Hip Dysplasia

As most of you know, Emerson was born with hip dysplasia in her left hip.

Hip dysplasia is the medical name used to describe a problem with formation of the hip joint in children. The location of the problem can be either the ball of the hip joint, the socket of the hip joint , or both.

What causes hip dysplasia?The exact cause of hip dysplasia is not easy to pin down, as there are thought to be several factors that contribute to developing this condition. Hip dysplasia occurs in about 0.4% of all births, and is most common in first born girls. Some known risk factors for a child to have hip dysplasia include:

• A family history of hip dysplasia
• Breech position in the womb
• Hormonal loosening of the female ligaments
• Etc.

In mild cases, the ligaments and other soft tissues around the hip joint are not tight, and they allow the thighbone (femur) to move around more than normal in the hip socket.

This is what our case is, mild.

How is hip dysplasia diagnosed?Diagnosis of hip dysplasia in the infant is based on the physical examination findings. Your doctor will feel for a "hip click" when performing special maneuvers of the hip joint. These maneuvers, called the Barlow and Ortolani tests, will cause a hip that is out of position to "click" as it moves in and out of the proper position.

If a hip click is felt, your doctor will usually obtain a hip ultrasound to assess the hip joint. An x-ray does not show the bones in a young baby until at least 6 months of age, and therefore a hip ultrasound is preferred. The hip ultrasound will show the doctor the position and shape of the hip joint. Instead of the normal ball-in-socket joint, the ultrasound may show the ball outside of the socket, and a poorly formed (shallow) socket. The hip ultrasound can also be used to determine how well the treatment is working.

This is how Emerson was diagnosed. Our pediatrician, Dr. Fuqua, came in and examined her each morning in the hospital. From the get-go she found the hip click. She called Dr. Timms in to reexamine her, he found the same thing. We left the hospital on a Thursday. That Friday we were sent to Shriner's Hospital for Children in Greenville, SC.

There, we saw a Pediatrician Orthopedic Surgeon. He (officially) diagnosed her with hip dysplasia. That day, she was fitted for and put in a Pavlik harness.

This is her, right after she was put in it.

What is the treatment of hip dysplasia?The treatment of hip dysplasia depends on the age of the child. The goal of treatment is to properly position the hip joint ("reduce" the hip). Once an adequate reduction is obtained, the doctor will hold the hip in that reduced position and allow the body to adapt to the new position. The younger the child, the better capacity to adapt the hip, and the better chance of full recovery. Over time, the body becomes less accommodating to repositioning of the hip joint. While treatment of hip dysplasia varies for each individual baby, this is what we are doing:

• Birth to 6 months
  Generally in newborns, a hip dysplasia will reduce with the use of a special brace called a Pavlik harness. This brace holds the baby's hips in a position that keeps the joint reduced. Over time, the body adapts to the correct position, and the hip joint begins normal formation. About 90% of newborns with hip dysplasia treated in a Pavlik harness will recover fully. 

Each week to two weeks, we'll go to Greenville Memorial Hospital, get an ultrasound of her hips then walk over to Shriner's Hospital to see the specialists. I cannot say enough good about everyone that we have seen there. We are working with a doctor that is new to Shriner's. He is very hands-on. He does everything, the nurses do not. You usually don't see that. Lately, he's been walking over to Greenville Hospital to meet us in the ultrasound room to see for himself. Then he'll re-adjust her harness there. WE LOVE HIM!! Dr. Mendelow is his name and I recommend him to anyone!

In the past few weeks, he thought that the harness wasn't doing its job 100%. We talked about surgery. Thankfully he wanted to wait another week with her in the harness, then come back to reassess things.

After many prayers, we went back to find that it looks better! He gave her ANOTHER week. This time when we went back, he talked more in depth about doing surgery....unless she had made a huge change. Praise the Lord! Her hip looked wonderful! It was in the perfect position in the socket. So...no surgery at this time!!! We'll keep her in the harness another 6 weeks, for a total of 12 weeks.

I believe in prayer and it worked!!

We bathe around it, change her diaper around it, the harness does not come off for any reason, unless it is doctor ordered. She was put in the harness when she was 4 days old and thankfully I don't think she knows the difference. It doesn't bother her, it seems pretty comfortable.

We are so thankful to have these doctors, our family support and the good Lord on our side. Emerson is improving everyday and we are so proud of every big and little accomplishment she makes.

This was week 4 of wearing her harness. We were able to take it off at the hospital. She killed her sweet legs and we kissed her precious feet!

(Notice the big smile at the end...she's smiling at her big brother!)

40 Weeks Come & Go

So my last post, 7 weeks ago, I was still with child...39 weeks along.

By that time, SURELY I thought Emerson would have been here by now.

I always thought that she would come early.

Boy was I wrong.

39 weeks came and went. Saturday, April 28, 2012 came...my DUE DATE...40 weeks! The day I have been anxiously waiting for since August 2011.

