Hip History...2 years on

Wow.  This month marks the 2 year anniversary of Jaimee's diagnosis and first operation for her bilateral hip dysplasia.  Two years ago, we were laughing at her cute little waddle she had when she walked, never imagining the huge ordeal that was to come upon us within weeks of diagnosis.  They almost missed it, but a 'just in case' xray discovered that our baby girl had been managing to run, jump and walk happily and pain free without her hips being in her sockets at all...we were all shocked and totally unprepared for what was to come.

How hips SHOULD be (Kates).....

..Jaimee's hips pre-surgery.  A mess.

  Just three weeks after the bombshell hit our family, we were booking in at Ronald McDonald House at Starship Hospital for a week.  Jaimee's hips were one of the worst cases that the experienced surgeon had seen, he couldn't believe she was even able to walk, let alone be painfree.  God had been looking after our wee princess.   We kissed Jaimee goodnight with a prayer as she calmly 'blew up balloons' - the first of many operations to come within the year.

   
Five slow hours later, we met a different child in recovery.  Where was our calm and happy girl?  Here was a distraught, crying, angry child who refused to eat for a week and screamed whenever a nurse entered her room.  The whole ward heard our child.  She didn't understand why she couldn't move anymore or why mummy couldn't pick her up and give her a big cuddle, and mummy was just as upset at the weight of this horrible cast.    After a week in hospital, we finally re-entered the big wide world...we were on our own now.  How would we do this?  Jaimee snapped out of it in the comfort of our own home, and we were finally starting to adjust...when we had to pack our bags for the second operation after just a week at home.

Here we go again.  It was a total repeat of the first time around.  Our poor baby took it out on mummy, her safety net and the one person she could totally let loose at.  "GET OUT" she screamed at me when I came into her hospital room.  Only daddy could make her happy some days.  It broke my heart, but I understood - I had been the one who had shown her photos of kids in cast and tried to prepare her for what was going to come.  It was all my fault.
At least this time around Jaimee got her lighter and prettier fibreglass cast.

Dealing with a child in a spica cast is crazy ridiculous.  Every little action takes four times as long.  We couldn't have coped without our family, friends and spica support group who were always there to help us.  We had to do everything for Jaimee...everything.  From carrying her to the toilet several times in the dead of the night and holding her over it while she went, to moving her every few minutes from activity to activity, to keeping her constantly entertained and comfortable.  I suddenly had a child with a disability.  Wheelchairs, fighting for government support and bad backs became part of our world. Not technically a disability and not an accident, we had to take time off work and ask friends to attend daycare with her so we could keep our jobs as no assistance is available for this gap in the system.  I  had meetings with our local MP to no avail.

I will never forget the amounts of pillows we had to carry everywhere, adjusting clothes to fit, sponge baths, the constant getting up in the night or the stares.  Kids adjust much better then adults though, and Jaimee's personality did eventually shine back through this horrid journey.  She laughed, she learnt to 'crawl' (and later walk) and she took it all in her stride.  Kate and her played endlessly together, and we all learnt together.  Jaimee, you were amazing.  What patience and perserverance you developed over this year.

Cast number 3 was met with mixed emotions.  We had been in plaster for 12 weeks now, and thought that this cast was going to be the last one...but we were wrong.  Being a day stay patient at Starship was so much simpler then the weeks we had gone through, but we missed the nurses on the ward.  An operation is still an operation, and Jaimee was very uncomfortable after this one.  Being able to move your knees for the first time in 3 months must have been so horrible and sore, we just wanted her old cast back as we listened to her scream when we carefully moved a skinny little leg.  The bonus of this cast was that Jaimee could now scoot along on a ride on bike, building that muscle back up and giving her so much for freedom that she even had breakfast on her bike!  She loved it.

Jaimee's final cast was the best of all, although has totally wrecked her feet position, which still turn in slightly after being cast too far down her ankles. In this cast, Jaimee was walking within the day after being discharged from Starship!  She swung her entire body around to move her legs, it was so funny to watch...but it meant that we could finally leave her at daycare alone... we will not take the joy of mobility for granted again.    

the cast comes off...LEGS!

Back to Starship for cast removal in October after 5 months in four different casts.  It was a good day, and the whole family were there to cheer her on.  Jaimee's skin was dry and flaky and her muscles had totally diminished, but we could see legs.  We could hug her (although moving her caused her pain for a while)!  It was bliss.  It took her weeks to learn how to walk again, her poor wee body just couldn't cope without the support of the cast, but she did it.  The pins came out in February 2010 and we said goodbye to Starship for a year, and operations for good (hopefully!).  

At her yearly checkup in 2011 we were finally given the all clear - apparently her hips were so perfect that the surgeon didn't need to see her for TWO years now.  God is Good...God is AMAZING.  So as I sit here and reflect on one of the biggest events in our families life, I wonder what her next checkup in February 2013 will bring.  

Jaimee still can't sit cross legged.  Her legs still seem a bit bowed and she runs with a wide gait.  If she tries to lift her leg up straight in front of her body, she struggles and her lower leg twists in and her toes curl.  She is lighter then her younger sister.  There is a way to go yet.  But she is a fighter and takes it all in her stride.  She doesn't even notice these things.    This year Jaimee finished up with her physio and started gymnastics and swimming lessons.  Yesterday, I marvelled as I watched her racing around the school grounds again and again and again with a look of joy on her face.  "What are you running alone for Jaimee?" I asked.  "To get fit! It's fun!" was her laughing response.  I am so proud of Jaimee, and I am proud of our family, our friends and our God for seeing us through this journey.  Thank you.