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The Princess and The Prosthetic

The Hardest Decision

September 12, 2019 in Family, Warrior Princess - No Comments

It was the hardest decision we have ever made.

Callie’s doctors explained the options to us.  We could try multiple intensive surgeries to try to lengthen her leg bone.  Graft some sort of a stable ankle joint.  Stretch and pull and tug and tear her leg into a semblance of a viable option.

Or we could amputate her leg below the knee.  While she was young, so that walking with a prosthetic would be the only life she would know.  The only leg she would know.

To say that it was an impossible decision is an understatement.  How do you weigh the potential to have a real leg against the very real option of a prosthetic leg? Do you flip a coin?  Heads you have a weak leg that might not work properly? Tails you have a prosthetic leg that would be the only leg she would ever know?  How do you roll the dice that even with all of the surgeries, it still might not work and we would have to do an amputation anyway?  How do you make that choice for your 18 month old–when she is too little to even weigh in on the decision?   How would I explain it to Callie when she was old enough to understand why we took her foot and her leg?  How would I explain it if we didn’t amputate and she spent her childhood in the hospital?  Do you choose hope?  Or do you choose peace?

How do you choose?

CallieAmputation2

We chose peace.  A prosthetic would give Callie a shot at a normal life.  Her prosthetic would give her the opportunity to play, to run, and to stand.  Her prosthetic would give her a childhood spent outside, finger painting and blowing bubbles.  Her prosthetic would give her a stable foundation to grow.  She would have two legs–one would just be a pink princess print.  Or cheetah print. Or mermaid print.  Or whatever her sweet little heart desired when we built them.  She would grow up knowing that Mommy and Daddy made that very hard decision for her.  That we lifted that burden off of her shoulders and placed it squarely on our own to carry.  That we felt it was more important for her to have a “normal” life than a “normal” leg. That our family was strong and could handle the challenges that would come our way.  That no matter what we would love every single beautiful piece of her–flesh and bone.  Heart and soul.  Carbon fiber and titanium.  Always and forever.

Callie Amputation

Jaime

Hi everyone! Thanks so much for stopping by! My name is Jaime! Wife to my better half, James, who is my moon and all of my stars. We are parents to our little warrior princess, Callie Grace. We started this blog to share our journey as we navigate through our crazy beautiful life. Callie is a lower limb amputee and I am a Type One Diabetic. We are hoping to change the face of beauty one step at a time! We hope by sharing our story, you leave with a little bit more inspiration and hope! Thank you so much for stopping by and joining our tribe!

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About Me

About Me

Jaime

Hi Y'all! I’m Jaime, a proud working mama, author, girl boss and wifey to an ultra-adorable husband. I am a huge book nerd, I drink coffee like my life depends on it, and run on dry shampoo and Amazon Prime. Leopard print is my favorite color. I am a story teller at heart and this blog is a virtual scrapbook of our crazy beautiful life. I'm a Type One Diabetic and our little warrior princess Callie is a lower limb amputee. By sharing how we’ve chosen to flourish in the garden we’ve been planted in, we hope you can take some small nuggets of hope, inspiration, and laughter. We are so grateful that you’ve found us—welcome to the fam. We embrace our perfectly imperfect lives and don’t let the doctor’s appointments, spreadsheets, speaking engagements, 10th birthday parties to plan, housework or date nights overwhelm us. Those things are just the beautiful reminders of all the blessings in our lives. Read More

Jaime

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