Sunday, January 26, 2014

Big Girls Don't Cry



Hip Chick has incurred quite the "big girl" transformation since last month's cast-off.  Prior posts refer to potty training, but that is only one piece of her maturation jump.  Her transition out of the upper toddler class into her  new lower preschool class took only two days as opposed to the five we had planned.  Everyday tasks that previously warranted assistance are now preceeded with a firm "let me do it," as she wants to do it all for herself.  



We had recently noticed that her quilt was no longer covering her as she tossed at night and so we took her shopping for "big girl" bedding.  Her pastel owlette nursery decor has now given way to polka dots, peace signs, and bright stripes- selected by Hip Chick herself.  The last pieces of her nursery bedding are now stowed out of sight.

The final nail in her toddlerhood coffin came in the form of a very special invitation:  Big Sis's first sleepover party at her other house!  Hip Chick responded to the news with gasps of "WOW" and she informed everyone who would listen about the special event.  I had wondered how she would respond to a party filled with older girls, but she held her own nicely- with a little help from Big Sis.  She fed off of their energy and squealed as she scampered after them.  She yelled, "Let's go, girls!" as she attempted to lead them into new rooms.  She held her own pizza slice instead of asking Mommy to cut it, she let Big Sis give her a kitty cat makeover, and she watched a movie with the group.  We drove home at her usual bedtime, but she wore pajamas for the party  just like all of the big girls.  Very grown up, indeed.

This blog is not entitled "Big Girls Don't Cry" because of Hip Chick... but because of my own feelings regarding this transition.  It is easy to feel that last year's extensive back-to-back medical plans stole away her last remnants of babyhood.  She did not really crawl and she has never run.  She has not yet been able to walk on a birthday.  During a time in which many tots plead for cuddles, we had a physical barrier of five casts.  But the timeline for such things is short and those days are forever behind us for Hip Chick.  She has transitioned into a spirited, beautiful, intelligent, imaginative, little girl and we could not ask for a better Hip Chick than the one we have!



To reinforce this point, she accompanied us parents to a very grown up outing today.  Our favorite museum is hosting a traveling exhibit of animals, deconstructed to their bones, muscles, and organs.  I had wondered whether Hip Chick may be any more squeamish than me, but she seemed to enjoy the exhibit.  We stumbled upon a human skeleton and took the opportunity to point out her hip and discuss a little more of what the doctors needed to fix to help her feel better.  Hip Chick was more fascinated by the exhibit's bull.



Mommy and Daddy found many points of interest in the exhibit, but perhaps their photos are not all appropriate for a child's blog.



Afterward, we took her to Dallas's Klyde Warren Park.  The park had opened just a few months before Hip Chick's diagnosis and we had been unable to visit prior to.  As the city soaked up unseasonably warm weather today, we treated ourselves and Hip Chick to a little extra sunshine.



Hip Chick ate her first lunch from one of the gourmet food trucks lined against the parks' border.



But she was more thrilled with a rare dessert treat of a cinnamon toast cookie and vanilla bean ice cream sandwich.



She wrapped up the visit by splashing and twirling through the kids' wading pool.  Such a happy girl today. 

Today's string of outings ended with another trip to the shoe store.  Hip Chick had been complaining that her shoes were hurting and so I wanted her feet remeasured.  Imagine our surprise when we learned that she needed shoes two sizes larger!  Two sizes?!  Alas, she just received her sparkly shoes last month... but perhaps there is a bit of a gift in the news.  This past year, we missed all of her growth spurts, as they each occurred within the confines of her spica casts.  Now, we have seen one before our very eyes!  Our grown up girl.  Perhaps it's okay for me to cry just a little.  As long as they are happy tears.

Monday, January 20, 2014

Post Casting: Six Week Recap



This week is a notable week.  Not only has Hip Chick passed six weeks since cast-off and pin removal, this week marks exactly one year since her diagnosis.  One year.  Four weeks of traction, two major surgeries, four day surgery procedures, four spica casts, one petrie cast... and, as her surgeon keeps reminding us, her journey has just begun.

