Alessandro's leg

It has been almost 2 years since Alessandro fell off and broke his leg.  We went to Primary Children's today for his yearly check up to see if the broken leg was catching up to the good leg and whether or not he'll need surgery.  It has caught up quite a bit, but not enough.  She said that the most catching up happens in the first two years of recovery so I shouldn't expect it to catch up much more.  Which means he will need surgery in a year or two when he is closer to hitting puberty in hopes that the device they put in his good leg, to stunt the growth, will have to be in for the shortest amount of time possible.  The shortest amount of time she has had a patient with these things in is 9 months....so I'm thinking at least that long.  she said the surgery isn't a huge deal...he'll be up and walking after and will be able to run about 3 weeks later.  After talking with her it doesn't sound as scary as I was imagining, but still, surgery is surgery and he still needs to be put to sleep.  :(  boo  When I was there I copied all the xrays she has taken so we could see the development and healing that has taken place.  On a side note: about a month ago he told me he felt like running was a little easier again.  I can't imagine how it felt and how hard it probably was when his leg was so much shorter than the other.  I'm glad he's feeling a little better and more confident about it.  Here are the xrays....

These were taken a week after they put his leg in a cast.  They were checking to see if it was staying aligned.  At this check up they had to cut the cast open in a little area, which adjusted the bones a little.  Poor guy was in soo much pain as they did this...no meds or anything.  He was a trooper.

These are taken the day they took the cast off.  I remember looking at these xrays thinking...Are you crazy!!  These do not look healed to me...but she was right, they were healed enough and as long as he didn't run or jump or rough house for like 4 months or something like that he would be fine.  and he was!!

This is a follow up visit to see how it's healing.  Notice the difference in the length by looking at his hips.  No wonder it was so hard to run!!

Another check up, you can see how it's catching up by looking at the hips

Today's visit and the growth that has happened

It is so crazy to go back and think of that time.  Mia was just a baby, Alessandro was in a wheel chair and I felt so overwhelmed and scared.  We had so many wonderful friends and family who supported us through this time.  I gained a greater appreciation for those who take care of children with physical disabilities.  Not only was it emotionally exhausting, but it was physically exhausting.  I remember Alessandro would often tell me he didn't like going out because people would stare at him and he hated them looking at him.  I think he learned a valuable lesson and now has a very tender heart for anyone he sees that is hurt or in a wheel chair or anything to that sort.  He is genuinely concerned for them.  The whole experience really taught us all a lot.