I just ran across some photos of Sean as a baby, before he had surgery on his hands and feet. I agonized over whether or not to have it done, because I was terrified that something might go wrong and Sean might have problems with function after the surgery. It is so hard to put your child into a doctor's hands and trust them completely.  At least it was for me.

But, Dr. Seitz did some good work!  I thought I'd share a few "before" images with moms who might have to deal with this, or some other anomaly.

note the bend and twist in his right index finger- the doc straightened it somewhat, and he is right handed, so he uses that finger constantly! The function is definitely improved.

There was a major space in the middle of his hand where his middle finger is missing. His middle metacarpal bone was removed, and the space was reduced dramatically, so now his ring finger doubles as a middle finger, and his fingers extend straight rather than in a "v". 

This is the day after surgery- poor little guy....great pain meds, though!  I'm so glad this is over.

But it was worth it!  He won't remember the pain or the trouble, except for the pictures, and we couldn't be happier with the results!

This is Sean today, learning to fish with his sister. If you don't count, his hands look very normal- They also function quite normally, too. He's into everything!!  I'm so grateful.

Tags: hand anomaly, surgery, birth defect, shfm

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