Our daughter's third week of traction is complete. We are all thankful that the week has drawn to a close, as it has been an emotionally fragile one. Our hippie continues to remain in good spirits a majority of the time, but her emotional lows are making us a bit tense. We do not attribute this directly or solely to traction, but moreso a reflection of her social and intellectual needs in light of being cooped up. Below are our latest thoughts:
1. The blog has focused primarily on Hip Chick's experience, with some reference to her older sibling. How has the experience affected Dad and Mom?
This experience has been emotionally trying at times and physically exhausting, but neither of us has lost our cool. We each experienced our own period of grief between her diagnosis and the onset of traction. Her taping appointment was our most difficult experience to date. She laid in my lap as they taped her legs and I attempted to sing her favorite song, but couldn't manage the words halfway through. My husband had to turn away and wipe his eyes at one moment during the taping.
We made a pact going into this that we wouldn't allow this experience tear at us or the children and have maintained positive attitudes since bringing the traction device home. We each have hobbies that we can enjoy at home, to help diffuse some of our mental stress. Our socialization has also stifled a bit during this time, however, so we are excited about this phase drawing to a close next week. Once our hippie recovers from surgery, we can begin taking her out more.
2. Have Big Sister's thoughts or attitude changed much with her second visit?
It has helped that she had extra activities to busy herself this weekend. Yesterday, she had a sports event and birthday party. Today, she had a morning playdate. She continues to extend empathy for her sister, as shown in the photo above. She informed me last night that "it is fun to carry my sister." During Hip Chick's after dinner reprieve, Big Sis insisted on treating her to an extra stroll through the neighborhood and begged to pull Hip Chick herself.
3. Which new aids have made the greatest impact this week?
The dry shampoo and bean bag have been the most helpful products this week. The dry shampoo helped her last nearly a week between shampoos, which helps Mommy and Daddy. The bean bag helps her to sit up while remaining attached to the traction unit, which aids Hip Chick's disposition (and everyone else's nerves).
4. What is the focus for this last week of traction?
We need to purchase new diapering supplies for the spica cast period, as that will be a major adjustment. We also need to look at clothing. Her spica cast will add an inch or two of girth and extend from her armpits to her ankles. Pants will be unnecessary, but pajama tops and breezy blouses or tunics (in a larger size than usual) will be necessary. We are ready to order her spica chair, but the manufacturer advises that we cannot do so until we have her exact cast measurements.
5. So far, the blog reads as though the traction period is the most difficult part of the process. Does that mean it will be smooth sailing after her surgery?
Not exactly. For us parents, traction seemed ominous because it has to be managed at home, which left big questions as to how we would balance work and our hippie's home care. Her upcoming 18 week casting period feels different to us because she can return to daycare, which means fewer late nights working at the dining table. And we can take her on more outings in our free time, which will help everyone's emotional well being.
Appropriate diaper care will be of primary concern, as will an appropriate turn schedule so she does not develop bed sores. Each of her cast changes will require anesthesia and an OR appointment, as they must ensure her hip does not redislocate during the cast change.
6. References to next week's surgery seem upbeat. Does this mean her surgery is not that invasive?
On the contrary, there is a highly invasive possibilty on the table for her. As mentioned in prior posts, the purpose of traction is to attempt the less invasive process for her, which is called a closed reduction. If that attempt fails, her surgery will transition into an open hip surgery, called an open reduction. The more invasive of the open reduction possibilities is planned for her, called an anterior open reduction. An additional invasive possibility could accompany her anterior open reduction- a femoral reduction. This means she could lose part of her femur.
During our discussion with her surgeon (at her last check up), he gave us the option to fully discuss risks and options either then or when we arrive to pre-op at 5am on the 25th. Frankly, we did not want to hold that conversation at the time. We wanted to maintain positivity and focus on the goal of her traction process.
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