Hips

For those that know my youngest kid, you'll know that she had hip dysplasia when she was young. The only reason why we found out about it was due to a routine check at the doctor's. He noticed that one leg had 3 folds of fat while the other only had 2. Because of this one little thing, he thought it would be best to have the kid x-rayed.

The next thing I knew, I was going to BC Children's Hospital with my youngest to get her leg checked out. Basically, her ball and socket in her hip was a bit to shallow. It was causing her leg to grow on a slant rather than straight. If we had let it go, she might have needed a hip replacement early in life. To prevent that, she wore a rhinocruiser for a couple of months. There were days that it was hell because that thing did not look comfortable. But kids are extremely resilient and she handled it really well.

Through the years, we've been going back and forth to the hospital to keep an eye on the growing leg. This time, when we went, I almost cried. When she went to get her x-ray, my kid didn't need to go into a special plastic cast to get x-rayed, nor did she lie down on the table being freaked out by some large machine. The technician got her a little stool, asked her to stand in a certain position, they put some masking tape on the kid...and she didn't make one peep. She knew what to do, she did it with a smile and happily went her way after she got her special sticker. I remember the first couple of times, it was just tears and screaming because she was so freaked out. I was just really proud of her that she just took this as part of her life.

When it was time to be debriefed, a visiting doctor came first. She looked at the x-rays, made some comments, did some leg tests and seemed quite happy. I think I was quite suprised when I saw the very first x-ray that was ever taken compared to the one that was just taken. Literally night and day. I couldn't believe how crooked her leg was growing.

Then the expert doctor came in. She said words I wanted to hear..."thanks for coming by, it was great knowing you, now have a great life." All was good with the kid's hip and leg. Cool.

But before leaving, I saw all the other parents in the ortho clinic. I saw myself in many of these parents...hearing news they didn't want to hear and what was to happen next. In the big picture, my kid was very lucky where she was fixed. For others, I know they'll be visiting the clinic way more often than us due to more serious issues. I wish I could take each one of them aside and say that they're in good hands, they're in one of the best hospitals for children and just live with your children to help them get through all of this.

We complain a lot about the medical system and I know that there are things that need to be fixed. But let's not forget all the great things that these doctors do because they love their job and they're damn good at it. Thank you to BC Children's Hospital and to my wonderful family doctor.