Moving On

Last week we made a trip to Minnesota.  Eliza had an important follow up visit at Gillette, and we enjoyed time with family and sight seeing.  Coming up on the 1 year anniversary of the surgery, Eliza had another gait lab, as well as x rays and an exam by Dr. Novacheck. 

The gait lab is a very interesting process.  It began with measurements taken of joints and assessment of mobility.  Then little reflectors are glued in place all over Eliza’s body.  There are many cameras in the gait lab, as well as sensors in the floor, that recorded Eliza and give a clear picture (if you are an expert and know what you are looking at) of her bones and joints and the way she moves and walks. 

This is the same technology that is used in the film industry to create animation.  Here is a picture of Eliza's animated figure on the computer.  

From the visit, we learned that Eliza is doing well nearly one year after the surgery.  The bone grafts and cuts have healed completely.  Soon we will schedule an appointment to have the hardware removed, which should help with some of the swelling and pain she still experiences in her ankle.  She will also work on some more PT exercises to continue to strengthen her foot and ankle, which will also help alleviate ongoing pain and swelling. 
When she had the surgery last fall, we knew that it was addressing only some of Eliza’s orthopedic concerns.  At that time the mal-alignment of her foot and the twist in her tibia were causing severe pain and needed to be fixed.  Right now there are no other acute problems, though her knees are stressed due to some different skeletal issues.  The pain she experiences now is fairly mild.  This will be something to monitor and additional surgery might be needed at some point to help preserve her knees as she ages to an adult.
Overall we feel so grateful for where she is today compared to a year ago.  It’s almost unbelievable.  The care and compassion of everyone we encountered at Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare helped so much in dealing with a very difficult situation.  We are also grateful to our wonderful family and friends who held Eliza, and us, up through a pretty challenging year.  THANK YOU!

10 Month Later

It’s been awhile since I posted an update.  As I read through all the older posts here, I realize that there was a lot of repeating similar reports about Eliza’s healing.  She made progress all along, but it was slow.  Painfully slow at times. The ongoing surgical pain and swelling made us worry.  We wondered after so many months of chronic pain, followed by so many months of healing from surgery, would she really be better in the end?  Though she isn’t 100% yet, I’m amazed how far Eliza has come, and what she is capable of doing now.  In June, she went on a mission trip to Kentucky, working with the Appalachia Service Project.  All of us, including Eliza, were nervous about how it would go for her.  As you can see by the picture above, she was able to do a hike in the mountains with her group on their adventure day at the start of the trip.

From all reports, she was able to keep up with her team and do important work to help a family in need.  What a great confidence builder and a great life experience.

For the first time in more than 2 years, Eliza can participate in things like hikes and walking to the beach at sunset, as well as getting around every day without the need of crutches or a scooter.  This is a huge step and one that we can’t take for granted.  In a couple of weeks we’ll head back to Minnesota for a visit with the surgeon.  For now, she is enjoying summer and getting ready to be a high school student in the fall!

Eliza vs the Ice on Lake Michigan

Today we took a family trip to Empire Beach to see the ice formations on Lake Michigan.  Eliza walked out on the icy lake and climbed on the ice without any trouble.  Her foot is pretty swollen and sore now, but what an accomplishment.

Crutch-less

Eliza went to the first day back to school without crutches.  Sounds like it went pretty well and she only experienced mild pain and swelling. This was the first time without crutches at school in many months, probably almost a year ago.  It is a pretty exciting step in her recovery!