Oversight

I re-read my last post today and was appalled at the MAJOR oversight. In all my ravings about the new cast, I forgot to give credit & thanks where it is most definitely due--to our gracious & faithful Abba Father. I am so amazed at his constant provision & presence, not only when the news is good but also when it is not. But today, let us give thanks for the good news he has allowed to come into our lives. Melissa

Cast Change!

Today was the big day--cast change! It went beautifully and we were home by 10:30 a.m. Caroline and I both took nice long naps :) She was fussy after she woke from the anesthetic, but is back to normal now.

Our surgeon said her x-ray/arthrogram looked really good, he was pleased with how her hip was seated in the socket, and that it felt very stable upon manipulation. That is really great news; it is not always the case with hip dysplasia kids.

Just to mark the change, and for something different, we went with a bright purple cast this time. It is almost exactly the same as the first one, except the bar is curved. This is due to the fact that I teased our dr. about the last bar (it was very close to the diaper area), so he made a special effort to make changing easier for us!!! Bless him, it was so sweet, but just goes to show surgeons lose their sense of humor somewhere along the way... hello, I was kidding!

However it is a lovely cast, as spica casts go, and so clean & shiny I am tempted to lick it!!! :)

He did say her skin looked great--one of the best he's ever seen! My reaction to that was a mixture of pride and severe shock. It was a relief though, I've heard horror stories about the terrible sores found under the cast.

So, we go back in six weeks and 1 day to have the spica removed. She will be awake that time, and will be fitted for her brace that day. She'll be in the brace full time for 4-6 weeks, although we'll be able to remove it for baths (hooray!!) and hopefully some swimming. After that, we'll see, it just depends on her x-rays. Most kids are weaned very gradually from the brace, so that's what we're expecting.

For now, though, we're just enjoying our nice clean girl and celebrating the halfway mark.

Thank you all for your thoughts, prayers and words of encouragement. They sustain us.

Love,

Melissa

ps--be sure to see the previous post, I just added lots of pics.

In recovery

Walking around in recovery

Back on the beanbag again!

Pictures

Here are the girls in the beautiful dresses my friend Cindy made. Note the customized spica-friendly bloomers on Caroline!

The other day, in a fit of nostalgia, I got out the shaving cream & let Caroline go crazy. I'm not the only one who remembers doing this at school, am I?

Then we "cleaned up" by having a tea (water) party. (I covered her in a waterproof floor mat)

For her last bath in the pink cast, I let her play in the sink (yes I cleaned it first!). I've been scared to do this for fear of getting soaked, but I figured the cast is being changed in a couple days anyway, so why not give it a try? She had a ball splashing around and my fears were unfounded, so we'll definitely be doing this more often!

Happy Mother's Day!

Ok, not sure if anyone is still reading this, but if you are please accept my apologies for the long silence... There has not been much to report as of late. We are doing fine and Caroline is plugging along. She had an ear infection last week--that was much more traumatic to her than surgery! She is finally getting more comfortable with being on her tummy, she's scooting around more. Other than that, it's just status quo. Tomorrow, though, marks a major milestone: CAST CHANGE! Hooray! Now, I know you are probably thinking, big deal, what's so great about that? But let me tell you, just stop for a minute and think about what is involved in having a toddler in a body cast for 6 weeks, including diapers, no bathing, and scooting on the floor. Now you might be able to relate a little bit! Of course it's also a big deal because it marks the halfway point for the Spica cast. Six weeks down, six to go!!!! She will go under general anesthesia tomorrow because applying a body cast requires her to be completely still. They will also give her a good bath (hallelujah!), do another arthrogram (dye x-ray) and manipulate her hip to evaluate the progress. All this to say, it is very minor compared to the first surgery, but it's still considered surgery and has risks. Please keep her in your prayers. I have lots of pictures to post, I'll try to do that tomorrow along with an update. Melissa