Renée’s DDH Story
During pregnancy Levi was a stubborn little thing, and despite my best efforts he found a comfortable spot and stayed there. Unfortunately his comfy spot was in the ‘frank breech’ position, which means he was bottom down with his legs extended up around his head (basically in a ‘U’ shape). The breech position combined with the fact that he was my first born, and that his dad had some hip pain throughout his life, put Levi on the ‘watch list’ for DDH.
Once Levi was born he was assessed for “clicky hips” and passed all the tests, but given the factors mentioned above the Doctor recommended an ultrasound at around 6 weeks just to be sure. The 6-week ultrasound came back fine and everything was looking normal but just to be safe the Doctor asked us to come back again at 3 months old for another check. That check too was fine. Again, being thorough the Doctor recommended yet another check at 6 months; this time it was an x-ray as Levi was now old enough.
The x-ray showed that basically the hip socket hasn’t formed properly and the thigh bone didn’t sit in the correct position. So within an hour we were heading to the orthotics and occupational therapy departments at PMH, and having Levi fitted with a rhino brace that he would have to wear for 23 & 1/2 hours a day for what ended up being 10 weeks. After 10 weeks the x-rays showed that Levi’s hips had improved significantly and were now in the normal range. He moved to night-time bracing only, for as long as he would tolerate it, which was up until February of this year. So now we are waiting on a letter from PMH for what we pray will be Levi’s last hip appointment!
This journey has shown me how resilient kids are, nothing fazed Levi. He learnt to roll and crawl in the brace, and even though it slowed him down a little he was walking confidently by 15 months. Levi is now almost 20 months and is running, climbing and doing everything you’d expect of a kid his age. We are not completely out of the woods yet but we know that whatever the future holds Levi will deal with it with a smile on his face.
Written: June 2016
HHA Comments:
Renée kindly donated over $100 from her Bee Free Soy Candles business during Healthy Hips Week 2016. Thank you so much for your support!
Each DDH journey is different.Other DDH Stories available here.
We’d love to share your DDH story. Please email you story and a photo or three to info@healthyhipsaustralia.org.au.
Connect with other families via our Facebook Page.