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Joshua was born naturally (but had to be induced by breaking my waters due to being late) with Hip Dysplasia and congenital dislocation of the knees (his legs were completely straight up by his ears) as well as having bilateral talipes.\u00a0 We had absolutely no idea what was wrong with him and neither did the midwives.\u00a0 We were left in the labour room for 6 hours Googling what could be wrong.\u00a0 They kept talking about his Hip Dysplasia and I kept telling them to focus on his knees or lack of!<\/p>\n
We were referred to Oxford Nuffield Hospital where, at 5 days old, his legs were cast at an angle where they could get as much bend as possible.\u00a0 We went back every week for new casts and an attempt to make an increase bend.\u00a0 We did this for 4 weeks and were told it wasn\u2019t working.\u00a0 This was exhausting as he was in agony every week.\u00a0 He was booked in for surgery on his knees at 10 weeks old and to be put into a hip spica cast.\u00a0 Steps had sorted us a car seat to fit the spica cast after the surgery.\u00a0 From birth to this point I wore him everywhere in a wrap.\u00a0 It was the only way for him to be comfortable and the only way he slept with his legs in a V-shape around me.<\/p>\n
When he came out of surgery we were told his hips had locked into place and the spica cast was not needed.\u00a0 I truly believe this was due to me wearing him everywhere.\u00a0 We didn\u2019t know if he would ever walk.<\/p>\n
We went through genetic tests which took a long time and he was eventually diagnosed with mild Larsen\u2019s Syndrome. Complete fluke as we were tested and it\u2019s not in either of mine nor my husband\u2019s genes anywhere.\u00a0 We have an elder daughter together and my husband has another daughter from a previous relationship with no issues.<\/p>\n
We continued to do flexion exercises with his knees and feet and eventually he was given orthopaedic shoes.\u00a0 He crawled at around 12 months then, March 2020 we hit lockdown and we were forced to slow down.\u00a0 While renovating our garden on the 26th March Joshua stood up from his little chair and walked about 4 steps.\u00a0 My husband and I stared at each other, mouths open.\u00a0 Since then he\u2019s not stopped.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s 4 now and he\u2019s still a handful.\u00a0 He runs (usually in the opposite direction, towards traffic!) all the time and he\u2019s fast!!!\u00a0 He seems to be double-jointed and can bend in some very odd positions: I\u2019m sure he\u2019s going to be a gymnast!\u00a0 He has astounded us and everyone who knows him.\u00a0 He has learned to overcome obstacles which may require bending his knees a lot by swinging his legs round!<\/p>\n
We still have check-ups and physio on his feet.\u00a0 He was wearing orthopaedic shoes until recently as we now have personally moulded insoles that we can put into high tops (must be wide enough though as they\u2019re quite chunky!) and we are having an OT attend his preschool to help him be more comfortable with his friends on the carpet as he can\u2019t cross his legs.<\/p>\n
I have faith that when he knows that the exercises will help, he will get that bend like any other little boy.\u00a0 Currently he can bend to about 90-100 degrees.\u00a0 Nothing stops him and my fears for him are slowly disappearing.<\/p>\n
Good luck to anyone facing any difficulties.\u00a0 It\u2019s easy to feel so alone and lost but there are people out there who can help and share similar experiences.\u00a0 Don\u2019t lose faith on what your little ones can achieve!<\/p>\n
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Joshua was born naturally (but had to be induced by breaking my waters due to being late) with Hip Dysplasia and congenital dislocation of the knees (his legs were completely straight up by his ears) as well as having bilateral talipes.\u00a0 We had absolutely no idea what was wrong with him and neither did the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6201,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"
Archie Andrew is now 21 months old, he was late being diagnosed with DDH in his left hip at 18 months old. <\/span>This is Archie's DDH treatment story:<\/span><\/em><\/p> When Archie was born he passed all checks including the hip checks. All appointments with his health visitor went amazingly and was continuing to show no signs of any hip issues.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> Archie began showing signs when he started to walk between 12-13 months old. The sign that stood out most to me was that Archie walked flat-footed on his right foot but tiptoed on his left. I contacted his GP and after a long wait, I received an appointment at the hospital for him to have an x-ray. The x-ray showed Archie\u2019s left hip was not where it should be and it was then in December 2020 he was diagnosed with DDH.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> Following his diagnosis I did my research about DDH because I had never heard of it before and that was when I came across the STEPS charity. I was unaware of how many children do suffer from hip conditions and how many different hip conditions there are and how late some are diagnosed and I think it\u2019s very important that we raise awareness for all types of hip conditions and the vital signs to look out for to enable children to get the medical help they need to prevent any further issues for them later in life.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> In December 2020 when Archie was diagnosed, I was informed on the day that Archie would require surgery to alter his hip. If Archie didn\u2019t have the surgery he would be in a lot of pain and discomfort as he gets older and could potentially develop further issues. I was also informed he would be having metal work in his hip meaning that 1 year later he would require another operation to have the metal work removed. I was also told that he would be in cast for 3 months.\u00a0 His first cast would be a spica cast for 6 weeks followed by a broomstick cast for a further 6 weeks.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> Archie was booked in for his operation on February 18th 2021. It was a very stressful time as with covid Archie was having to have covid tests before going for x rays and before his operation to be certain his operation could go ahead.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> In the run-up to Archie\u2019s operation I also joined the steps charity support page on Facebook which was incredible, I received so much support from other parents going through the same or similar situations as I was with their child\/ children. I was given so much advice on how to prepare for the hospital stay and when we would get back home.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> On the day of Archie\u2019s operation we arrived at stoke hospital for 7:30 am and he went to theatre for 9am. His operation lasted a long 5 and a half hours BUT there was some really good news, it turned out Archie didn\u2019t need any metal work which was originally the plan for him! He returned to the ward very sleepy and had an epidural to help control any pain.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> In total Archie was in hospital for 4 nights, 2 of those were very hard on Archie as he experienced a lot of muscle spasms when trying to sleep which was very upsetting for him as it was causing him some discomfort and disturbing his sleep.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> The day we returned home the hospital gave us the transport to get back, Archie was in his spica cast which meant he couldn\u2019t sit in the car seat. I purchased Archie a big bean bag in the run-up to his operation which came in very useful as it enabled him to sit up as much as possible but most importantly to be comfortable.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> Originally Archie was put down for a spica chair to be loaned to him, however, the spica chairs that were tried for him just wasn\u2019t the right ones for him.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> Throughout the first 6 weeks in his spica cast Archie was his happy usual self and adapted very quickly to the cast to the point in the final two weeks he was almost army crawling on the floor in it!\u00a0<\/span><\/p> The first 6 weeks went by so Archie was back at the hospital to have his spica cast taken off in April 2021 to have his Broomstick cast put on. This meant Archie had to go under anaesthetic to have it changed as x rays needed to be carried out too. This took 2 hours and then Archie was back on the ward. When the anaesthetic wore off Archie was extremely happy to be able to sit up properly on his own in his new cast. Later that day when Archie had drank and ate we were allowed back home only this meant Archie could go in his car seat as his consultant said it was safe to do so so Archie was one very happy boy as he loves being in the car!\u00a0<\/span><\/p> When we arrived back home again Archie adapted very quickly to his new cast, Archie was able to be just that little bit more mobile on his own in his broomstick cast so he was crawling around the best he could in no time and after only a couple of weeks Archie was even standing up!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>