Our first visit to Shriners Children’s Greenville of the year, our 27th visit, is in the books.
Thankfully, unlike our last visit, this was a quick 1-day affair.
Typically, our appointments are scheduled for the mornings (so we can hit the road home as quickly as possible) but because of some rescheduling, we found ourselves in the rare situation of not having an appointment until 12:30 PM. So we had time to kill between our hotel checkout and when we needed to be at Shriners Children’s. So what do we choose to do? Go to a random donut cafe in Greenville for coffee and carbs. We visited Mochibees Donut Cafe, where we learned that our son is not a fan of photo booths but we are of Vietnamese Milk Coffee.

Once we made it to Shriners, we had check-ups scheduled with Dr. Ray and Dr. Hyer. (Ms Lisa also squeezed in a quick hello/update.)
We also got to experience a fire drill while sitting in the waiting area, something that we did not have scheduled, but allowed me to opportunity to notice the rock patterns on the waterfall display. The water was turned off (potentially a first for our visits) and I noticed you could see an ‘H’ within the rock patterns that are typically hidden by the flowing water. An appropriate reminder that we are where we need to be.

Dr. Ray was happy with Harrison’s progress. While he does have slight contracture in his elbow and his wrists, he’s slowly been using his right hand more and more and developing new skills. Whether it is from working at therapy, doing things at school, or self-discovery while he’s playing at home, Harrison is slowly unlocking his way of doing things, and with that in mind, Dr. Ray is happy with how things currently are. We continue to utilize his wrist splints at night, but for now, we just continue moving forward, and revisit in January 2026!
Between the visits with Dr. Ray and Dr. Hyer, Ms. Lisa popped her head in to say hi and to make sure those previously mentioned wrist splints were still fitting well. We assured her they were good, but made no promises that we wouldn’t see her when we return in February. Harrison also had an opportunity to show off his skills with his fidget popper, where he meticulously pushed down the bubbles with either his index or middle finger. Something he has just recently started doing (we’re talking within the past week) and Ms. Lisa was ecstatic to witness his progress.
Finally was Dr Hyer, and there was a lot covered in the short check-up.
She was happy with his progress in his walking and balance, especially when we told her how he is stepping up on more things and is walking around (including down the hall) at school. During his exam, she pointed out how his knee contractures were starting to creep back a bit. Nothing surprising or uncommon with AMCers. Honestly, the big surprise was her pointing out how tight his hamstrings were. I’ve always had tight hamstrings and made the joke that he gets that honestly, but she wanted to see them much looser than they currently are. Fortunately, I may know a few stretches that will be getting thrown into the rotation now.
The conversation then went to what’s next. We will revisit with Dr. Hyer in six months, where there will be new x-rays, photos, and potentially more that visit, with a look towards 2026 for potential surgery and serial casting to work on the legs and feet. More on that after the next visit. While you never want your child to have to go through surgery, and I’m not looking forward to Harrison being put under anesthesia or into leg casts again, there are some possibilities on the far-off horizon that I’m optimistic about. It looks like 2026 will be the year of fun with these upcoming procedures that we’ll call “maintenance” procedures. All in the name of Harrison’s progress toward increased mobility and independence.
Next up will be a visit with Dr. Pete in February, and after our last visit, this isn’t a trip I’m particularly excited about. The time leading up to these spine check-ups is always nerve-racking!
Until then, though, we’ll continue to walk, stretch, and pop bubbles on the fidget popper!





