Six Weeks in a Cast, A Lifetime of Perspective

This past summer, our son Jack started limping out of the blue without any apparent injury. Heather took him to the doctor, where they did an X-ray that didn’t show anything, so the doctor recommended monitoring the situation and then doing an MRI if needed down the road.

Jack’s limping continued, and after the MRI, the doctor called and said he was referring us to an expert for a hip disease called Perthes. Heather contacted the referral, Gillette Children’s, but an appointment wasn’t available for months. After reading about the disease online, we were concerned about waiting and got additional referrals to Shriners Children’s and Mayo Clinic. We got in with Shriners, and they recommended a surgery called a femoral osteotomy to reposition his hip. We indicated that we were going to get a second opinion from Gillette, where Doctor Jennifer Laine is a well-known expert. In the meantime, we started physical therapy, which Jack did religiously with our help.

After meeting with Jennifer and the team at Gillette, we explored both surgical and non-surgical options and aligned on a non-surgical plan that included six weeks of casting, bracing afterward, physical therapy, and potentially crutches to maintain his range of motion as the disease progresses.

A side note on the disease itself: they aren’t sure what causes it, but it goes through the same progression for any kids who have it - blood flow cuts off, the hip fragments, and then heals. To learn more, check out Gillette’s description of the disease here: Link.

Jack’s casts were put on under anesthesia on January 26, thankfully without an additional groin-lengthening surgery because he did such a great job stretching in the weeks beforehand.

We are now less than two weeks from the casts being removed and shifting to bracing, starting almost full time and then reducing over time based on how well it goes.

The experience so far has been challenging, navigating his lack of mobility, including a wheelchair, going down and up the stairs once a day aided by Heather and

/or me and using a sheet to drag him from the stairs to his bed before lifting him up into bed. There have also been many moments of happiness and laughter over the past few weeks, with a tremendous amount of quality time for Heather and Jack, who have been together almost 100% of the time - reading, IXL, and practice tests to make sure he stays sharp while out of school along with a little fun watching movies and playing with the dogs.

Family, friends, neighbors, and coworkers have been sending their well wishes and care packages with lots of options to help pass the time while he isn’t mobile. One of my coworkers even put together an advent-calendar-style gift basket so he can open a small gift tied to his interests every single day.

Since this is a learning blog, what did I learn?

I have to admit I’ve been fearful; first when reading about the disease, then when considering the care options, including six weeks in a cast that makes Jack’s legs look like a snow angel.

There’s still a long road ahead, but seeing the smile on Jack’s face when he’s playing catch with Heather for the 127th time, the future looks bright for a return to full mobility, with fishing and golfing numbers one and two on the list.

I’m in awe of my wife Heather’s championing of Jack’s care, including taking a leave from her role as Senior Quality Engineer at 3M, the expertise of Jennifer Laine and the Gillette team, the generosity of family, friends, coworkers, and neighbors, and the resilience of my son Jack, who has already faced far more health challenges than any 10-year-old should. And last, but certainly not least, the power of prayer and trusting in God’s plan.

If you know a family navigating a child’s health challenge, consider sharing this with them, no one should feel alone on the journey.

Learn in the flow of life

Jason