Getting the wiggle back

Shes got legs... and she hasn't stopped wiggling them!

It's been a big day today in our house... you might almost call it second Christmas.  Today at about 9.00am Boo got her cast off.  Whilst it was incredibly exciting for me, it was all a bit traumatic for Boo.

The cast saw was loud and scary, then all of a sudden her legs were free and wobbly.  With nothing to hold them in place her muscles were screaming as they stretched.  Poor Boo - I've never heard her cry with pain before.  But true to form, within an hour or so and it was all smiles and giggles.

Her legs have literally not stopped moving.  From her toes to her ankles to her knees, shes been wiggling away all afternoon and it is just beautiful to watch.

Apart from some dry skin, a few crumbs, and one rogue hair clip the cast wasn't as awful as I thought it would be after six weeks.  Boo now has a brace that she needs to wear full time for the next six weeks.  The bonus is that she has her legs free and can move around as much as she wants.  We're also allowed to take it off for bathing and changing etc...

Mr T confirmed that her hip looked good, so fingers crossed this next six weeks is it for us.

Here's some pictures from today's roller coaster ride...

Holding on tight to Daddy

Family shot before the cast came off and things got traumatic

First piece of cast comes off

It's all a bit much for wee Boo

Boo's old legs

Getting the wiggle back!

Halfway there

I've been reading John Kirwan's new book, 'All Blacks Don't Cry'.  What an amazing man, not only breaking through his illness, but talking about the intimate details of it publicly... yes I am once again, a little bit in love.

Two things really stand out for me in the book:

1.  JK talks about when he was first going to Japan and the worry he had about not knowing whether he was doing the right thing.  His father gave him some advice - saying that no matter what happened he'd look back on it as an experience - whether it be good or bad.

2.  JK talks a lot about enjoying the moment, about tasting the coffee and feeling the shower.  Really enjoying each moment.

When I look at our Boo, I can see exactly what he is talking about.  Here is this little girl, going through an experience that none of us would wish on our worst enemies, yet, she's just enjoying the moments.  How can it be that an 18 month old has this figured out, yet it takes the rest of us half of our adult lives to come to the same realisation?  It must be because she's our amazing Boo.

Here she is - enjoying the moment:

 

We had Boo's cast change this week.  Everything went well.  We'll get the results of the scan next week, and hopefully a confirmation of a cast off date. JF was in the hospital with her by 6.45am.  We were out at our local cafe for pikelets by 12.  Boo was tired, but happy and has been full of mischief over the last few days.  So many lessons to be learnt from this brave little girl.

About an hour after theatre:

Week 3

I have decided that after three weeks of being spica parents, we've earnt the right for a small vent... just a small one, and just because we are dog tired, but be warned ...

Being a spica parent is hard. Of course we are thanking the universe for all the good things that are happening in our lives.  The way Boo has adapted to her cast.  That a dislocated hip is not life threatening and is fixable.  That Boo is so young she won't even remember any of this.

But here's some realities for you...

1. Boo stinks - literally.  Of course we can't get her cast wet, so she gets a a sponge bath from her chest up, and a hair wash.  But imagine wearing tight fitting clothes and not washing for three weeks, gross.  The truth is that my beautiful princess pongs.
2. Boo is contipated.  Because she's not moving around, her digestive system isn't at it's best.  Constipation and a tight cast = a very unsettled and unhappy Boo.
3. Boo is not sleeping very well.  Which means Mama and Dada are not sleeping well, which in turn leads to a tired grump spiral especially when you add in points 1 and 2 above. 
4. People look at us funny in the street.  We're so tired we probably look like P addicts so I thought perhaps I should hang a sign around Boo's neck saying 'My Mama and Dada didn't hurt me, I've just got a bung hip"
5. Boo is getting frustrated.  Although she's adapted well, she still wants to be busy and play with J.  Instead she has taken to pointing and squealing.  Add a little of this to point 3 above and you have a lovely recipe for a happy family.

Nine weeks to go and counting...

1000 words

Who says a picture is worth 1000 words? Boo's vocabulary stretches to about a dozen words at the moment, two of which are 'Bob' and  'Builder'. 

Two weeks down, Ten to go, post op scan and xray looked good... we're doing ok.

In times of need

Aren't kiwis great?  Whether it's an earthquake, flood or sick child, New Zealander's always seem to rally round and help each other out.  I have been overwhelmed by all the help and love that we've had over the last week.  Thank you.

Things are going well.  Admittedly there have been a few challenges, but for the most part the last week could be described as a learning experience as oposed to the traumatic experience  I was expecting.

Here are some of the things we've learnt:

1.  It's worth setting up health insurance for your kids as soon as they are born.  We've been able to fast track Boo's surgery by going private.  Although the hospital isn't specifically set up of kids, the novelty of having children there meant that Boo got extra care and attention.  We had so much help in the hospital with nurses popping in to help JF and I and check up on Boo.  We've even had calls from the nurses to check we're all coping at home. 

