Saturday, April 11, 2009

The results are in. . .

. . .and Evan's legs look AMAZING! Evan and I traveled to Philadelphia on Thursday and, after another x-ray to confirm that the bones had healed properly and completely, the casts came off on Friday morning! My jaw hit the floor as soon as the casts were off. I could not believe how good his legs looked. Not only were they rotated to face forward, but his left leg (that had been contracted at 50 degrees prior to surgery) was almost straight (he is now at 20 degrees on the left and 40 on the right (the right was previously at 60). AND, he can still floor sit (this had been a concern of mine prior to surgery since his legs are no longer able to rotate outward).

Before and After: The first picture was taken in March 2008 prior to Evan's bilateral clubbed foot repair, serial casting and bilateral femoral osteotomies. The second picture was taken on Friday (4/10/09). Amazing, no!? (PS- The mark on Evan's left leg is a smiley face, drawn by his doctor prior to his surgery. . .we both got a good chuckle out of seeing it smiling up at us when the casts came off.)

"Look Mommy! I can still sit!"


Once the casts were off, we began the process of adjusting his braces. Prior to surgery his braces were in need of some major overhauling, and I knew our orthotist was going to have a lot of work ahead of him. Once the braces were adjusted, on they went and we waited to ensure that no "angry red marks" appeared. Once we were confident that the fit was good, we packed up the car and headed for home. The adjustment period for "new" braces is always difficult and the ride home was tough, but with a little pain medication, Evan was able to get some rest and we arrived home around 1:30 am, ready for a nice, relaxing, Easter weekend.

He has amazed me once again with how quickly he has bounced back. His first item of business this morning was to get down on the floor and play with his cars (something he hasn't really been able to do with his casts on). He later showed us all just how resilient he is by standing (with support) and taking some steps (assisted). I just cannot believe how well he is doing. Look out world. . .I have a feeling that Evan is going to be on the move VERY soon!

Finally able to play with his cars again!

Enjoying the beautiful weather (and SO happy to be wearing pants and shoes again!)

14 comments:

Charity Brown said...

THIS IS SO AWESOME!!!!!

June Berger said...

Oh my gosh, his legs look great! Looks like a totally different child. He is so brave. I'm so happy he can still sit, can lay on the floor and play, as well as get pants and shoes back on. Standing and walking (with assist, but STILL) how wonderful! What a totally different life he has here than he ever would have before. What a blessing for him and for you, he seems like a great kid.

Tia said...

Wow, his legs look great. You guys are amazing!!

Kelly said...

I am SO happy to see Evan's progress and his legs!!!!!!!!!! What an amazing difference, Valerie, and I think you're right - he will be all over the place very soon! Thanks for keeping the photos and info updated - I think of Evan often and all of you. Please give him a kiss from his special friend in Omaha! :-)

Stacey Kirchner said...

WOW is all I can say. He's such an amazing little boy.

Carla said...

His legs look AMAZING!! I hope my daughter's look that good in a few weeks when we get her casts off!
Love that smiley face on his legs!!

Unknown said...

My little Evan how amazing he is.. His legs look great... His smile is worth a million words... God sure has blessed him and he contiues to watch over Evan.. Every good and perfect gift comes from the father above... You and your family sure are an inspiration to so many.. Tell him hi for me.. looking foward to seeing his smiling face on the school bus tomorrow..

Debbie's said...

Those pictures are incredible... what a miracle :) I'm so happy for all of you (especially Evan!)- what an inspiration :D

MoonDog said...

looking at the photos makes me want to cry. I cant help it, I am a mama, and what a huge difference this will make for him! it makes me cry its so wonderful. I want to adopt Annie from RR can you email me and answer some of my questions about your experience with this disorder? I know that every kid is different but I just need to know a little more about the arthrogryposis and some other things of a more personal nature. Email me at katieostar at yahoo dot com

Karis Watson said...

PRAISE GOD! He looks fantastic! This me so much hope for Mandy!

Nichole said...

I haven't been to you blog in awhile and am so happy to see how well Evan is doing! I can't wait to see him on the move!

Kelly said...

So glad I checked this blog out too! I am so happy for Evan!!!! He looks great!

junglemama said...

This is so awesome Valerie! Awesome awesome awesome! Yeah for Evan. Does he has any bladder or bowel issues?

Alexis said...

A friend shared your blog with us. And I'm in tears! We're now looking at getting this EXACT surgery done for our little girl. Thanks for posting!