Femoral Derotational Osteotomy...

At first I thought I'd call this posting the Next Big Journey for Donovan but the reality is he's been on a non-stop journey since our last post four years ago. The majority of the ride has been through the educational system, more so than the medical system. Donovan is now in second grade and is reading, writing and speaking in Spanish and English. This despite the fact that we now understand he is doing all this with Dyslexia in addition to the Cerebral Palsy. It hasn't been without work but he's the same Donovan after all these challenges as before; determined, hard working, and so good natured!

As next Wednesday comes quickly, I think we're ready and Donovan's getting there. We've had all the appointments with the surgeon, the hospital bed and everything else he'll need for his time at home has arrived and Mary Free Bed is ready for his rehab.

On March 13th Dononvan will undergo a Derotational Femoral Osteotomy on both of his legs. This means that they will change the structure of both femurs and alter muscles and ligaments around one, possibly both. He's been under the excellent care of Dr. Maples, his orthopaedic surgeon, who has monitored his hips and legs annually since he was diagnosed at two. A year ago, she began to recognize that one of his hips is showing signs of sublexing (partially dislocating). With an extensive review, including a full gate lab analysis, it was determined that this surgery is the step to take to prevent further dislocation, adult arthritis, and increase the efficiency of Donovan's gait. Dr. Forness will perform the surgery which we understand will take somewhere around six hours. As with his last surgery, we are so grateful for the expertise of his team and the compassion they show him!

We found this video of Carter, another little guy who's been through the same surgery... not sure how his situation compares with Donovan or if we'll be so fortunate to see these beautiful results as clearly but it does give me peace in the decision we've made to take this step. I love seeing it not only because it shows him after the Femoral Derotation Osteotomy but also after the Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy, which Donovan had done in 2008 (see all the previous posts).

The next three months will take Donovan through the surgery at Helen DeVos Children's Hosptial, four weeks at home while the bones heal, then on to Mary Free Bed for 5 - 7 weeks of inpatient rehabilitation.

We are incredibly humbled and appreciative of all the support surrounding us!