Surgery for Lydia

A long, long time ago, when Lydia was quite a little girl, she was walking a dog.  The dog took off on her, and the leash got tangled, and Lydia was jerked off her feet, and broke her left ring finger.

We think.

Lydia is a stoic kid, and we were busy, and she didn't complain much, and we totally missed that she broke her finger. For more than a year.  I kid you not. Yes, I feel guilty.

So we're guessing it was the dog incident that led to the broken finger.

Naturally, it didn't do the finger any good to have no attention, and it healed wrong.  Crooked. With a couple of bits of bone in the wrong places.

A year after the broken bone, Kevin noticed the finger looked funny.  We trundled her off to the doctor, who trundled her off to get an x-ray, and yes, it had obviously been broken, and healed wrong.

Then we went to 2 orthopedic surgeons.  The first one strongly recommended surgery. The second said surgery was an option, but doing nothing was also an option.  He said she had a really good, strong grip and that leaving it "as is" was a fine way to go.

So we did.

Mostly the finger has been functional, but in the last year it started hurting Lydia more when she was playing the piano and gripping items in that hand.

So we went off to the second surgeon again (whom Kevin really likes) and he ordered x-rays and a CAT scan and said yes, it should be fixed. Apparently the misalignment has gotten a little worse and the fact that it is hurting NOW, when Lydia is young and limber and vibrant, means in the future she would likely have problems with it.

Earlier this year, she had physical therapy to stretch out the muscles as much as possible. Kevin's job was particularly impossible then, so it wasn't a reasonable time to do surgery.

Kevin now has a new position at work, which is more flexible, and so we have scheduled surgery for about 2 weeks from now.

It is a good thing.  I am very thankful we can afford to get this fixed, that we have insurance, and that there are excellent orthopedic surgeons within driving distance.

One thing that rather astonishes me is how much time this one, relatively minor injury, has taken.  In a family of 9 children, trips to the doctor and to a physical therapist have to be planned out fairly carefully.  Of course, it isn't a HUMONGOUS deal because Naomi can stay home and watch the other children, and I'm a mostly stay at home mother so I have time.

But I am filled with awe at the stamina and determination of parents who have children with serious medical issues.  I know some parents spend countless hours EVERY WEEK in therapy and at doctor's offices.

I have a blog/Facebook friend who, with her husband, has 3 biological kids and 4 adopted children.  2 of the children are from China and both have very serious medical problems.  One child has been in and out of the hospital multiple times this week due to a serious pain problem which they are having trouble pinning down.  HOW they are managing with 6 other children at home I do not know, though they have some help from extended family.

So yeah, thankful that we're just dealing with a broken finger that healed wrong.  And excited that it'll be straight soon.