Legg-Perthy's Strikes Again...

Braden was diagnosed at 3 yrs-old with something called Legg-Perthys Disease. It's a condition in the hips where the blood supply is not reaching the bone and so the bone starts to die and collapse. It happens in older people as well--and it's called Osteo-necrosis; usually treated with a hip replacement and life goes on. But in children, they are still growing and trying to develop with this condition, compromising the growth we take for granted. They say the the younger a person is diagnosed, the better the results. And being that he was so young...we've really haven't given it much thought through the years, because he's been so active and undeterred. Until the third week of September. He came home from school complaining that his leg hurt. It's always the left leg...Ok. We pacified him with some video games and an early bedtime. But Saturday came, with endless complaints and some funky walking strides. By Sunday morning, he looked like he'd been pole-axed through his tail and his legs didn't go together straight. What to do, what to do.

I called Shriner's on Monday morning. They are not the easiest place to get into right away because appointments are made months out. But we had just received a card in the mail reminding us to call and schedule the 6-month follow-up that he needed since his April appointment. When I called, I mentioned the problems that we were having, and they got him in immediately with a PA. She ordered x-rays...and this is what she came back with.

(April 2011--the left side still has a circular ball-shape)

Braden had had a lot of pain since April, because his femoral ball is no longer round, but in more of a mushroom-shaped collapse. Pictures really do tell a broader story of what's going on, than just watching him walk around.


(September 19, 2011)

There isn't a lot they can do right now...since he's only 9 yrs-old. But they said he needed to have steroids put in immediately for pain-relief. So between Jeff's crazy graveyard work schedule and the other kids' activities...we got him in for surgery on September 29th. We had to be at Shriner's pre-op room by 6am for check-in and medical scrubs. We were lucky to be first in the day's operating room line-up.



The same surgeon that did Nathan's surgery back in January, Bryan Tompkins, did Braden's. He injected the femoral head with steroids and put some dye in the socket to see what was going on the the joint. He said that thankfully the head is matching the socket, despite the shape, and not impinging his movement too much, otherwise. His range of motion has decreased a lot compared to what's normal. He is 100% exempted from PE and contact activities--which is totally sad for him. (He loves a good brawl with the boys, if you know what I mean). They are hoping that the steroids give him enough reprieve to walk and keep up low-strain activities, at least for the time being. They warned us that he would need the exact same procedure as Nathan when he is about 14-15 yrs-old. AGG!! The doctor explained that it's really 1 in a million chances that two boys from the same family with totally different diagnoses would have to have the exact same surgery. But that is how they have to treat Legg-Perthys as well as the SCFE in Nate. Wow. Both boys will need hip replacements before they are 20...or sooner.



The two boys we thought were destined to be our football players have been forbidden from the field. They are in swimming right now...but need to work hard to increase their kicks and strokes because of bum hips. Core build-up and work-outs are going to be the goal this winter, to help the muscles around their hips increase in strength, so that they can swim better. They both love the water--so hopefully--we can have some strong swimmers instead of footballers!

What to expect? A gradual limp in his walk. A surgery to stunt the growth plates on the good side to allow the left side to catch up. Massive reconstructive surgery in his early teens. Constant monitoring. Treatments as needed. Hip replacements. No big deal. Just par for the course in our family. We seem to have the fiery challenges in life well-stoked. At least Nathan can be a morale booster for his brother. We'll have to compare the pain thresholds between them...and see who's the winner! But I already know that they are both winners for the amount of crap they've had to go through for their young ages.

I thank God every day for hospitals like Shriner's. I don't know what we would do with even 10% of the hospital bills that we've accrued so far and will continue to mount in the future. We were hoping that Braden would grow out of his childhood bane, but that doesn't seem to be the case. The doctors are amazing and the hope for a normal future is on the horizon!