Our first visit of 2024, and overall 23rd visit to Greenville, SC, and the Shriners Children’s Greenville is in the books. Rarely do I not have a ton to write about after a trip, but thankfully this is one of those times.

A two-day visit, where we met with both Dr. Pete and Dr. Hyer, went pretty much without a hitch.

The first day, the day I was dreading, was our latest appointment with Dr. Pete. We hadn’t seen Dr. Pete since last September, and the unknown condition of HG’s spine has been a strong source of anxiety, especially in recent weeks leading up to this visit. In true Harrison fashion, however, he proved to be resilient.

Not only was he able to stand for the first time for his x-ray, but his spine was essentially unchanged from the last visit. So, 51 weeks since we received our first TLSO brace, he was measured for a new one, which we will pick up in April.

Despite the knot that had been growing in my gut for the past few months, the visit with Dr. Pete couldn’t have gone better.

One of the positives of having appointments spread out across multiple days is having the ability to get out and visit Greenville. After the relief that came from our appointment with Dr. Pete, a return to one of our favorite spots was in order, as the weather was too good to pass up.

Few things can relax me more during our trips than walking around Falls Park at the Reedy.

Dr. Hyer had not seen Harrison in person since his last straight leg cast removal in October. So the standing, and especially the walking, were new developments that she had yet to see. Between Harrison’s progress and the custom birdhouse she was gifted from my father-in-law, Dr. Hyer seemed moved by the appointment. Something we’re more accustomed to experiencing with Dr. Pete than with Dr. Hyer.

It’s crazy to think on this scale, but Dr. Hyer is already making plans for when H is 6(!!). To say she was happy with his progress would probably be an understatement. She’s happy with how his feet and ankles are looking, and outside of trying to work on posture some, we’re basically at a point where we just keep doing what we’re doing.

At no point would I have let myself think that at this point we would be where we are. Harrison is walking and getting stronger and more confident with each step. He is going to preschool 2 days a week and loving it, and we’re talking about working on posture.

Things feel as if they’re progressing so fast now, that I almost find myself wanting them to slow down, if even just for a second. We do have a few different things coming up shortly, and I’ll hold off until our next visit to Shriners when we pick up Harrison’s new brace, but we might just be to a point where I can finally take a breath.

This visit also closes out year 3 of coming to Shriners Children’s Greenville. The anniversary of our first visit is April 2, so we’ll be starting year 4 picking up Harrison’s new TLSO brace next month.