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| We had our follow-up appt with the ortho, Gerri walked in and signed in :) |
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| Gerri kept herself busy while we waited :) |
She had an xray done with her standing up so the Dr could see her hip, legs and feet. The Dr looked at her feet and watched her walk. The Dr then had me look at the xray and said - you can see where I broke her tibia during the surgery, it did not heal straight so her leg curves out. But don't worry about it she will out grow it. And the break is above the growth plate so it won't affect her growth. OK - let's back up here!! We were told after surgery that she had a broken bone in her FOOT but it would be ok since she had a cast on. Now I know I am not a dr, but don't you think a broken tibia would require a full leg cast??? They did an xray in the OR so they knew it was a broken tibia, but still did below the knee casts!? And since she had the adductor release in her groin she had a bar between her casts. Now it makes perfect sense why she was in SO much pain, especially when we had to pick her up!! This explains why she was SO mad at us because of the pain. Now we understand why the Dr gave us valium for her to take for pain. All along we were telling her this would be a simple procedure and you will be home quickly and all healed up!!!
Needless to say I did not think of all this while I was at the Dr's. I was so stunned by what she said, then the Dr added "oh and you can see there is some necrosis of bone on the head of the hip bone" - WHAT?!?!?!
Even after all this the Dr said, well we are not going to do anything right now, I'll see you in 2 months.
At this point I told her about us going to see Dr vanBosse in Philly next week. Her whole attitude changed and she told me that there is no need to have 2 Dr's. She also commented that Dr vB would NOT be happy when he sees the xray. ya think?
I actually kept my calm, little ears were listening :) We made our appt for 2 months from now, took the xray with us and left. I called Dan on my way home to tell him all the interesting news and he was just as floored as I was! (Gerri was in the back seat with her headphones on watching a movie) It took me at least a day to get passed being furious. How can you send a child home knowing how much pain she will be in and not explain it to the parents? Our Dr does clubfeet in infants and I would like to believe just didn't think of the difference in a mobile 6 year old vs an infant.
We are SO very happy that we are going to Philly to see Dr's with lots of experience with kids with arthro and lots of experience with older kids :) :) It could not have happened at a better time!!
Of course now we have NO idea what will happen with the appts and where we will be going from here. I have the ipod touch all charged up with headphones so I can talk to the Dr while Gerri watches movies!
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| After the stressful Dr's visit the kids had to go to the dentist! Woo hoo- no cavities!! |
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| just chillin out!! woo hoo - no cavities!! |
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| Big cool dude!! woo hoo - no cavities!! |
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| Ms V's class had a field trip to build a bear - first time eva!! |
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| Doing the special heart process before it goes into the bear! |
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| Pressing the button while her bear gets filled! |
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| Have to take a bath before going home! |
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| The girls got to put bows in their ears |
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| She has her own house!! with birth certificate inside! |
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| The whole class all done! |
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| So happy to show off her bear!! All dressed up and ready to go! (matching shoes!) |
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| Quick stop at the indoor playground! |
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| All pooped out!! |
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| We are in a puzzle phase!! But they take up too much room |
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| So this is what I did!! |
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| Big huge pile to this!! |
The kids were SO excited they did several puzzles while I finished up!
I spent the day getting the house cleaned, clothes washed, beds changed and Gerri and I packed!!
We leave tomorrow am to fly up to Philly and the snow!!
I hope to have internet and be able to keep everyone up to date!!
Please pray that the news is not bad!
Danny and Victoria have been told to keep an eye on daddy, keep him busy and take care of him :)
11 comments:
I am FLOORED she didn't tell you TIBIA broke not foot bone! I've had a tibial osteotomy umm yeah valium wouldn't have done it pain wise! And why didn't she set the bone straight in the OR and pin it if necessary? My heart breaks for Gerri right now. I would ask Dr. vb to verify break is not on a growth plate bc wasn't the break in the already shorter leg? I'm so sorry all of this was thrown at you! Have a safe trip up to Philly and I hope your appointments all go well. If you stay at RMDH in Camden there are like 5 AMC families living there right now for casting ect!
I am so very shocked that the dr. did not tell you Gerri's tibia was broken. How very awful! And to make her suffer like that and still not want to do anything about it is just wrong! I am so sorry that you had to go through this and bless poor Gerri's little heart! We will be praying for you all!!! Lots of Love!
Of course she is going to discourage you from seeing another doctor... he'll see what she did to poor little Geri's leg. :( Will be thinking of you guys tomorrow... I hope you can update too!! Praying it all goes well!!
I am so sorry about Gerri's leg, but I just wanted to thank you for keeping up a wonderful blog! With so many of the children from Reece's Rainbow whose adoption blogs I have followed, the blog has been dropped soon after they arrived home so I have never found out how they have adapted to their new families and living in the U.S, how their health problems have been treated and their special needs addressed, etc. You have even taken the time to answer my questions! It has been such a joy following Gerri's progress and seeing how happy she is to be part of your family.
My goodness...I can't believe that dr. actually said that! Poor Gerri! I cannot even imagine the pain she was in. Love reading your blog and seeing the progress of your kids. You are an amazing advocate for your children and an awesome Mom! Can't wait to hear how her appointment goes!
Praying all goes well for you Nancy and Gerri. Our application goes out tomorrow form Madeline. So hopefully we'll be able to get the ball rolling. This is all so new and a bit unnerving even though we've read up on arthrogryposis.
Thanks for letting us in on the latest so we know how to be specifically praying for you all.
Nancy,
I'm so sorry to hear how this has gone. We're getting ready to start in February, so I'm glad to know things to look for.
Gerri and Hannah have the same outfit! How fun.
Trusting for good news tomorrow and some clear direction for what to do next.
wow...hugs to you all...on a lighter note caitlyn has that same outfit geri is wearing...would love to see them together in those outfits
FWIW- You know Bryson's tibia broke in surgery as well. He was in a great deal amount of pain that they could not control. He was in a full leg cast due to the surgery anyhow.
But when he broke his tibia at school, they did only a half leg cast. It was a spiral fracture and was in a cast for 8 weeks.
I hope your appt goes well tomorrow. I am convinced that our older kids with arthrogryposis should only be treated by the very few in the US that have experience, but for us none are near us and the traveling back and forth to St. Louis almost broke us.
I am glad that you have one not so far away.
Re: "...but don't you think a broken tibia would require a full leg cast??? They did an xray in the OR so they knew it was a broken tibia, but still did below the knee casts!?"
Well, no. A broken tibia (in this situation) does *not* require a full leg cast. You would only cast from the knee and below, since that's where the tibia is located.
To cast above the knee is to stabilize the femur -- not necessary, as it doesn't contact/affect healing in the tibia; the two bones are separated by the structures in the knee joint.
When there's a break, you typically only stabilize the affected bone on either side of the break during the healing process. In the case of a tibia fracture, you'd stabilize the knee too, but the cast would not extend above the knee (around the thigh)
In any event, you should have been informed of the break and she should have been provided with stronger medication for pain, as that's not a minor break -- the tibia is the second largest bone in your body!
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