The Little Lion - Rory's Story

 It's been far too long since I've posted an update and certainly not for lack of activity. It's been an incredibly busy summer and I just haven't had chance to share the latest. So I'll try and do a roundup of key leg-related events as well as where we are in the surgery timeline.  Walking Progress Starting with the non medical stuff, Rory has made some great progress and we have exciting milestones/moments to share!  In May we went to Disneyland with family and made incredible memories. Rory was overjoyed and proud to show Mickey Mouse his "Mickey Leg". Mickey signed his prosthetic, which had us in [happy] tears. Later, our prosthetic centre Blatchford coated the prosthetic so that the marker pen wouldn't rub off. Certainly one to cherish! All of his nursery friends were really impressed and its things like this that make the experience of wearing a prosthetic a positive one for Rory; he's genuinely proud and happy to wear his leg, as opposed to ...

Over the last month we've had a handful of check-ups with Rory's consultants; we've seen his main Paediatric Consultant who oversees his general health and we've caught up with the Plastics team for a review of his skin graft. We've also had sessions with Physio from both Grimsby and Sheffield.  Medical Update Generally, Rory is doing really well! Developmentally he is doing excellently for his age, which was a relief to hear - there is always a worry in the back of our minds as to whether the meningitis will have any long term affects on his mental abilities. Fortunately there are no indications whatsoever that this is the case, although we'll obviously watch this as he grows. Rory is able to hold himself up and balance on his one leg, which his physios say is a great achievement for any 9 month old, let alone one with pretty much one leg! Although we are still trying to encourage him to crawl, it's looking more and more likely that he will skip crawling al...

It seems fitting to share a post about gratitude at the end of Baby Loss Awareness Week. Sadly, like all of us, I know many families who have lost a little angel. I've given our own little miracle an extra cuddle tonight on behalf of all those parents, as I'm sure many of you have done this week.   Which really does put things into perspective for this post.  Our family has had its own tough ride over the past three months. It has felt on occasion like every time we've taken a couple of steps forward, we'd encounter a setback. Fortunately however, things seem to have settled down and we're having a good run of things going to plan... I've probably just jinxed us now! Since opening up on social media we've received quite a few comments, both publicly and privately, about how we're managing to stay positive, so I thought I'd use this post to talk a little bit more about that.  Rory's Smiles For starters, just look at his little face! It's reall...