She's a Hippie Chick...

Marissa had an appointment with her orthopedist about her hips yesterday. We were actually supposed to see her in July, but due to a very busy Summer, we just now got around to it. If you recall from a post I wrote back in January, Marissa has hip dysplasia and the ortho wants to keep an eye on it. Back then, Marissa was popping her left hip out of place. Since she started back in PT in February, she has not been popping her hip. Yay! Through PT and wearing her AFOs, her muscles, joints, and ligaments have become stronger.

First, I was very impressed with how Rissa handled the x-ray and appointment yesterday. I have explained to her in the past that the x-ray is just a big camera and that we are just taking pictures of her and there will be no owies. She has always screamed and cried through every x-ray ever taken of her, and that is a lot! Yesterday, she finally believed me and even volunteered to get up on the table. She even yelled "cheese!"! No tears! Then, when it was time for the doctor to examine her, she still didn't cry! I am so glad she was able to take this appointment in stride and realize no one was going to hurt her.

The doctor said she is pleased with how Rissa presented clinically. I told her about how she is not popping her hip anymore. She examined her, feeling her hips as Marissa moved her legs in different ways. The doctor said she feels so much stronger. That's great news!

But...

She did say she still has some concerns when looking at the x-rays. She showed me how her right hip is properly formed, with the ball of the leg bone fitting correctly into the cup of the hip, and how the cup is also properly formed, with the ability to keep the ball joint in place. But the left hip cup is more open, allowing the ball joint to slip out. Not good.

She did say that the right hip has "remodeled" itself quite nicely since her last x-rays. She said that kid's bodies, up until the age of four, have the ability to remodel their joints and bones to a certain extent. Very interesting! So she wants to see Rissa again shortly after she turns four, in March or April. If her left hip has not remodeled itself by then, the doctor said we would "have concern that it won't and we'll have to look at other solutions". Which means surgery. Blech.

I just can't think about that right now. Our hopes and dreams for Rissa's next Summer include getting her trach stoma surgically closed in May (yep, it is not going to close on its own. Bummer.) so there will be plenty of time for her to swim, dig in the dirt and sand, and just generally have a "normal" Summer. It definitely does not include her being locked in a cast for quite some time, recovering from hip surgery. Please pray with us that her hip remodels itself in the next six months and we can forget about surgery. Our kiddo deserves to finally get on with the business of just being a kid, don't ya think?