Waiting to go home

We went to admissions on Weds, actually had procedures done on Thurs, and got into our room Thur's afternoon. We should be going home Fri afternoon, that's what they said anyway. Well it's Friday morning and Devin seems to be doing well and we are anticipating going home. Not!!! The doctor's come in and begin talking about her red blood count being a little low and if they don't look better by this evening there is a chance she may need a small transfusion. Talk about scary she already got blood once and these day's it's a gamble to say the lest. They are going to cut back her morphine and take out the catheter in preparation for release later pending her blood test. Well blood test came back, things look better but she will need to stay until tomorrow. Saturday morning another blood test, red blood count looks good but wait a minute white blood count is really high we need to run a couple of test. While we run those test we are going to take morphine drip out and remove catheter that was supposed to be removed yesterday, but you guy's should be out of here today. Right!!!! O.k. blood test is back again seems Devin is developing a bladder infection, which isn't uncommon for having a catheter but she will have to stay until tomorrow. We are going to give her two doses of antibiotics intravenously.

While She Was Out

Sitting in the Waiting room for 2 hrs and the phone rings, it's Dr.Sucato he begins to let me know that the left knee procedure went really well but that he is concerned that being under for two hours already and the anticipation of blood loss may be too much for Devin. I just stand there and listen to him for a min, and he begins to reverse his thinking. He is talking and say's what do you think? Ummm your the doctor and you know best!lol. He then decides you know she really hasn't lost that much blood and she did really well the last time, o.k. we are going to do the left hip and we will call you back and update you as to wether we are going to do the right knee. About an hour and half passes and the phone rings again. It's Dr Sucato, well she is doing really well, so we are going to go ahead and finish by correcting her right knee and while we are in there we are going to go ahead and put a pin in the right knee to keep it from doing what the left knee did. Well another two hours later the phone ring's again it's Dr.Sucato again o.k. we are closing her up, Devin lost a little more blood than we wanted so we gave her one unit of blood, but everything looks really good. We go to the recovery to get Devin and take her to her room.

Second Surgery Day

It's time to get started, we consult with Dr.Sucato again and it looks like they are going to have to reopen her left knee to put the steel pin in place. Now keep in mind the first surgery on her left side took 4 hours. Now we have to add another 2 hours onto that for the left knee. Dr. sucato after some deliberation forwarns us that he may only do the left knee over again and not to do the right hip and knee. We will have to wait and see how the first procedure goes. While waiting for these decisions it's time for round two of the goofy juice treatment and it's mom's turn to get the affection of young Devin. We have also included a picture of the pre-op nurse who also knows Devin's new friend Addie.

Pre-Second Surgery

O.k. so it's time for her second surgery. We go to the hospital 11-19-08 to do x-ray's and admission process. We get some bad new's. It seems at some point either during the time they were closing her incision and actually putting her cast on, her knee moved up and out of the position the Dr. wanted it to be. While consulting with Dr. Sucato he explain's that he wants to install a steel pin through her shin bone, up in the knee cap to hold the knee in place. Needless to say this was a little discouraging. We were able to get the doctor's permission to have a nurse take a couple of picture's of her left leg after they removed the first cast.

Halloween 2008

Well it's Devin's first Halloween and you'll never guess what we dressed her up as? Yep and Angel. I guess to us it's no secret why we picked that. lol.

Devin has a new friend

First I don't think i have ever exactly explained Devin's syndrome so here is a very short definition. Larsen syndrome (LS), also called Autosomal Dominant Larsen syndrome,[1] is a rare autosomal dominant[2] congenital disorder that occurs in about every 1 in 100,000 people. Its symptoms include hypermobility, congenital dislocations, brachycephaly and cleft palate.
The condition was first described in a 1950 journal report by L. J. Larsen. As you can see it's just not very common, but we met a couple who also have a daughter afflicted with the same syndrome right here in North Texas. They are from Rowlett and they have a beautiful little girl named Addison. Addison also gets treatment from Scottish Rite Hospital. She recently had her second surgery and is on the back side of her casting. Her are a some picture's of Devin and her new friend.

Time to go home

Well we got to go home just one day after her procedure. Now i forgot to explain her procedure so we will do that now. Dr.Sucato had to make an incision on her hip and basically shave her femur bone about 1/2 inch. This was necessary to get her hip to go into the socket. He then had to make an incision on the curvature of her knee so the he could manipulate her tibia bone back into the proper position under her femur. Devin had about a 5% range of motion before the procedure. Dr. Sucato says she have about 90% after surgery and with physical therapy we could raise that to 95-98%. You may look at the picture's and wonder what is that strap she is wearing...lol..That's what he had to use to take Devin home. Her Spica cast so was awkward that she couldn't fit into any car seat or carry-all. This device was designed so that you could lay the child in the seat flat on their back and run the seat belt through the harness.

Sporting her new cast

Well Devin has proven to be a tough little girl, and evidently impervious to the idea of pain. She was awake and alert within an hour, flashing that smile that would melt a 12 inch thick slab of steel.

After Surgery

Well I think it took everything Shirley had not to just break down. We walked in to our little angel with tubes and wires running all over the place. She was very receptive from the moment we walked in. I was real surprised there wasn't any after anesthetic crying trying to get bearing's back.

Goofy Juice

It's time to get started, we are in the pre-op room doing the normal question and answer session. The nurses at that point give Devin what they call goofy juice. This is a liquid that basically ding's you out before they actually administer the local anesthetic. Devin got really sleepy and silly. Lot's of smile's and kisses for daddy.

Morning of surgery

O.k. it's the day of surgery Oct. 23rd 2008. Here are a few pic's the morning we got ready for her procedure