Where to begin...

Wow, it literally seems like the last few months of our lives have been a medical blur. I'm not sure where to even start again.

Aspen had her tendon lengthening procedure done on July 14th. This is to help her hips stay in place from the bi-lateral open reduction she had done when she was a year old. The following week we went back for the follow up visit for her fractured humerus. The Ortho removes the cast, and comes back with the most bizarre look on his face. Her radial head, which had been IN A CAST, was dislocated. This is not consistent with a humerus fracture, hence the bewilderment of the doctor. So he schedules her for surgery the next day.

Cast#2
The following day, we take her to have a closed reduction procedure on the arm, to position the bone back in place. The Ortho comes out and advises us that he *thinks* based on scar tissue and cartilage that it is a congenital dislocation of the radial head, and has probably been out of place since birth. Apparently these defects are not picked up until early adolescence or unless an injury occurs which prompts investigation. He advises us that the ligaments may be damaged and probably will not hold it into place, but rather push the bone back out to what the ligaments thought was the natural position (which in Aspen's case- is out of place).

Cast#3
He was right, as soon as the cast came off the bone was right back out of place. So the next step was an open reduction with a modified Bell-Tawse procedure in addition to an ulnar osteotomy. Back to surgery she goes, and thankfully was easily talked out off the day-glo orange cast again. Pink was the winner.

Braces #1 and #2
Much to the delight of my insurance company, Aspen was fitted for 2 separate Dyna-Splints once the third cast came off. One for extension and one for flexion. She now looks like a mini-robot.

We could breathe and relax now-right? Right???