The Hipster

Jordan had her 6-month appointment with the orthopedist at Shriner's Hospital today, and much to my amazement, they want to do surgery to correct her hip dysplasia. Since her last appointment in May it has moved out of the socket a considerable amount -- much more than expected for a "neurologically complicated" child. So much so that he considers her hip dysplasia a separate issue, and, all things being equal, she would probably have hip dysplasia even if she were a normally developing kid. He recommended surgery to repair and "redesign" the hip within 3 to 6 months.

I was shocked! When we met in May the doctors said they wouldn't do anything with it unless it was causing her pain. We don't really know when Jordan is in pain or not, but now they believe that we should consider the surgery seriously, because it is so bad that it probably is or will very soon cause pain. And considering she has a life of sitting to look forward to, we should try to make her as comfortable as possible.

Her spine is also quite crooked, but she is too young to be considered for treatment in that area. Eventually she will probably end up with rods in her spine to correct the scoliosis, but it sounds like that might be years away.

The one good thing from our meeting today was their assurances that there is really nothing we can do or have done to exacerbate these problems. Unfortunately, studies show that bracing, casting, & therapies do not slow the progression of scoliosis or hip dysplasia in children Jordan's age. That said, they suggested we continue using her back brace, physical therapy exercises, & positioning to try to keep her comfortable, but told us not to think that we're responsible for these problems because we just didn't do enough to prevent them. At least we have that, as we look forward to a major surgery & recovery in the spring. . . .