I took a much-needed hiatus from blogging the past two weeks, as a mental break was in order. As a promising xray granted Hip Chick a three month reprieve from the ticker tape of medical appointments, we are building the beginning of our new "normalcy."  What that means exactly- I cannot say.  Neither can I predict for how long it will last... but isn't that the case with life in general?  Always a balancing game.

Below are current thoughts:

1.  Where does Hip Chick's mobility stand currently?
She is mostly improving upon her speed- and she is quick!  She is bending her left knee a little more, but it remains stiff.  Her range of motion on the left side remains limited.

2.  Mobility aside, how is she progressing developmentally?
She is transitioning into her childcare center's lower preschool class this week!

3.  How does potty training fall into her developmental progress?
Many people had asked about potty training during her treatment last year.  First, there is no productive way to attempt potty training with a child whose lower extremities are casted.  Weighing the options of "potty train to fit others' ideas of what her life should be" against "delay treatment and increase her potential for a hip replacement before age 30," we were happy to take on the silent judgement.  Yet... Hip Chick asked that we start letting her sit on the potty just over a week ago and has had a few successful attempts.  She will be just fine!

4.  Does she still experience pain?
Yes- at times.  Her complaints usually center on her femoral plate.  Twice, she has slipped or slid and stretched her left leg more than is comfortable.  These are infrequent concerns.

5.  Is she enrolled in any "extra curriculars?"
Not at this time.  We had originally considered a "Mommy and Me" water class for the spring, but her left leg's mobility seems too weak for that at this time.  We will revisit the topic after her femoral plate removal this summer.

6.  How are we dressing her?
She has worn leggings a few times, but we will shy away from jeans or rigid pants for the foreseeable future.  Soft fabrics are key!

7.  Have the sleep issues subsided?
They remain, but are improving.  Hip Chick's surgeon advised us that lingering nightmares are common, so we expect a gradual resolution.

8.  Will the blog continue?
Why, yes!  We hope that her most difficult days have passed, but the journey is young and unpredictable.





Tuesday, January 7, 2014

CELEBRATION!!!

Hip Chick's follow up appointment was this morning and, boy, are Mommy and Daddy smiling!!!  We received the best news we could hope for at this stage in her development... which means that a grand celebration is in order!

Hip Chick's femoral head is positioned a little low in her hip socket, which is common.  This allows her femur opportunity to "rise" into the socket for an appropriate fit.  Mommy had been a little concerned, as Hip Chick's left kneecap looked low compared to her right one... and now we know why!

Her pelvis has healed appropriately.  Her stiff limp of a walk is normal for her type of surgery and medical condition.  She will continue to walk with a limp for six months post-surgery and even beyond.  Her surgeon advises against physical therapy, as it is customary for physical therapists to "stress" the body part they are rehabilitating and he does not want that for this specific healing process.

In short: she looks great!

So... what lies ahead?  Our little hippie can wait three months until her next appointment.  She will have more imaging at that time.  The surgery for her femoral plate removal will not occur until early summer.  Should her femoral head remain in socket over the next year (and her surgeon feels encouraged that it will), the next "milestone" will be at age four.  If her newly created hip socket does not grow appropriately between now and then, we will discuss another surgery at that time.

Three months between appointments... hope for no major surgeries for the next 14 months... a hint of optimism from her surgeon... it is all Mommy and Daddy could have wished for!!!

We still have work to do to help her, but this is happy work.  She was diagnosed one year ago this month and we finally have tangible hope for the near future.  (Anyone else ready to bust out the Rent theme song?)  Her surgeon reminded us today that we still have 15 years together to treat this, but we are all happy for today.

Happy New Year, indeed.

Sunday, January 5, 2014

Post Casting: One Month Recap




Happy New Year from the Hip Chick household!  One month has passed since cast-off and the new year has brought us renewed hopes for our daughter's medical future.  What do the months ahead hold?  As the future is uncertain, we opted to ring in the new year with a bit of celebration.  Big Sis spent added time with us through the holiday, which helped bring extra merriment to the occasion.


