Thankful time of year

It's that time of year - The Holiday Season!!  And there is a holiday that falls between one of the darkest holidays and one of the brightest.  It's the holiday that involves turkey not candy or presents.  It's the holiday that is quickly disappearing.  Stores go from rows and rows of candy to rows and rows of Christmas trees and lights.  But I LOVE Thanksgiving also!  Even though my most favorite by a large margin is Christmas, I want to take the time this month to remember all that I have to be thankful for.  So this post is going to be an update and also a few reasons why I am so thankful this year.  

In my last post I explained about the unexpected journey we would be taking.  My daughter would be having another hip surgery to correct her hip dysplasia.  I would be dealing with a 5 year old in a cast while also going through my third trimester.  That was a hard time - I won't lie.  I was also dealing with severe back and hip pain.  I'm sure lifting a 5 year old in a body cast didn't help.  But my wonderful midwife referred me to a physical therapist, and she did wonders for my back/hip!  The last few weeks of my pregnancy were pain-free!!  Something I haven't experienced in my last several pregnancies.  I did learn that all of my pregnancies have caused my hips to be very unstable. 

Madison's surgery was at the end of June.  She asked for a purple cast with pink stripes.  This is what she got:

 I think they did great!  It's exactly what she wanted.  That smile on her face - it was almost always there!  I kid you not!  She was the happiest kid in a spica cast I've ever seen.  While she was in a cast we celebrated 4th of July.

 and we had VBS at church:

 That's me and my sweetie!  She was such a trooper!  She never complained about what she couldn't do.  She just made do, and was happy all the time.

And then the big day came - one month after her surgery, she came out of the cast:

We were so happy!!  She still needed the wheelchair b/c she couldn't walk on her leg for a while, and she would get tired when she did start walking.  But the cast was off!!  Yay!!!  

Then another big day came for our family.  The day we welcomed baby #6 into our family.  Mikenzie Grace was born in early August.  

Life as a family of 8 seems very similar to 7.  We are truly blessed!  And we are so happy with our large family.  Mikenzie is very happy baby.  In fact she's probably the best baby I've had.  She is a wonderful addition to our family.  

And then a few weeks later, we said goodbye to the wheelchair!  

This was truly a crazy summer.  I went through more than I thought I could, but I came out on the other side!  I took it one day at a time, leaned on my family and friends, and most importantly - stayed in constant contact with God!  

I have so much to be thankful for!  So this month I am going to focus on being Thankful!  

But after that - BRING ON CHRISTMAS!!!!!  

An unexpected turn in our hip journey

For those of you that know me, or have followed my blog in the past, you know that one of the reasons I started a blog was to chronicle our hip dysplasia journey.  I have blogged about many other things, but hip dysplasia was one of the biggest.  There were very few resources out there when we were going through this, so I started blogging about what was going on.

Here's a quick recap - Madison was born with hip dysplasia that wasn't caught until she turned one year old and started walking with a limp.  It was a rather severe case that required surgery which meant a spica cast.  If you aren't familiar with them - it's a cast that goes from armpits to toes.

After two casts she went into a brace.  This kept her legs out at her sides to allow the femoral head to push into the hip socket allowing it curve over the bone instead of being flat.  (she basically had no hip socket - just flat bone.)  

Once she came out of the brace, she would have regular checkup with her orthopedic surgeon to x-ray the progress of the hip.  At first everything was moving as it should.  And then it stopped.  For no reason.  And now it has even started going the other way - more flat, not rounded.  

That means we now do it all over again.  

In late June Madison will undergo another surgery.  She will be in another spica cast for 4 to 6 weeks.  Which isn't horrible compared to the first time.  At 4 weeks, she got a cast change and was in it for another 4 weeks.

(cast #2 was purple)

  After the cast comes off, she will walk with a limp b/c her leg lengths will be different.  The affected leg has already grown longer than the unaffected one.  
So the surgeon will first shorten the affected leg by removing a piece of bone. That bone will then be used to try to make a hip socket.  Her leg will be shorter for a while, but will eventually catch up and the limp will go away.  

It's a 3 hour surgery, and will be the longest 3-4 hours of my life with the exception of her first surgery - the longest 4 hours of my life.

One of the biggest changes this time is Madison is 5 years old, not 1.  She is more aware of what's going on.  She knows what she will be missing by being in a cast.  She knows she will be different from other kids her age.  We've been talking about what she can expect, and she has already said she doesn't want to be in a wheelchair, and she doesn't want to be in a cast.  I am trying to stay positive ("it will only be a few weeks." " you can pick what color cast you get!"), but at the same time being honest ("yes, it's going to be different.  You won't be able to do some things, but we will find other things to do.")

Another big complication is I am 27 weeks pregnant.  I have a baby coming in August.  I will have to deal with a child in a spica cast, while being in the final stages of pregnancy.   This could get interesting...

She will get a wheelchair this time, which will help tremendously.  Last time she fit in a stroller, so a wheelchair wasn't needed. 

I will be looking into car seat options soon.  I'm sure we will have to borrow a special car seat like we did last time.  Thankfully there's an organization that loans out special needs car seats for free.

I assume this also means Madison will have a plate in her leg again, so in a couple of years there will be another surgery to remove the plate.  

I can't tell you how disappointed, overwhelmed, and sad I am over all of this. I really thought we were coming to the end of hip journey.  Now it feels like going back to the starting line.  

We appreciate all your prayers for us as we go through this difficult summer.