What a Difference a Year Makes



First Day of School 8/21/12: sitting on the bench so she wouldn't get too tired

Last Day of School 6/6/13

Dance Recital June 2012

Dance Recital June 2013

A year ago seems like a lifetime ago...

Doctor Appointment 1 Year after Getting Fixator On

We saw Dr. Scott today. He said her walking is the best he has ever seen her and I would agree.

We had two comments/questions:

• Whenever something bugs her it is actually the top of her foot.
• Her knee appears to be valgus (outward angulation)to me and the PT. Dr. Scott checked it out and just wants to watch it for now. He said it's an "easy" fix if we need to do something but he wants to just watch it for awhile. My take is he wants her to enjoy the summer.

I don't know for sure but I believe he would do an eight plate procedure that I have heard about. Per my quick internet search it is a 1 hour outpatient procedure that has a 2-4 week recovery and doesn't require PT. The patient is weight bearing immediately after the procedure. I have heard good things about the process so maybe it is "easy" as he says.

We will see him in 2 months. At that point we will get a standing x-ray and start looking for alignment.

Ironically, at lunch today her knee was bugging her so she had to stop playing basketball with her friend. Maybe it was because they were poking at her knee at the office visit. I am still getting used to the idea that the leg lengthening was not a final fix but this process is a life long journey.

One Year Anniversary

Today is the one year anniversary of Mary's surgery to get the fixator on. At this time we were still waiting at pre-op and getting ancy about when we would ever be called.

Mary had talked about marking the occasion. I thought we could invite the two local girls to celebrate with us but the two of us have a Girl Scout event this weekend so we will not be around. The anniversary kind of snuck up on the 2 of us.

Mary's doctor has just requested another 20 visits to Physical Therapy. Once we are done with PT I am willing to say the leg lengthening is officially over but I have learned this is a life long process. Something I didn't realize until this year from learning from others ahead in the process.

Before Lengthening 2012

After Lengthening May 2013




Before Lengthening 2012

 



After lengthening May 2013



4 1/2 months after removal

We saw Dr. Scott on March 26 (last Tuesday) 4 1/2 months after her fixator removal:

• He mentioned he could clean up Mary's scars but at her age it would require anesthesia (if she was older it would just require a bunch of shots) and it is optional. I am not inclined to do this especially as a solo procedure. But we will see if it is important to Mary.
• The plan is to get a CT scan once Mary's knee is straighter so he can measure the new difference between the two legs.
• He is suggesting that in two years we have a final procedure to stop the growth on the "normal" leg so the legs get more even. This is a much simpler procedure than a lengthening but I don't know any details about it. Again Mary gets to decide what we do if anything.
• Mary is still holding her body asymmetrically but is making a ton of progress.
• Her knee is sitting forward again which is helping get her knee straight but we are working on her tight hamstrings. Her leg will be straighter once her hamstrings aren't as tight.
• I asked about the bump on her lower leg where a pin was and he believes it just overfilled in.
• If we do the procedure in 2 years he could clean up the scars and fix the bump all at the same time.
• He said it takes time but it continues to get better. I have seen that lately. More and more progress of walking smoother.
• We are continuing with PT 2 times a week and will see him again in 2 months.

Pictures of her scars at the moment...


Full view of lower leg



Scars from top thigh ring

Upper incision and a scar from a blue wire

Lower incision and scar from a blue wire

"bump"- overfilled in

Before and After

Today at PT Mary was using a machine they are testing out. The machine requires you to use your balance to play games. It gave me an opportunity to take a picture of the leg lengthening success (photo on right).

Before leg lengthening

After 6.1 cm leg lengthening

Feb. 25, 2013

Today is the one year anniversary of my conversation with Mary where I explained the leg lengthening procedure to her. You do forget some things about the process but that conversation will be something I always remember. It was a difficult conversation but the time leading up to it was probably worse than the actual conversation. It does seem like forever ago though.

Dr. Scott switched practices last June and his new practice wanted to introduce him. Dr. Scott asked if they could write about his work with Mary. The article is below:

Returning to Activities

Mary started basketball last week, and her modern dance class this week. I think she is very happy to be returning to fun activities. 

She also got a bigger bike for her birthday since she has outgrown her old one. 

Lots of good changes.

Her ankle and sometimes her knee hurts from her new activities and she still limps quite a bit in general so PT continues. PT is very physically demanding it actually makes her hungry. :-)