Spica Cast- 3 Week Recap

Our daughter has reached reached the midpoint for her first spica cast- hooray!  We make a point to celebrate each milestone and this is certainly worth cheering about. Below are some of our recent thoughts:

1.  So far, things seem upbeat.  Does this mean we can breathe a sigh of relief?

Hip Chick's outlook continues to be encouraging, so we are working on a transition to a more "normal" routine.  This will be our focus until her next OR date, in three weeks.  This is not so much relief, but more hope and continued positivity.  We are encouraged that the big hurdles have incurred positive results so far.

2. Now that Hip Chick has a few full days of daycare under her belt, how is the transition back?

So far, things are going well- better than we expected, actually.  Especially the diapering- not a single miss thus far!  

Before she was born, we selected our daycare because it was highly recommended and they have not disappointed in their quality of care to date.  Some people have responded to our decision to return her to daycare with surprise, if not judgement.  With the daycare's overwhelming support, we feel that it is important to continue socializing her and to feed her cognitive development.  We also believe it is important that she be allowed to experience her usual routine, as that nourishes the soul.  Lastly, between home and her daycare, she is surrounded by people who love her and don't treat her condition as something to be ashamed of, limited by, or afraid of.  You cannot place a price on such things.

3. Daycare aside, how have other outings gone?

Our daughter has done well with our recent outings.  Outings are tougher on Mommy and Daddy than her, as we are still developing routines.  As long as we bring our portable booster, restaurant excurions are successful.  In the photo above, she is cheering Big Sis at a soccer game, sitting in her wagon.  Last night, we visited another home for the first time and had success using her rocking bee.

Outings can draw marked reactions from strangers.  We have seen gasps, shudders, and stares.  Our daughter is too young to notice, so we pretend we don't notice, either. 

4. How has she transitioned into life with a spica cast?

She seems to be doing well.  She is still frustrated with her inability to walk, but she is finding her own work-arounds.

5. Does she have any ability to move independently?

She sure does!  At the soccer game, she begged to lay on the ground.  As soon as we placed her there, she attempted to claw and army crawl onto the field, as she was determined to join the fun.  At home, we have wood floors and she will push along the floor to play with toys- as pictured below.

6. How has Big Sis reacted to the cast?

Big Sis seems to like seeing her in the cast more than traction.  The spica desk is a rather helpful means to enable their interaction.  It is the perfect height for Big Sis to pull up a chair and share a meal or play together.

7. Have we joined any support groups or found additional peer support?

I recently joined a support group for moms of toddlers who are in the surgery or casting phase to treat DDH.  Unfortunately, it has done more to rattle my confidence than rally my positivity.  Most of the respose I received was from moms whose daughters had a successful closed reduction and casting, but the femur slipped out of socket as soon as the cast was removed.  So, after the closed reduction and spica cast, these children all had open reductions with additional surgery on the femur or pelvic bone, and some are preparing for their third surgery. All of their daughters were around the same age as mine for the closed reduction. 

The differences seem to be that none of the other girls had a traction assignment and they all seemed to have a markedly shorter casting assignment than mine.  None seem to be treated at Scottish Rite.  I hope that the differences in process and medical team will provide my daughter with a more positive outcome, but this has been a sobering bit of reality to stumble upon.

8. How have the spica desk decorations evolved?

Our deep sea wall decals recently arrived and her desk now resembles an aquarium.  We had fun decorating this morning.

9. Scottish Rite complimented her cleanliness- what have we done to evoke such a remark?

Most importantly, our diapering process works.  The fastest way to a stinky cast is leaky diapers and I was determined to start a successful path.  Also, each time I change her diaper, I gently clean as far into the cast as possible (from the diaper opening) with baby wipes.  At least twice per day, I wipe all of her exposed (non-casted) areas with baby wipes.  During these times, I also gently reach into the cast openings at her ankles, back, and chest to clean with baby wipes as well.  The duct tape at her diaper opening  continues to be one of my favored preventative measures.

10. How is her appetite in the cast?

She is and always has been a good eater at daycare.  She eats snacks and lunch at daycare.  Her breakfasts at home continue to be rather meager and she does not always eat dinner.