Hip Brace

(originally posted on 7-20-10)  Okay, so the next phase of our journey with Kennedy has begun. She went to the dr. on July 6th who did an x-ray of her hips. We were told that she has tight adductor muscles, whatever that means, and one arch is higher than the other. So, they recommended a hip brace for her. She's very tiny, so I can't imagine this tiny child with a huge hip brace. But, we'll see!


Well, today Kennedy got her hip brace. It's not too bad actually. I'll have to upload pics soon. It fits really well. I'm not exactly sure what it does, but we'll see. A different dr. that she saw today also recommended that she be followed for her hearing. They could not get conclusive results on her hearing test in her right ear today. She's never passed a hearing test since she's been born and she's had at least 5 that I can think of. Here in KY we have the Commission for Children with Special Health Care Needs. I don't know what other states have this program, but it's great! They have specialty clinics for kids with special needs and it is all income-based. Every day is a different clinic. So, today we went to the craniofacial clinic and there were only kids with special craniofacial needs there. Kennedy is currently in the craniofacial clinic, orthopedic clinic, neurosurgical clinic, and they told us today that they want to add the otology clinic. Today, they also recommended that Kennedy begin seeing a speech therapist for speech/language as well as feeding and swallowing. They are very concerned that she is not yet drinking from a sippy cup, which is apparently delaying her cleft palate repair. Since she has a 1st Steps meeting tomorrow, this should be easy to add. The only thing is adding another service will decrease her current services. I don't think she can really stand to decrease OT or PT. We'll have to think about that one.

Though I do love the CCSHCN, it is in Louisville, which is an hour ahead of us. They usually start the clinics at 9 so we have to leave the house by about 5:00 am. We also have to figure out what to do with the other 3 kids. Sometimes we take her twin brother, other times one of us just takes Kennedy and the other stays with the kids. Today, I took Kennedy to Louisville for 2 appointments and my husband stayed home with the kids. Then, I rushed back so that he could make football practice by 6. It's a huge hassle, but it's definitely worth it. We're definitely blessed to have a program like this in our state, even if it is 2 and 1/2 hours away.