What a few days it has been. The way Hip Chick's cast removal came about was such a surprise and under such different circumstances than we envisioned that the fanfare we originally planned was tabled. But as this week was Independence Day, we were still able to help her celebrate a liberation of sorts.
Her lone obstacle this week has been her left leg, which of course is the same side as her subluxed hip. For her first few days without the cast, she held her left leg bent and somewhat folded most of the time. She even went so far as to stand on her good leg, still holding the left one up- she resembled a flamingo. She would "crawl" mostly by dragging her legs along the floor, similar to when she was in the spica.
By last night, she did briefly sit with her left leg out more directly in front of her. Perhaps this was achieved due to the time we afforded her in a swimming pool yesterday. Our dear friends and neighbors generously invited us over and so we gave her the opportunity to float and splash to her heart's content. She kicked her right leg a bit, but did not use her left leg much on her own. I did gently move her left leg a little- mostly by bending it at the knee. Baby steps.
Such a far cry from last summer. Due to her love of water, we had enrolled her in a weekly swim class at a popular local school. By summer's end, our little tadpole could swim under water for seven seconds- she actually swam before she walked.
Hot dogs, pool time, a long nap, and sparklers were good for her disposition. We also discovered that she can sit comfortably at a toy piano, which she loved.
Unfortunately, yesterday's activity was followed by a restless night of screaming. Regaining her mobility has a bit of a toll. It's amazing how much time and energy we placed into her casting, dreaming of what regained use of her legs would bring her... but we never envisioned what the period between cast removal and mobility would contain. Most of us walk as we please, not considering for even a second what a true gift that ability to walk is.
Today, I took her to her pediatrician's office for a belated two year check up. We had delayed it due to her extensive casting, but I wanted to complete it as quickly as possible due to the potential surgery (and more casting) ahead of us. I found it interesting that she had not gained much weight, if any, over the past five months. Her height, however, is another story. She had a growth spurt and is now in the 95th percentile for height in her age range. A growth spurt- and we missed it. Due to her health issues, we had to measure her while laying down, like an infant.
We would love to see her stand tall! When will this be? Will she be able to do it without another surgery? With a subluxed hip before surgery? If not, will we even see her stand straight before end of this year?
Her pediatrician's nurse asked me about potty training. Unfortunately, spica casts and petrie casts don't exactly enable such things. But this begs some important questions: If she has another surgery and more casting, when will she potty train? If she needs even more surgeries, will we eventually have to potty train her in a cast?
So many questions... and 11 days until she has the xray which will direct us.
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