The finish line!

It's taken 8 and a half months but we are finally there. HURRAY!!  Ava's last cast has now been removed and she has legs of near enough equal length. Although Ava had the full 6cm of lengthening, she has grown during the process so now has a 1cm difference.

Many people have commented that the time has gone really quickly. I have to admit (and Ava would be the first to) that it hasn't gone quickly for us. It has been long and very much like a roller coaster, but the end result has made it so worth it. The first few months were obviously the hardest with Ava adapting to life with a frame, the restrictions, the change to her every day routine and most importantly the pain. But Ava has coped amazingly well and has been a star. Yes she did complain (who wouldn't) and there were many tears, but she has been so resilient and has simply just got on with it. We are incredibly proud of her, particularly given that she is only 6 years old.

Ava is now back in her AFO (splint) to support her leg and keep her foot in place. The majority of people who have lengthening won't have to wear this, but Ava does as her condition is more complex due to her foot and ankle deformity. We are now concentrating on getting Ava's leg stronger. She went swimming for the first time today in 9 months, she's had a bath and she finally got to walk our new dog.

Although this isn't the end of Ava's treatment and operations, we know how strong she is and that she will get through it all. She can now enjoy a well deserved break for a few years.

Thanks again to Ava's consultant; Mr Calder, and also Mary at the RNOH. They work tirelessly doing an amazing job that changes the lives of the children they treat. Thanks also to STEPs who have contacted me throughout Ava's treatment to ask how she was doing.

This is my last post until the next lengthening and/or foot operation. I hope this blog has proved useful to other parents who have a child with fibula hemimelia who will undergo lengthening. It is incredibly hard and does affect the whole family, but it works. Photos below say it better than words!

Thanks for reading
Nicole x

Half way point......

Ava has now recovered from her pin site infection. We discovered afterwards that she had actually had an infection in 2 of the wounds, hence the reason why she was pretty ill and unable to move. Once the antibiotics kicked in it took around 6 days to fully recover.

We now are at the half way mark and as you'll see from the x rays below her bone has started to develop in between the 6cm break in her tibia and fibula. The first picture shows the x ray that was taken 2 days ago and the second is a comparison of the one taken 3 weeks ago vs. the most recent. So all progressing as it should.

Ava goes into hospital on Monday to have the bottom ring of her frame, which is attached to her foot, removed. This is to encourage her to weight bear and start walking with the rest of the frame still on. She'll still need to use her zimmerframe but the consultant wants her to put her foot down. The idea is that she wears a shoe on this foot but I'm not sure how likely this will be due to her foot deformity (she couldn't wear a shoe previously unless she wore a splint, but this is now impossible with the external frame on).

Anyway the fact that the bottom ring is being removed is progress and brings us another step closer to the whole frame being removed. The consultant is hoping this will happen in October, but its all dependent upon how quickly her bone heals.

After the frame is removed Ava will go into plaster cast for 6 weeks, followed by lots of intensive physio.

I've also posted an image which shows her 2 legs which are now fairly equal in length. I'll update further next week once the bottom ring is removed.