June 4, 2013 Surgery Day and Tender Mercies

Today we had a nice nurse come in and talk with us. She has a 30 year old daughter in need of the same type of surgery that Bryce has had. She gave us some insight to how Dr West became a 'hip specialist'. So, before I forget, I thought that I should write the story down- not just for you, but for my own record as well as for Bryce.

Dr West is an Orthopedic Surgeon who has performed ankle, knee and hip surgery numerous times. There became a demand in our area for hip surgery to fix Femoroacetabular Impingement (FAI). Hip replacement was the fix for this, but this wasn't the answer for young adults ages 18-30 who were being diagnosed with FAI. The closest doctors who were well known for their new method to fixing FAI are in Tennessee and Arizona. Last year, Dr West attended a class in Europe to learn more about this type of surgery and has now become 'the specialist' in Utah. He performs more FAI surgeries than any ankle or knee surgeries. He also performs FAI surgery on patients ages 18-30. They have found that this type of surgery is preventing these young adults from having hip replacement as an older adult.

Bryce had never had any symptoms or concerns with his hips before he left on his mission. (His knees were a different story.) However, if he had had these symptoms earlier, I'm not sure that we would have travelled to Tennessee or Arizona, or if we would have even known where to go to help him. The fact that Dr West had invested his time into researching FAI repair and the fact that he is here in Utah is a huge blessing. The one amazing part of this story, was that he just learned how to fix this one year ago. He has some experience 'under his belt' along with a great knowledge of how to fix the problem.

I also just talked with Matt tonight and he told me this neat story. Elder Walker- a missionary who just returned to our hometown of Pleasant View, from the El Salvador, San Salvador mission, told Matt that the mission is still praying for Bryce! This is one of those moments when you feel a hug from heaven! A moment when you really know that Heavenly Father loves us and that he does care for each one of us.

There are great and amazing things happening in our life. We feel very humbled to be the recipients of Lord's blessings.

Another sweet note- One of the nurses made Bryce an Oreo Cookie Shake after lunch! He was so excited to have that.