There are other blogs out there about Hip Dysplasia but I haven't seen any with our particular situation...Bailey was diagnosed with DDH at age 1 and now, at age 12 (and a half!) we are still battling this monster. Her diagnosis came after many trips to the doctor asking if something was wrong with Bailey as she showed a number of the key indicators early on. At age 1, this was a late diagnosis in DDH terms...in hind sight, I should have...(I should have done so many things differently, but through this process I have learned that you shouldn't "should" on yourself. Take the experiences and use them...)
When Bailey was born, I was so excited and scared. She was my first, and when you hold that precious gift from God for the first time, you realize the enormity of the situation...that everything you do or don't do can really mess this kid up...I REALLY wanted to get it right! When Bailey was about 4 months old, we began to notice an asymmetrical thigh (a little fat roll on her left thigh that wasn't on her right)...I thought it was cute...my mom thought something was wrong. When I took her for her well-baby visit I asked the doctor about it and she did some rotations of Bailey's hips and legs and said she was fine. I took her at her word. On her 6 month well-baby visit, I explained to the doctor that Bailey didn't use her left leg as she did her right, etc. She looked her over once more and said she was fine. This practice continued until Bailey was 9 mos old when the doctor very sternly told me "Nothing is wrong with your baby. You are just an over-reactive first time mom." Well, I resembled that remark, so I went home and took comfort in the fact that my baby was just fine.
It wasn't until she began to "cruise" behind her little push toys that the alarm bells really went off. She wasn't in pain, but she had such a gait to her walk. She pushed that little toy around looking cute as a button but walking like she was about 90 years old. It was now time for her 1 yr well-baby visit. I had to work, so I asked my husband to take her to the doctor and have Bailey push her toy in front of the doctor during her exam.
(As I share this, those feelings that I felt so long ago are coming up. Honestly, the first time in 11 years that I have allowed myself to think about that day and the horrifying few weeks and years to follow.)
My husband called me at work and said "...it isn't good...you need to come here now." I don't even recall how I made it there in one piece but I do remember looking at that doctor and that smug grin was replaced with a placid, sick look. She knew she had messed up and now she was in full-blown repair mode. She had a specialist come to her office...it was way after 6pm when he got there...I knew we had to brace ourselves. When was the last time a doctor made a special trip to see YOU?!?! He very slowly and methodically told us about Developmental Hip Dysplasia (DDH). I remember feeling so lost and alone...was there anyone that I could talk to? The specialist was so nice to copy all kinds of information for me from the medical books. (The internet wasn't commonplace back then.) I just wanted all the information I could get my hands on...how was I going to save my precious baby from this "monster" I now knew as DDH?
In reading all of the materials the specialist gave me I remember being so upset at the thought that Bailey would need to wear a device called a Pavlik Harness. In hindsight, that would have been a welcomed solution. However, at the time, and in looking at the photos of other babies wearing it I just couldn't imagine her being made to wear that ugly thing. I thought that was the worst that she would have to do.
I was W-R-O-N-G!
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| Bailey's 1st Birthday (The day after the diagnosis) Thankfully, she was oblivious... |
You shouldn't should yourself..good advice. I'm so glad you are sharing your valuable lessons!
ReplyDeleteKerry,
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your story. It is so important to share your journey especially those families who are just starting their journey with either DDH or any other diagnosis. I work for ECI(Early Childhood Intervention) and my babies that I work with are 0-3 years old. DDH is actually seen more often than you would think but most parents feel totally helpless. I send you guys my prayers and no pity to come your way. I believe that God takes us all through Journeys in our life and the hard things that we come up against make the better days so much sweeter. Give my lil girls a kiss from their cousin. (even though they aren't quite so lil anymore). Let them know they have a new baby cousin coming! I know they will LOVE to see it when it gets here!