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May 23rd 2003 |
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Spencer just came home from the Shriner's Hospital where he had an arthrogram on both his knees. X-rays were not showing doctors anything that was going on in his knees. The knees have a sack of fluid around them. Doctors injected a dye into the fluid and then looked at them with a special scope. That allowed them to see how the ends of the femur and tibia were forming. Spencer was put under general anestectic for this procedure.
The best case scenario would have been that the bones were forming normally and just needed to be aligned. That was not the case however. Dr. Mosley and Dr. Hugh Watts performed the arthrogram. Afterwords they informed us that Spencer has "very interesting knees" Here is a breakdown of what they found.
The bottom of the Femur normally has two knobs on it. The top of the Tibia is normally flat and then slots into the Femur. The bottom of Spencer's Femur is just flat without the knobs. The top of his Tibia is rounded. This allows his knees to bend all around almost like universal joints or ball joints. They were also unable to locate a patella (kneecap) in either leg. They didn't seem too concerned about the absence of the kneecap.
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Dec 9th 2003 |
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The Surgery has been rescheduled to April 8, 2004. This was due to the fact that Doctor Mosely will be out of town in January. We were given the option to proceed with another doctor but we chose to stay with Doctor Mosely and take the later date.
Although many aspects of this are frustrating given that we were preparing for the January date, On the whole I think it is for the best. One positive aspect is being able to explain more to Spence given that he will have far greater cognitive abilities at that time.
We were also able to schedule a Pre-surgery consult on February 3rd that will allow us to get answers to our many questions. There was no definitive answer on the type of casting that Spence will be in. There was some talk of a "Spika" cast that is evidently much like a one legged body cast. Also there was talk of one of those "halo" aramatures that attaches to the bones on both sides and would not be as limiting as the Spika as far as bathing, diaper changing and mobility. I am an advocate for the Halo given what I know right now, but now I have more time to look at them both and get an idea what the doctors think is best.
All is well with Spencer, he is happy as heck and a joy to be around right now. Spencer will be travelling to Wyoming with me (Spencer's Dad) for the holidays to see the Hawk Clan and experience snow for the first time. Looking forward to seeing Grammy and being spoiled rotten. |
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Surgery : Apr 8th 2004 |
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Well the surgery is complete....damn that Spencer is full of surprises. They opened up his knee to begin the straightening and finally found out what was going on in there (his knees have been an ongoing mystery to all)
After looking at what was there, they decided that to continue with the surgery they had planned (releasing the soft tissue, strightening the leg, body cast etc) was not in the best interest of Spencer. They started to release some soft tissue but then stopped, closed up and now Spencer has a soft bandage on his knee. He will be all healed up in about 10-15 days.
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Apr 6th 2004 |
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After a wait that has seemed intolerable at times, the surgery is tomorrow. Oh the spaces we have gone through. I am pretty scared. It seems so weird to be putting Spence into surgery...it really doesn't seem that there is anything wrong with him (and there isn't.) I do know however that this surgery on his knee will give him the best chance to walk. I of course don't look forward to the "spika cast" that we are preparing for.
It has been so hard to figure out how to prepare him for this. His language skills are good for his age but how do you explain to a 3 year old that he will be in a cast for up to 2 months? You don't I guess.
He is in amazing spirits and seems to be fully recovered from the ear and eye infection that he got a week before the surgery. The pediatrician said he is plenty well enough for Surgery.
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So then what Happened? 2004-2008 |
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From a surgery standpoint, none were conducted during this period of time. Spencer was a kid and grew stronger and more amazing every day. They told us he would never walk with his knees the way that they were... but no one told Spencer that. He managed to stand in a very bowlegged way and walk short distances. His preferred method of locomotion was still hopping and scooting.
However, in 2007, he started complaining of pain and pretty much gave up trying to stand. His body weight was just too much for his bendy legs. We started going back to Shriner's and discussing options for moving forward.
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