We kicked off the evening with our traditional New Year's Eve dinner and a family board game- Candyland.  Hip Chick threw up her fists in celebration of each card  drawn and Big Sis giggled from the special fizzy juice in her pink flute.  Before Hip Chick was too tired, Mommy wrote each family member's New Year wish on a card and sealed it for the year to come.  They are safely stowed on our mantle, in hopes of their realization.

While I won't divulge most of our wishes, Hip Chick's wish reminded me of a prior holiday with Big Sis.  We were in our place of worship, celebrating the world's creation in a children's service.  The children were encouraged to think of a birthday wish for the world and then invited to say the wish aloud, on cue.  Big Sis made us laugh aloud quite heartily... she wished for cheese.  Hip Chick did not wish for cheese, but she did wish for fairies.  How couldn't the world be a better place with more cheese and fairies? Perhaps we should all wish with a child's eyes once a year.

Hip Chick put herself to bed by 9pm and Big Sis barely made it to midnight... but the new year arrived regardless.  We celebrated the next morning with our tradition of homemade beignets... made by Mommy!  Alas, there are no photos, as they were gobbled that fast.  A sweet beginning, indeed.

Below are our latest "hip" thoughts.

1.  At one month post-spica and four months post-osteotomies, how is Hip Chick's mobility?
She can walk, crawl, and climb, but leads mostly with her right leg.  She is trying to figure out how to jump.  The range of motion in her right leg is just as before, but the left is still coming along.  She walks with a very pronounced limp, but her surgeon advised she would do so for approximately six months post-spica.



2.  Have we needed any aids to help encourage her progress?
Her surgeon had cautioned against pushing her further than she is ready to progress.  With that said, we do want her to be proud of her legs and gait.  She wore patterned Rock-a-Thigh socks while her legs were still sensitive and the weather wasn't too cold.  Mommy had also promised her "sparkly shoes" once she could walk again and the ones above were some of the sparkliest of Stride Rite's line currently offered on Amazon.  When she walks correctly, they reward her with muticolored, blinking lights shooting along their sides.  The effect is as hoped.  She stomped alongside one of her teachers on Friday, exclaiming, "they help me stomp like a dinosaur!"

3.  How are the sleep disturbances progressing?
A very wise person questioned whether any portion of our sleep issues could be managed with a smidge of added motivation.  We filled a big basket with treasures from Target's $1 aisle and informed her that she could earn a prize if she stayed in her bed all night last night.  She needed a little comforting once around 1am, but managed to stay in her own bed!  Hip Chick was so thrilled with her accomplishment that she requested touse her prize as soon as possible this morning.  Let's hope we can repeat the accomplishment tonight!

4.  What additional challenges are we navigating with Hip Chick at this time?
From the time they begin walking until about three or so years of age, human beings are very busy creatures.  When you take one and bottle up their ability to move for the better part of a year, the "freedom rush" pops and explodes with the force of a champagne bottle once their full mobility is offered again.  Hip Chick is making up for lost time with all the unruliness,  character, and spunk of the heroine Merida from Disney's movie Brave.  

5.  Prior posts Indicated an abscess and her body's elimination of an entire suture line- how has this progressed?
She seems to be healing nicely.  Her surgeon's office called a couple of times on Monday to discuss.  If a "hole" remained where the thread had pushed out of her body or if the incision area showed signs of infection, she.would have needed medical attention.  Fortunately, this was not the case.

6..  What and when is the next milestone?
It is this week.  She will have an xray to determine whether her femur is still properly in socket.  We also need to discuss the timing for a surgery to remove the plate which has been holding her femur together.  If her xray shows promising results, we can schedule the hardware removal and hope for about six months without medical appointments.  If her xray shows that her femoral head is beginning to pull away from the socket?  

Let's just say that this week's visit is of great significance for us.  Last July, her hip fully redislocated within two weeks after her spica was cast  removed.  This week's appointment will be her first imaging since December's cast removal.  To us, it feels as this appointment is the pivotal moment to move forward with a little relief or added planning.  Either way, we are ready.