It's been a pretty full-on few months. Katelyn's first steps since being released from her spica cast coincided with an extended family camping trip to Mudgee (Central West NSW), and it was wonderful to celebrate the joy of her achievement and strength with her grandparents and aunties, uncles and cousins. And perhaps a few celebratory wines and beers, as well. She started to walk just shy of one month after she had her hip spica removed, which, from what I hear from her specialists, is quite exceptional. We've also been caught up in the flurry of everyday life with a young family - preschool, birthday parties, Little Athletics and Kindermusik - while work, for both of us, has proved to be more than a little challenging.
Our home life has seen a return to the 'lock-down' state which is synonymous with having a mobile toddler in the house. The fridge is clipped closed, items in the pantry have been moved above little-hand-height and the magnetic cupboard door locks have made a (most unwelcome) return. The toilet brush is seldom housed in its protective casing and it's not unusual to have to rescue an array of teddies and dolls fearfully awaiting a spin in the washing machine.
The princess herself currently spends her days tearing around after her big brothers, climbing atop tables (and freaking her parents out) and parading a never-ending procession of bags, hats and shoes. Compared with other children her age, she's not as steady on her feet, is physically slower and appears to have stalled a little in terms of her speech; although, with much encouragement, she's improving everyday. On the flip side, her fine motor skills are exceptional and she seems to have a talent for music and dancing, showing a surprisingly good sense of rhythm and timing for her age.
We went back to see our Surgeons about six weeks after Katelyn's hip spica was removed.
The good news is that Katelyn's hip looks good - the femur's back where it needs to be, meaning that the closed reduction was a success.
The possibly-bad news, however, is that the Katelyn's hip and femur is currently showing evidence of trauma, and an indication of some loss of blood supply to the area. This could potentially develop into a condition called Avascular Necrosis of the Hip, or AVN. It's a hard condition to explain, but, basically, bones are living tissue, and like all living tissue, they rely on blood vessels to bring blood to keep them alive. Most living tissues have blood vessels which come from many different directions into the tissue. But certain joints of the body - like the hip - have only a few blood vessels to bring in blood. If the blood supply gets damaged, there is no back-up, and the bone can die.
 |
| Cheeky Miss. Wearing my old pinafore from 34-odd year ago. Serious vintage. |
 |
| Fancy a bikkie? |
 |
| Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! |
 |
| Riding in the rain at Mudgee |
 |
| "Don't!" One of Kate's fave words. |
AVN is very rare - but it can happen. It was one of the scary things the Surgeons told us about when they talked us through the potential risks of Kate's surgery. It generally takes months to develop and be properly diagnosed, so, until more x-rays in January next year, we're in a bit of a holding pattern until we can know more. They're not telling us much at this stage, but what we do know is that there's nothing much we can do to reverse the condition. It's come about because of Katelyn's late diagnosis. Her hip was dislocated for so long that those crucial blood vessels supplying the bone became irreversibly damaged. On probing, Kate's Surgeon admitted that the treatment for AVN is surgery - many more surgeries - to reconstruct her hip as she grows - but that we can potentially look forward to twelve months' off from the Hospital, with no surgery likely to be scheduled for 2013.
So, I guess that's the real reason I haven't posted in a while. I guess I'm, to put it impolitely, a bit pissed off. Okay..a lot. But, at least we knew of its potential to develop, so it wasn't too rude a shock, I s'pose. It just makes me angry. She's a good kid, and she doesn't deserve it.
We're trying to stay upbeat. Really trying. We know things could be much worse. Meanwhile, it's nice to see her acting like a normal (naughty) two-year-old...even if we can never leave the fridge unlocked again!
