We looked forward to this past Tuesday with great enthusiasm, anticipating Emmaline’s spica cast being removed! Everything turned out great: the cast was removed without incident and in its place is a small removable plastic/foam/velcro brace. Now comes the long road of our daughter regaining strength in her legs. Upon removal of the cast, her legs practically flopped wide open. The cast had acted as an exoskeleton of sorts, and so her muscles basically got used to doing nothing. But knowing this girl, within a few days, she’ll be crawling around!

Here are a few photos documenting this “independence day”…

Mommy holding her in anticipation of cast removal:

The nurse prying open the cast with pliers:

The brace she’ll be wearing full-time for the next 4 weeks:

A big grin on her face in her new condition!