Perthes Journey
September 2017
I’m Jo and this is my son Jacob’s Perthes journey. September last year Jacob was at a football match playing for his team A.C Hoylake Under 7s. He went in for a tackle and fell on to his left side nothing out the normal he jumped up and carried on playing. Two week later he started limping I mean dragging his leg and crying when he had to walk for more than 5 minutes. We took him to are local doctor who said he had probably sprained it and to just rest for a week or two. We tried that for 4 days but school were concerned as we were so we went to are local a&e who said the same it will be a sprain and sent us away to rest. Long story very short this went on for 7 weeks back and forth to hospital and are own doctors a stay over at the hospital blood tests and X-ray of his foot! But no body could explain what was wrong with his leg. Eventually week 8 I refused to leave the hospital till he was give and mri. A orthopaedic consultant agreed to X-ray his hips and legs and her face just said something was wrong as soon as the X-ray came back and we were sent to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital.
December 2017
At alder hey we were seen by orthopaedic doctor Daniel Perry he reviewed Jacobs X-ray and advised us Jacob would need varus osteotomy of proximal femur and application of a hip spica. We were told although Jacob would still have Perthes the operation would put his hip in the optimal position to enable growth.
February 2018
Jacob had surgery on February the 1st. The operation went very well and Daniel perry was very pleased with how it went. Jacob had an epidural morphine and a catheter fitted the first couple of days at hospital were scary from my point of view I have 4 children so have been through all kinds but this was a big surgery. Jacob caught a cold while we were in hospital so he had a rough few days and was put on a drip. But after that night he was like a new kid happy to go on his front as he had a temperature he had been sweating and developed a sweat rash around the cast which caused little blisters. The spica itself is not as big as I thought it would be and I was worried I definitely wouldn’t be able to do anything to help him being 5ft, I thought his dad would have to do a lot of the care but it’s nothing like I expected Jacob can move around he’s got his own ways.He has had to move downstairs in to the living room which we have made in to his bedroom he is getting on with the bedpan and urine bottle great We’ve been home from hospital a couple of weeks now and all is going well he should have the spica on for 6-8 weeks.