Our 24th trip to Greenville, SC for appointments at Shriners Children’s Greenville has come and gone. Yes, our twenty-fourth trip. Considering at least a third of those trips have been for multiple days and we nearly always have multiple appointments within a day, I can’t even begin to tell you how many actual doctor appointments we’ve been to up to this point.

What I can tell you is that we essentially only had one purpose and appointment today, which kicks off what will be our fourth year of traveling to Shriners in Greenville, since our very first appointment back on April 2, 2021.

It was 3 years ago (plus 2 days) since our third visit when Harrison had his first procedure performed in Greenville. This was his first tenotomy procedure (Achilles tendon release) where he received his brightly colored green casts. This was still back during COVID protocols that would only allow one parent into the hospital. I had no idea that the procedure was happening until it did. Those were some days back then!

It is hard to grasp just how many things have happened and how many things have changed since that third visit.

However, as the saying goes, the more things change, the more they stay the same.

After 24 visits, our routine is down pretty well, including where we stay. We mixed up hotels the first few times we came to Greenville but quickly settled on the one we preferred.

Do you know what happens after having nearly 2 dozen late-night check-ins? You’re recognized. You’re no longer asked for your ID or given the ole “hotel stay” routine. The hotel clerk knows who I am, knows my face, etc. During this last stay, I only got a “welcome back” and “Are you using the same card on file?”

I’m one step away from having my name yelled out across the lobby as I walk a la ‘Cheers.’

If you can’t guess by the additional exposition, this visit was kinda barebones and uneventful.

Our trip down today has essentially one purpose, and that was to pick up Harrison’s new TLSO (Thoracic-Lumbar-Sacral Orthosis) brace, as he outgrew the braces he received last April months ago. It was pretty much what we expected. We picked up the new brace, went to an x-ray, then some adjustments and a quick Doctor visit, and we were out.

Harrison may not agree with that assessment, as he was pretty much done with all things after nearly 3 hours of walking to different parts of the building and having his new brace put on and then taken off over and over. With the distance we travel, and the importance that this brace carries, even the tiniest of adjustments were important to ensure the brace had the perfect fit, to ensure the best possible correction. “Ms. Megan” from P.O.P.S. was determined to ensure Harrison had the perfect brace that not only gave him that needed correction but that he could sit up in and walk in! Yes, before we left, Harrison had taken steps while wearing his new brace. I wasn’t sure if he would be able to do that right out the gate, but as always, the kid pushed through.

While it may take him a bit to get his bearings again, as his center of gravity is different in the brace, he is not shying away from the challenge.

So we’ve started a new book. Year four. Considering how drastic things have changed year-to-year, not to mention the ups and downs we had the past year, I won’t even begin to guess where we’ll be when we close this book in April 2025.

And while the beard is getting grayer, and the wrinkles are beginning to get a firm grip, watching Harrison grow, watching him find his path, and watching him thrive, makes it all worth it and then some.