September 23, 2012

See these pretty little legs that are doing an awful good job at keeping this girl standing? Well on October 9th they're going to have some extra help. My parents and I are flying out to Omaha to have one of the best doctors put the rods in. We probably could have had it done at Primary's, but the surgeon in Omaha was trained by the man who invented the rods and he's done it hundreds of times. We just feel more comfortable having him do it and not someone who's guessing how to do surgery on OI bones. 

The surgery should last 5-6 hours and she should be in the hospital for about five days. The rods will be put inside of her femurs and tibias and should grow with her for a while. She hopefully won't need a spica cast and will just be splinted for about three weeks. 

(This is a spica cast. Basically cast from toes to armpits).

These are the x-rays of her legs in case anyone cares to see. This is the spot we're most excited to have done. It's bowed 90 degrees and with it straightened it will hopefully be much easier to stand. At this angle she's pretty much in a squat when standing so I don't blame her for only wanting to do it a little bit at a time. 

These are the x-rays of another little OIer to show what the rods look like. This little one has outgrown these rods and that's why they look so short.

I'm a little nervous to do such a big surgery.....well a lot nervous. I know she'll do great but it will be hard to move for the few weeks she's splinted and I'm thinking that will make for one grumpy girl. It will be worth it though. And if you think about it in the next two weeks, send up a prayer for our Jaela.