MORE GREAT NEWS!!

Addie had her 6 month post-surgery follow up today and she is doing great! Her hips look exactly as they should and she is on the right track! It is so exciting!! We have another check up in 3 months and then we start 6 month check-ups! She is cruising everywhere, stands all by herself and took 2 independent steps!

Family Vacation in CANCUN!!!

We had a BLAST in Cancun! We swam everyday, saw dolphins and baby turtles and ate alot of yummy food! We also got to be a part of our great friends wedding -Congrats Derek and Val! 

ICE CREAM!

GG made homemade ice cream with berries today and Addie loved it!! She was making such a mess but was enjoying it so much I decided to just take her shirt off rather than take it away.
-Kristy

Addie and her Aunt Shauna

-Kristy

Addie's first boat trip and tube ride!

We went boating with Grandpa, Uncle Todd, Aunt Marci and Ireland. Addie had so much fun and was dancing around smiling the whole time. Grandpa talked me into letting her go on a tube ride (a slow one of course.) She loved it!! She was pretty laid back about it until she went over a wave and then just giggled hysterically! I guess Daddy might get a boat after all.
-Kristy

Last night in a brace, EVER!!!

So last night Addie wore her brace for the last time. It isn't a great pic but I wanted to remember the day and how happy I am to be closing this chapter in our lives. This journey has been so hard and although we haven't seen the last of the ortho I am so happy we have seen the last of the brace!

-Kristy

Pavlik Harnesses and Hip Abduction Braces NEEDED!!!

So I recently had the amazing opportunity to speak with a woman named Betty Lenoir who works with an organization called SHOWHOPE.ORG about a need for gently used or new Pavlik Harnesses and Hip abduction braces for an orphanage in Louyang, China called Maria's Big House of Hope. This is a very poor section of China, with over 700 orphans, mostly deserted due to the population control mandates.  Children 0-5 years old are brought from the orphanages to MBHOH for corrective surgeries. After surgery, they stay until adoption or placement in foster homes, or until they turn 7, when they must return to the orphanage.    MBHOH has been open for 2 years.


 
Show Hope approached the company she works for (STAR Physical Therapy) to assist them with  physical therapy for the children.   They are sending 2 PTs to China to assess the needs and come up with a plan. DDH is a common diagnosis for these children and they need all sizes of harnesses and braces on hand.

I am going to donate my used braces and also call my Ortho's office to see about them donating some new ones. I have also contacted Rhino Pediatrics (maker of the Rhino Cruiser and Rhino Pavlik) to see if they would be able to donate anything.


If any of you are interested in helping out, please let me know. I am so excited to have the opportunity! My email is hippyadie@yahoo.com or vacationsrock@msn.com

You can also send any used Pavlik's or braces directly to Betty

Betty Lenoir
Star Physical Therapy
789 Tennessess St
Bolivar TN, 38008

Thanks!!

Recent Brace pics

Here are some pics of Addie in her Hip abduction brace and Rhino cruiser. The only real difference we can see between the 2 is that the rhino cruiser does not have the "nut" on the bottom that makes it adjustable. This is actually really nice for Addie because when she sits she doesn't have that hard plastic on her bottom. She is now only wearing a brace at night but WOW, she is so good at getting around in that thing! She is AMAZING!!!

Addie's check-up

We went for Addie's check up today and we go the most amazing news! Her hip is doing great and she will now only have to wear her brace at night for 6 more weeks and then she is DONE!!!! We are feeling so amazingly grateful and blessed! God has answered our prayers!! Thank you everyone for all your wonderful support and prayers!

Gma and Aunt Brooke come to visit!

Addie had an amazing time playing with her Gma and aunt Brooke for a week! She misses them already!

Doing some computer work

She's getting pretty good at crawling in her brace!!

lunch with a Princess!

CAST OFF!!!!

Today we went to the Dr. to get Addie's hip checked and the CAST IS OFF!!!!! WHOO HOO!!!! We are so excited. She was fairly traumatized by the cast saw but is happy to have her legs back. At dinner tonight she kept pointing to them pinching them and laughing! She was looking at me like, "is this real, mom?" It was a great moment and I am happy to have her legs back too!

Her hip looks great! The Dr. said it couldn't be a more perfect result. She does have to wear the brace full time for about 6 weeks. I won't say she is back to normal, she is very sore and seems to be in pain alot of the time. She doesn't want to move her leg and does not like to be touched anywhere near her hip. She still has the pins in ( they will be removed on 5/10) which is probably contributing to her discomfort. We are only on day 2 and she is starting to move a little. She rolled over and sat up on her own yesterday-so proud of her!!

Just like everything else we have been through, I am sure this will take some getting used to. It's a good thing I have such a tough little girl!

Happy Easter!!

We had a wonderful Easter with friends at our house. Our dinner was yummy and we all contributed a little something to the feast. Addie does not normally eat eggs but she was LOVING her deviled egg, as you can see by her messy face. I was disappointed that she wasn't able to do an easter egg hunt and found myself cursing the cast once again but there is always next year, right??

Aaahhh!!

This morning while Addie was eating her breakfast, we used her cast cooler. She seems to have an instant sigh of relief when I put it on. And, it freshens up the cast which is great after our little leak last night. Ugh!

Happy as ever....

Addie loves the card she got from her Granny....

Our little comedian!

I am amazed at the silly things this one comes up with! :)

Day 10-post surgery

So today is day 10 post surgery and I am happy to say that we may have turned a corner. Although Addie is still frustrated that she can't move around on her own, her pain seems to be better, she is eating better and sleeping!! Yay! It is exhausting toting around a baby in a heavy cast all day but we are finding new ways to do things everyday. Hopefully each new day will bring a little more happiness and comfort for her and we will have this thing off in 27 days!! We are grateful that God has answered our prayers for our baby girl and just now pray that He will help her bones grow and heal correctly. Thanks to our friends, family and members of my 2 chat groups for all their love and support!

Feeling a little better

Addie started feeling a little better and had a bit of play time in her spica table while watching Signing time. It is so cute to watch her try and copy all the signs! Her fave these days is definitely grapes. She signs it all the time! Rachel would be so proud! Lol! :)

Addison's new cast

:Here is Addie's new cast. It is very bulky and very heavy. It has been a week full of ups and downs but we are surviving. I have learned the 3 "must haves" for a Salter Osteotomy.
1. Valium! We did not have it the first night and her muscle spasms were so bad! She would wake up screaming every 5 minutes!
2. Poop! It is not normal for a baby to not poop for 5 days even if they have been taking morphine. After she finally went she felt so much better!
3. Lots of help-our closed reduction/spica cast was so easy that I thought I could handle it on my own-i was wrong! This requires much more help than you could ever imagine!

SANTA!!

Addie got to see Santa today......I don't think she was all that impressed.

I can do it, MOM!!!

Today Addie decided that she had enough of me trying to feed her and decided to do it herself. She did pretty well. Here is the aftermath...... lol!