Julia going home tomorrow

[jjsmom]

Julia's surgery went well and we are going home tomorrow. She has a bit of a limp she never had before, with one leg shorter than the other. She'd had a minor leg length discrepancy before but not so bad that she limped. The doctor thinks the muscles will soon adjust to their new position and her hip will come down a bit. She has a sort stiffness in her hip when she walks that should improve soon. That is because he adjusted her pelvis that had been tilted. It may stay with her forever to some degree, we're just hoping it's not so pronounced after a few months of muscles adjusting. Her correction looks beautiful on the xray, the dr. was very pleased, but I don't know the degree yet.

Her recovery was going really well until she got a terrible stomach flu day 3. (Her father and sister got the same thing at home.) You can imagine how difficult that would be with the vomiting etc. Her fever went up to 104.7. It was a lot of worry but it's over now.

During some of the most emotional times I remembered everyone's stories and advice and was reminded that this would pass, and in not too long we'd be out of it. I'm sure there will be many more such moments as we take the recovery process home now. Thanks again for the support and for sharing your experiences.

Barbara

[Vali]

Hi Barbara,
I also had the limp after surgery. I kept telling my surgeon that it was the pain running down the top of my left leg, that was causing it. He prescibed a muscle relaxant, which relieved it after only three doses. Hopefully this will also disappear soon.

[JenniferG]

I too have a slight limp which has all but gone. If I'm tired, it's a little more pronounced but when I'm fresh it obvious.

You must be thrilled to have this surgery behind you!

[jjsmom]

Thank you Vali and Jennifer. I was hoping to hear that others had this and it resolved itself. Already I can see some improvement in the limp, though when she stands still one leg is clearly a fair amount shorter than the other.

I can see that her body is a little asymmetrical in various ways that it wasn't before - shoulders, hips, even her neck a little, though her trunk is straight. She moves a little awkwardly. I guess all of these things will settle into place too as the muscles adjust and the pain goes completely away.

Overall she is feeling soooo much better. Incredible how much better she felt the minute she got home compared to in the hospital. We have cut back her pain medication and she is getting more active around the house. I am looking forward to a full night's sleep sometime soon when we drop the middle of the night medication. I am finally starting to relax about it all.