The 'LIST' of what she will have done...

As of now, She will probably be scheduled around 10 on Thursday Jan 31. It is a 6-7 hour surgery. The laundry list of what she is having done....

Bilateral Femoral osteotomies - they will be cutting the femoral head (thigh bone) on each leg and moving it into a better position and the pinning it. She have the pins removed in a year. This is to give her better range of motion from her hips and hopefully help her gait too.

Bilateral tendon transfers on both feet - they will take an interior tendon in her foot that is tight and making her foot 'curve' and put it in a better position to correct the foot instead of causing the problem. This is what causes her to go into casts every year...the little sucker won't stop pulling her foot out of position. She will have this done on both feet.

Bilateral Achilles tenotomy - they nick both Achilles' tendons and pull her foot 'up' (or give more dorsiflexion to the foot). The tendons then heal in a more lengthened position. In the past, the tightness of the tendons causes her foot to point downward and also causes her to be casted to stretch it.

Also they will do a tenotomy on the tendon under her big toe on her left foot because the little bugger is also too tight.

She will have an epidural put in place during the surgery to help with pain management and she will be in the ICU while that is in place. Once they can wean her onto oral pain medicine she will be sent to a regular room and from there we should be ale to go home once the pain management is under control. Hopefully Sunday.

This is the most invasive surgery she has ever had done and we are hopeful that it will give her better range of motion, stop the regression (and the need for serial casting) she goes through each year, and give her the ability to MAYBE be able to walk without her braces one day.

Raj and I are nervous, anxious but resolved that this is the best thing for her. Her condition is NOT degenerative, so we can only get her better! Our hope is that all the pain she goes through now will help her as she grows to become stronger and walk independently, without assistance or discomfort.

I will update the blog from the hospital when I can, so stay posted. We leave Wednesday night.
Pictures of the final cast before surgery - soccer players and soccer balls per her brothers request!