The Countdown is ON!!!

With 18 days left, we are ALL anxiously anticipating the removal of Connor's External Fixator. This has been quite the journey these past 4 months. Connor has been absolutely AMAZING throughout this journey. Scott and I are so proud of him and all that he has had to endure so far. Somehow he never complains about his situation. He just takes it in stride. He is such a daily inspiration to us.
He and I have been making a list of the simple things he will be able to do again, like wear regular pants/underwear, sleeping in his own bed, walking/running on his own, (ok, so maybe this one is a BIG one) and attending school. Isn't that what life should be about, the little things?
He has been preparing for the big day by getting fitted for his new brace, and having his pre-op physical and bloodwork done.
Some of you may be wondering about the new brace. During the removal of the Ex Fix, Dr. Standard will put the new brace on. The new brace is called a Scottish Rite Brace (google it). He will wear it for 3 months. The first 6 wks. the brace will be worn 24/7. The remaining weeks, it will be worn at night. It will be an "A" frame brace that fits around both hips. It can be removed to shower and change clothes. The brace will be worn over his clothes, so this, too, will be visible. The purpose of this brace is to "contain" the hip so healing can continue while learning to walk again. The first few weeks post operation are very intense with PT. He will have PT everyday in Baltimore for 2 wks.

Thank you so much for the continued support on texts,emails, and cards. I know this has been a huge help in encouraging Connor to keep a positive outlook during his journey with Perthes.

Hip Hip Hooray! (Pun Intended!)

Another great report from Dr. Standard. X-rays continue to show little bits of bone forming. The femoral head of the hip is even rounding, where it use to be flat from the bone deteriorating. Dr. S said Connor's hip position continues to look great. Dr. was impressed with Connor's ROM in his hip. Connor could bend to 75 degrees which is the maximum degrees with the Ex Fix on.

We even discussed about what to expect after removal.  Connor will be getting measured for his next brace (much less invasive). This brace is an external brace that is an "A" frame which will be worn on top of his clothes.  It will be worn for a good part of a 24hr period for 6 weeks. Then, onto the next chapter of this journey. We are so glad you joined us on our journey. We hope you stick around for the next chapter. Thank you so much for all the continued prayers/support, cards, texts and emails.

New Year! New Hip!

Happy New Year everyone! We hope you all had a wonderful holiday. We were very fortunate to be able to spend time with family.

 

I know I haven't been blogging lately but there hasn't been much change with Connor. He has been pretty consistant with his ROM (range of motion)and his progress since the last blog. His hip continues to reach the maximum ROM with the Ex Fix on which is 75 degrees. His knee tends to flucuate anywhere from 40-48 degrees lately. Although, it seems that his knee has regressed a bit, Dr. Standard does not seem to be concerned about it. His words were, "Our focus is the hip, the knee will come later once the Ex Fix comes off". If the Doc is fine with it, so are we! 

 

Since surgery, Connor was doing a type of muscle stimulation during his PT sessions called E-Stym. This is an electro-magnetic stimulation on the thigh/knee muscle.  Little sticky pads would be placed on his thigh muscle with electro-magnets in them which would "zap" the muscle to wake it up. Since his muscle is responding better to motion, he has graduated to another type of stimulation called A-Stym. This procedure is a deep tissue release procedure. This entails massaging cocoa butter on the thigh, followed by some deep tissue tools pressing down on his muscle to "release" it. Now, this may sound nice and relaxing but it is the opposite. This procedure is rarely complete without tears (and for me too!). It's very difficult to watch as well.  He continues to AMAZE us with his strength, perserverance, and positive attitude. We are so thankful and extremely blessed to have found this wonderful team of Dr.'s, surgical team, and therapist. We have no doubt Connor is getting the best care!

 

Now the holidays are over, we feel like the countdown is ON!!! Our removal date still stands for Feb 14th!