Coping, Pin Site Cleaning and Correction Begins

Over the past few days Ava has had time with the physio and has learned to use her crutches. These can be used to get around the house but for longer journeys we have a wheelchair. She is coping remarkably well though. She does have moments when she feels down and frustrated but on the whole she is being positive. Hopefully this isn’t short lived as the correction of the foot hasn’t begun yet.

We have also had the first pin site cleaning. This is something that we have to do weekly to surgically clean all the open wounds into Ava’s leg and foot. There are 14 in total and doing this will help minimise risk of infection in the wounds while the frame is on. Having an infection can hamper the treatment so it’s important this is performed with sterile medical equipment which the hospital provide you with when you are discharged. I’ll have a prescription to get extra supplies from the GP as and when I need it. Ava didn’t even flinch when this was being performed - a slightly different reaction to when she was 6 when she used to scream non stop.

The re positioning of Ava’s foot begins tomorrow, which is the hard part!  The surgery itself was not to do any correction of the foot or bones, it’s to break the bones themselves and to put the frame on. The correction needs to be done by us at home by following a bespoke programme compiled by the consultant based upon X-rays of Ava’s foot (see picture below).  Unfortunately this is a very slow process and has to be done gradually so as not to damage any nerves, tendons or blood vessels in that region or most importantly to cause too much pain. To be honest this really is the painful part as each day by performing the various twists on the frame we are moving broken bones further apart and into different positions. We also need to keep an eye on Ava’s skin surrounding the area as it is stretched as the foot moves position too.

It’s during this correction stage (which will last between 3 - 6 weeks) where Ava needs to be really brave and where we visit the hospital weekly for X-rays and chats with the consultant to determine progress and whether we should slow down further.

As Ava has been able to move on her crutches and is relatively comfortable with her painkillers, we have thankfully been discharged early. I know Ava is looking forward to sleeping in her own bed tonight.