Post Casting: Day 5

Hip Chick has turned a corner over the past two days.  Most importantly, her pain is finally under control.  We find that her biggest aid is a "water therapy" of sorts.  It doesn't take but 30 to 45 minutes of floating and gentle movement of her left leg in the pool.  After pool time, she is noticeably more active.  I also take time for extra massage of her calves and quads as a proactive measure against muscle spasms.  

She still holds her left leg in a slightly bent position, but it is no longer folded up most of the time.  She has attempted to place weight on it a couple of times (while standing on her good leg) and has drawn herself onto all fours several times in attempt to crawl.  She also made a stab at walking today, which we were thrilled to see.  She still could not straighten her leg to take steps, however, and will need to strengthen her legs more before she will have enough balance to walk.  

She has no shortage of initiative or drive.  I am just relived to see that she is moving her left leg at all... mobility will come whenever it comes.  The reality of regaining it is a far cry from Uma Thurman's performance in Kill Bill Volume 1.

In the meantime, we are finding joy in surprising areas- such as the ability to use a standard restaurant high chair.  We haven't been able to do this since Feb!  We parents easily take little details for granted once our children have progressed developmentally.  Something as simple as a high chair can make a large impact in our household's quality of life.

We are also able to place her in shopping carts and normal car seats for the first time since February.  This frees us to carry her along for errands as we please, split daycare drop off and pick up duties, and socialize her more.  Hooray!

Lastly, I wanted to provide a view of Hip Chick wearing the Rhino Brace that is currently addressing her partially dislocated hip.  She wears it at night only and it holds her legs in this frog-like position.  It is much easier to manage than any of her three casts, but holds her in a similar position as her two spicas did- which feels very familiar to Mommy and Daddy.  

Much is riding on her hip's response to this brace, even though she will wear it for a rather brief period of time before some rather weighty decisions are made.  (Two weeks of bracing versus a 17 week casting assignment shortened to 14 due to subluxation.)  Nine days to go...