderful people that care, that reach out, that take chances, that offer hope, that see beauty where others don't. Surround yourself with those people. As for a certain Iowa doctor...in the end it is his loss. He could have been a part of helping an amazing young girl reach her potential. He could have been a wonderful part of her journey. He could have been blessed by knowing her. I'm so thankful that I get that blessing!

If you haven't seen the movie Gifted Hands, you should. True story of an amazing doctor that reminds me of our doctor in Philadelphia.