No dilation, no progression whatsoever. And no sign of anything happening anytime soon. Seriously?

Doesn't she know that I have a plan? I'd like certain things to happen and at certain times. hahahaha

Yeah right! Every. single. plan. that I had...did not happen! So if you have a "plan," well, get over it.

So Monday, April 30, 2012 around 12:30pm I went for my 40 week check up at Greenwood OBGYN. They hooked me up to the monitor, got my vitals, checked me, and then decided to send me to Self to get an ultrasound to check my fluids. ( I guess their ultrasound tech was booked)

Before I went to Self, I spoke with one of the nurses, who is also the mother of a close friend. Can I just say that she has been NOTHING but wonderful throughout this entire pregnancy. Thank you Wanda Witt!! You mean more to me than you can imagine!

She knows how I am...I want the truth, no beating around the bush, lay it out straight for me.

She said that I had not progressed, I was not favorable for induction. If I were to be induced, more than likely I would labor for HOURS, wear myself out and have to have a C-section in the end....more than likely. I did not want to put strain on the baby, I wanted a certain doctor or two, so I decided that I would plan for a C-section.

So that was it, she scheduled me for a C-section the next morning with Dr. Forrest. Emerson would be a May baby! May 1, 2012 would be her birth date. Thank you Jesus for giving us a plan!

When I left, I went by Self to get my ultrasound. Danny left and picked up Wells to spend some time with him and go to his ball game that evening since we knew we'd be in the hospital for the next few days.

Then they tell me, if your fluid level is low, we may want to admit you to watch you and the baby over night, then do the section in the morning.

Oookay. Plans have changed a little.

That was fine with me, as long as I could go home for an hour or two to get my (already packed) bags and to get my mind right.

My level was a 3. Wow. VERY low!

I call Danny..."They want to admit me now! But you go on and go to Wells's game, Mama will come stay with me until it's over."

Plan B...now happening.

I get picked up from the radiology waiting room by the employees that take you anywhere you need to go and she asks me "Do you need a wheelchair?" "Heck no woman, I feel fine!"

She takes me to my room where a nurse meets me and starts getting all of my info.

This was 6:00pm by the way.

Then the nurse tells me that Dr. Beaudrot was going to come in and talk to me. He did.

He asked me if I would like for him to do it tonight. TONIGHT??? Wait. Tonight??

So my mind started going 10000000000x a second.

• I knew he was my 1st choice of doctors.
• Danny was NOT here...he was in Ninety Six with Wells.
• Wait, NO one was here with me, I was all by myself.
• Danny would miss Wells's ball game and that's not right.
• TONIGHT?
 

So then I asked, "Like what time are you talking about??"

I knew it was a little after 6pm and I knew he had been on shift since that morning and he was getting off at 7pm.

"Like, in an hour...," he said.

AN HOUR? Like ONE hour? Like 60 minutes? Holy moly!!

Obviously this was not a choice I should make alone.

So then I starting thinking again, and texting.

I asked him to give me a minute and I'd let him know.

If I were to wait until the morning, my fluid levels could drop in the middle of the night. No one from my doctor's office would be there, my family would not be there...it was just too risky.

So I made a decision.

Yes, let's do it tonight, in "like an hour".

Almost immediately, the anesthesia people came in and started telling me stuff, the nurses came in and started hooking me up to IVs, I started signing paper work, all while I'm texting Danny telling him....GET HERE NOW!!! So he FLEW from our house in Ninety Six all the way to Greenwood to Wells's grandma's house, back to the hospital to get there in time.

Oh, and apparently I was having contractions and didn't even know it! We were watching it on the screen...the nurse said, "Oh you feel that one? That's a big one." Nope, nothing.

In the mean time, Danny's mama comes flying in the room in a complete panic! She had ran from the car to my hospital room. Then came my Mama, Daddy, Abby, Mominy, Jackson, Breann, Holly, the preacher (in no particular order)....and then came Danny. The last one to arrive, bless his heart.

His nerves were SHOT!

He jumped into is scrubs and off we went.

Just like that. I was a nervous wreck. My nerves were DONE, I was scared to death, I hate anesthesia (and I was getting a spinal tap).

It all happened so fast, I cannot even explain all of my emotions.

Then came the spinal tap. Horrible. The prick wasn't that bad, but the numbness was very scary. It was hard to breathe, my legs were tingling, and they were minutes away from cutting me open.

ALL of that and the thought of meeting our little girl in just minutes.

Wow.

The most overwhelming thing I have ever gone through.

7:15PM, She was here.

Welcome to the world sweet baby:)

 Weighing in at 7lbs 5 oz (7 4.7), 19 1/4 inch, happy, screaming, healthy baby girl!

Thank you Lord.

There is more to come of this story, as I am 6 weeks behind!

You can find more pictures on the Facebook album.