Not so bad...

Getting Emma's back brace...excuse me, superhero shield, at Shriner's wasn't as bad as we thought it would be.  Now don't get me wrong - getting it fitted and everybody messing with her was pretty awful.  She's very scared anytime we put it on or take it off, but when it's actually on, she doesn't seem to have much of a problem with it.  This first one is of her after they did the initial fitting and were tweaking it.  She's still wearing the skin-tight "sleeve" that goes underneath the brace.

 

 

Waiting to be x-rayed in the brace and doing some shopping with Daddy in the meantime:

 

Wearing the brace and playing just fine while waiting to see the orthopedist.  She looks all bunched up and hunched over - this is mainly the result of her dress riding up over the brace...just something we'll have to keep doing - pulling her shirt/dress down.

 

Still waiting but discovering the racecar with Daddy...and then Daddy played his little heart out.

 

The first night we had the brace (Wednesday), Emma slept in it all night - nothing short of a miracle!  But we had been warned to watch her skin for places where it could be rubbing, and there are some major issues there.  So bad that we took the brace back for an adjustment on Friday, and she hasn't worn it since Friday afternoon because of the enormous bruises on her legs.  The adjustment on Friday morning didn't do squat.  The brace comes all the way down Emma's torso, so the hard plastic at the bottom rubs and digs into the front tops of her thighs when she sits and certainly when she crawls.  It's AWFUL, I'm telling you.  So we have to wait until Monday afternoon to try to get it fixed.  At least she can't feel those bruises - they do NOT look like they feel good.

I'll post more updates as we go along this week - there will be plenty of news coming right up!