You can really see it in this shot where she's sitting in her chair. She consistently leans to the side like this; she's unable to sit up straight at all. She cannot sit independently.
And this one of her standing up. Though it doesn't look like it, this picture was taken straight on. She looks like she's standing crooked. It's the hip.
They examined her closely. The rotated her hips this way and that; they measured her legs. They looked at the creases where her thighs meet her bottom and the ones behind her knees. The disparity pointed toward Congenital Hip Dysplasia. The X-rays confirmed the diagnosis.
Time, they tell me, is of the essence. We'll be discussing treatment options with the orthopedic surgeon tomorrow. Well, when you're reading this it will be "today". Wednesday, that is. We have to act now, before it goes on any longer. The longer it goes untreated, the worse the future complications. I'm hoping they'll put her in a brace for a few months and that will be the end of it. That's probably unrealistic; as I understand it that's the typical treatment for newborns, and she isn't one. In all likelihood, she'll be put under general anesthesia, her hip will be repositioned correctly, and she'll spend several weeks, perhaps months in a body cast.
We'll need a special car seat to accommodate the cast. We'll need to get really creative and skilled at diapering around a twenty five pound body cast. We'll have to keep an active, excitable seven month old entertained while she is rendered completely immobile. We'll have to worry about the long term effects of not just the problem, but the treatment. The body cast could affect her growth permanently, and her growth is already an issue. We'll have to pay some attention to our two and a half year old. But that's all stuff I know I can handle. I'm only mildly concerned about that. My only real thoughts are for my precious baby. I wring my hands over just how much her tiny body can handle. She's been through so much already. She's fought for her life before she has a concept of what her life even is. She's so strong, but at the same time so tiny. So fragile.
There has to come a point where enough is enough, and I have to believe I'm sprinting toward that point. I've kind of had it with the trials and tribulations this year has brought, and I'm ready to move into a little ease. A little luxury. Clearly there are mountains left to climb.
