Anna and her dad go to the doctor.

If you follow Sarah’s blog you know my daughter Anna and you know Anna's medical history and her physical limitations. You also may know that each of the girls, including Anna, have recently had rare alone time with either mommy or daddy. Anna and I had one-on-one time last week. Our time together that morning consisted of our first meeting with her GI doctor, followed by a visit to my office. Both went well.

As a reminder, Anna has five doctors she sees at least once a year. She sees her pediatrician, her neurosurgeon, nephrologist, urologist and neurologist. She now has her very own gastroenterologist. SIX doctors.

In my inner soul lies a huge amount of gratitude for Anna’s health. To some this may not make sense, to others it may be understandable. It could be worse. It could be much “worse”. We could be talking about wheelchairs. After Sarah’s first ultrasound and the discovery of the opening in Anna’s spine, we were told about selective reduction options. Spina bifida is not pretty. And it does not go away.

I've gotten comments from people such as “well, she will get better, right?” or “she will not always be like this, right”. I understand comments like that are often said out of ignorance. Comments like that may also reflect the person’s sympathy. In other words: I don’t like the fact that Anna has a condition so…I’ll just pretend like it will go away and that will make me feel better.

Yes, I get the “why Anna?” attitude at times. I get mad, maybe even a little bitter that Anna will be physically restricted throughout her life. Doctor visits, daily medications and Anna’s unsteadiness on her feet sometimes make this dad mad. Sarah & I have learned however, that all these “things” make Anna even more special, more lovable and more adorable.

We have a Fisher Price jungle gym type thing in our back yard. Thank you Grammy. Check out Anna (and Allie) play on the slide in the video below. Not bad for a girl with physical limitations, eh? Go Anna!