2.  People care.  As soon as Boo was diagnosed our GP called to make sure we were ok, and to apologise for not picking up the problem himself.  Boo's kindergarten have offered loans of toys, music, books and the teachers have asked to come and visit.  Friends have dropped in with meals for the family, gifts for Boo and J, and offers of help.

3.  Children are incredibly resilient.  Everyone told us that Boo would cope better than us, but it's hard to believe until you see it.  She is frustrated at not being able to reach her toys or chase her brother, but apart from that Boo has taken her new blue legs in her stride and is carrying on as normal.

4.  You can get a spica child into a swing.  JF has this one sussed... I suspect he used a 'don't try this at home' kind of trick.

Boo in blue

Whilst I've been eating chocolate cake, Boo has been the bravest little girl in all of Island Bay.   After a frenetic 36 hours, Boo is tucked up in bed asleep, I've got a wine, and all is well with the world.

Boo had her surgery yesterday.  After a couple of hours Mr T came in to tell us all had gone well and her hip was back where it should be.  Half an hour after that we got our Boo back - with blue legs to match her pretty blue eyes.

She's been a bit like a teenage girl - happy, sad, happy, sad.  Can't blame her really, I'd probably be like that if I woke up and couldn't use my legs.  She's pretty amazing though, we're already seeing our cheeky little girl back and if you'd seen her sitting in her bean bag tonight helping herself to fish and chips for dinner you'd not know she'd just had surgery.

One hurdle over.  Three months of quality time with Dad coming up!

T minus 9

Boo had her pre-op hospital visit today.  Whilst the nurses tried to impress her with a teddy bear and a pretty bed cover, Boo got right down to it and found the power outlets.

We talked buggy's, car seats, nappies, bean bags and general care.  We talked surgery, anaesthetic and casting. JF and I are still 'discussing' who will stay with her for the few days she is at the hospital - it may be a paper/scissors/rock thing after the nurse told us she'd need waking every two hours for a position change.  Boo, I love you , but I do love my sleep too.

Everything (except Boo's hip), seems to be falling into place so it's now just a waiting game.  With just over a week to go, Boo is getting lots of baths and lots of time to run, jump, hop, skip and do her daggy little 'excited' dance. 

I have no doubt that Boo will find a way to move once the cast is on, but for the short time she can't it is going to be lovely.

• We'll be able to take a shower, come back and she'll be in the same spot we left her in
• No stealing her brothers toast in the mornings
• No finding the contents of my handbag scattered throughout the house
• And the best til last - solitary toilet visits (whilst J is at Kindy anyway!)

The Odds

People keep telling us we are lucky. Lucky that we've caught Boo's hip early, lucky that it's not both hips, lucky that we've got great family and friends to support us. I'm not sure that luck is the right word. I'm certainly grateful for all of these things, but it’s not really about luck. To me, luck is finding a parking spot on a Saturday morning, right outside the shop you want to go in. Luck is going into that shop and finding the exact thing you were looking for and having time to go and grab a coffee.


DDH used to be called Congenital Dysplasia of the Hips, but someone clever has since found that some hips are normal at birth and gradually become dysplastic.

According to my research via my dear friend Google, about one in 100 hips present with some dysplasia at birth decreasing to approx one in 1000 hips by six weeks. It can happen to any baby but is predominantly associated with:

• females
• the left hip
• first born children
• babies born breech (or in breech position in the last trimester of pregnancy)
• babies with other orthopaedic problems (club foot etc.)
• a positive family history

Boo hits three out of six of those risk factors, and because of her age her only option for treatment is surgery and a cast.

 

If Lotto had those odds I'd buy a ticket every week - now winning that would be lucky!

This is Boo

I've never been very good with rollercoasters.  My best known survival tactic is holding on tight with my eyes closed.  I don't think that will work this time.  (Come to think of it, it didn't work last time either, when me and my Morris Minor ended up in the middle of a traffic island ...)

 

This is Boo.  Boo has a dislocated hip - or more correctly Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip (DDH).

 

A short history of Boo's diagnosis:

• We noticed she had a wiggle in her walk
• Kindy mentioned it, so did Plunket
• Our GP referred her to an orthopaedic specialist 'just in case'.
• Our appointment was at 4pm last Thursday. By 6pm Boo had been given an examination, an xray, a diagnosis and a treatment plan.

Boo needs surgery to correct her hip, followed by 3 months in a hip spica cast. After the diagnosis, I told Mr T that he was actually just meant to send us home and tell me to stop being an over protective mother.  He told me I was meant to be crying about now.  I think I might be a tiny little bit in love with Mr T.

 

We are waiting for confirmation of her surgery date and in the meantime trying to sort out the practicalities of one of us being off work for three months to care for her.

The actual practicalities of caring for her in a hip spica cast, car seats, strollers and highchairs, will have to wait until next week when the rollercoaster slows down.