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!