Healthy Hips?

 

 

 

 

Dear Little Angel,

 

 

      The past few months have been consumed with events often discovered in the daily lives of other families without the added journey of hip dysplasia.  Christmas, Valentines Day and Easter egg hunts have all been participated in with little thought of your hips.  After half a year off of doctor visits, xrays and spica casts, we once again felt at home in the routines that consume the days of parents caring for their hip children.  Arriving home from work early to load you and your sister into the Yukon, we found the drive more of a recollection of days long gone by as we drove the roads to the front steps of the Shriner's hospital in Salt Lake City.  The houses lining the streets, the state capitol building high on the hill and the Wasatch Mountains in the background have all become landmarks that mark our progress as you recall each as we journey to your appointment.  As familiar buildings pass by your window, you often recall the stories of each as you retell the detail of multiple questions answered on previous trips. 

     The doctor visit was short.  Xrays for you and Alexa were completed as we were placed in a waiting room for results.  Days of anticipation finally reached a peaking point as the surgeon entered the room with a big smile.  Waving for us to follow we traveled down the hall to the desk top computer displaying the images of you and your sisters hips.  Time was spent to review the growth of each hip, comparisons were made to older xrays and concerns reviewed.  At the end of the visit, the surgeon reported, "Eight more months, then xrays for both girls.  If Alexa comes back clean, she will go to yearly follow ups.  Aleena will continue to be in my care."