Blounts Disease Surgery
Good Morning! As I sit here to write this morning, I realize that I have been speaking of follow up posts about things and I never get those written. This one is going to be the first of many that I will try to get my faithful readers caught up on subjects that I have spoke of and never mentioned again.
Blount's Disease, for those that do not know what it is, is a disease in which the tibia bone does not grow correctly and the outside of the leg grows faster than the inside and it causes extreme bow leggedness. It can be a debilitating disease if it goes untreated. In most cases, surgery is required.
A month ago today, my granddoll went for the surgery that the pediatric orthopedic surgeon felt was best for her case. We were told that the surgery was performed often and that there was really not much danger of things going wrong and that results are usually successful. I have a friend of a friend that works in this particular field and she even reassured me that the surgeon we had was the best in her field and that these surgeries were done daily, but it did not put my mind to ease. I prayed and prayed until I felt that God would be ignoring them because I said so many.
For the surgery, small incisions are made on the outside of the leg and a metal plate is placed upon the outer growth plate to stop it and allow the inside to catch up. Results are usually very good with results being seen within 6-9 months. In my head, I knew that the risks were low and that she was in good hands but my heart just did not feel the peace that I needed it to.
Surgery day arrived and the staff and surgeon made the pre-op room fun for her. She played with the mask that she would wear to be put to sleep. She walked out of the room with the patient/family care member and was given a stuffed pig to play with while waiting for surgery to begin. She would walk out of the pre- op and no medicine or IV's were given until she was asleep. She waved goodbye to us after giving hugs and kisses and we were to go to surgery waiting.
As we were walking out of that room, total dread and fear enveloped me and I could not stop the tears. As we walked into the hall, I felt hot and things began to go black. I leaned into the wall and stood while breathing extremely deep breaths. My husband asked what was wrong and I just said my baby. I imagined her walking into a scary surgical room with lots of machines and lights with strangers she did not know and then being forced to put this mask on while fighting all the while and wondering why we left her with these strangers that were hurting her.
A very long walk to the waiting room and we were suddenly faced with 2 hours of waiting and fear (on my behalf).The waiting area was not pleasant and led to more prayers. It also taught me just how uncaring some people are. My granddoll is in for what is considered a mild surgery and I am about to pass out while a lady across the aisle from me is leaving to go to Wal-Mart while her young (probably under 3) son is in surgery to find out why his liver or kidneys were not working. That seems like a much more dangerous surgery that our grand dolls and she was leaving the hospital. My patience was no good and I wanted to scream " Do you not care at all- can't Wal-Mart wait", but I kept my composure.
Grand dolls mom and her fiancé went to get a drink from the hospital cafeteria and my husband and other daughters ' boyfriend went outside to get fresh air, but I could not leave the waiting room as it felt that I would be totally abandoning her. I was thankful that my oldest daughter stayed with me. Many tears flowed while I waited. After an hour, we were told to come into the consultation room. Again my heart sunk, as surgery was to be two hours.
When the surgeon entered that room, I was on the verge of another breakdown when I suddenly heard, " surgery went well". Now a waiting game to see if it was successful. She went over instructions and my husband asked what seemed a million questions as always. I just wanted to hold her, when could I see her? They would only allow my daughter and her fiancé to go back into the recovery waiting area at first. I felt weak as I needed to see her. Finally, ( only 5 mins or so), we were able to go back. My heart was not ready for the sight as she was still not out of the anesthesia and was whiny and did not want to be near anyone but mommy. She was bandaged up and wrapped in blankets to keep her warm. I needed to leave before she seen me cry!
Within 40 minutes we were headed home and she is now running and playing the same as always. People that come over and do not see her daily seem to think that it is working and that she has already straightened some. The surgeon follow up was last week and she made another appointment for January when we will do x-rays and see if they show a difference.
I will keep everyone posted. Thank you for prayers.
Blount's Disease, for those that do not know what it is, is a disease in which the tibia bone does not grow correctly and the outside of the leg grows faster than the inside and it causes extreme bow leggedness. It can be a debilitating disease if it goes untreated. In most cases, surgery is required.
A month ago today, my granddoll went for the surgery that the pediatric orthopedic surgeon felt was best for her case. We were told that the surgery was performed often and that there was really not much danger of things going wrong and that results are usually successful. I have a friend of a friend that works in this particular field and she even reassured me that the surgeon we had was the best in her field and that these surgeries were done daily, but it did not put my mind to ease. I prayed and prayed until I felt that God would be ignoring them because I said so many.
For the surgery, small incisions are made on the outside of the leg and a metal plate is placed upon the outer growth plate to stop it and allow the inside to catch up. Results are usually very good with results being seen within 6-9 months. In my head, I knew that the risks were low and that she was in good hands but my heart just did not feel the peace that I needed it to.
Surgery day arrived and the staff and surgeon made the pre-op room fun for her. She played with the mask that she would wear to be put to sleep. She walked out of the room with the patient/family care member and was given a stuffed pig to play with while waiting for surgery to begin. She would walk out of the pre- op and no medicine or IV's were given until she was asleep. She waved goodbye to us after giving hugs and kisses and we were to go to surgery waiting.
As we were walking out of that room, total dread and fear enveloped me and I could not stop the tears. As we walked into the hall, I felt hot and things began to go black. I leaned into the wall and stood while breathing extremely deep breaths. My husband asked what was wrong and I just said my baby. I imagined her walking into a scary surgical room with lots of machines and lights with strangers she did not know and then being forced to put this mask on while fighting all the while and wondering why we left her with these strangers that were hurting her.
A very long walk to the waiting room and we were suddenly faced with 2 hours of waiting and fear (on my behalf).The waiting area was not pleasant and led to more prayers. It also taught me just how uncaring some people are. My granddoll is in for what is considered a mild surgery and I am about to pass out while a lady across the aisle from me is leaving to go to Wal-Mart while her young (probably under 3) son is in surgery to find out why his liver or kidneys were not working. That seems like a much more dangerous surgery that our grand dolls and she was leaving the hospital. My patience was no good and I wanted to scream " Do you not care at all- can't Wal-Mart wait", but I kept my composure.
Grand dolls mom and her fiancé went to get a drink from the hospital cafeteria and my husband and other daughters ' boyfriend went outside to get fresh air, but I could not leave the waiting room as it felt that I would be totally abandoning her. I was thankful that my oldest daughter stayed with me. Many tears flowed while I waited. After an hour, we were told to come into the consultation room. Again my heart sunk, as surgery was to be two hours.
When the surgeon entered that room, I was on the verge of another breakdown when I suddenly heard, " surgery went well". Now a waiting game to see if it was successful. She went over instructions and my husband asked what seemed a million questions as always. I just wanted to hold her, when could I see her? They would only allow my daughter and her fiancé to go back into the recovery waiting area at first. I felt weak as I needed to see her. Finally, ( only 5 mins or so), we were able to go back. My heart was not ready for the sight as she was still not out of the anesthesia and was whiny and did not want to be near anyone but mommy. She was bandaged up and wrapped in blankets to keep her warm. I needed to leave before she seen me cry!
Within 40 minutes we were headed home and she is now running and playing the same as always. People that come over and do not see her daily seem to think that it is working and that she has already straightened some. The surgeon follow up was last week and she made another appointment for January when we will do x-rays and see if they show a difference.
I will keep everyone posted. Thank you for prayers.
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