IvyRose Spica Chairs
Changing the world one chair at a time
Meet some of the kids who have been helped by our chairs!
Lucy's Story
Lucy was diagnosed with hip dysplasia at her 6 month check up. She had no indications of clicky hips at birth, 2 months or 4 month check ups but it came out later. This was found by the GP and we were sent straight for an x-ray. I must admit about a week before her check up I had noticed her thigh skin folds were not symmetrical and one leg did appear a bit shorter than the other so was going to ask about this anyway. Once it was discovered we went to the Paediatric Orthopaedic Surgeon and we had to wait 5 months until he would operate on her. We are from Australia and from what I have read it appears they may do some things differently. Lucy had a femoral osteotomy and open reduction. Femoral osteotomy is chopping the top of the femur and redirecting the bone into the pelvic socket and plating and screwing it. To some this may appear a little "extreme" or "full on" but this surgeon is one of the best in the country and this way it is done once and that's it. She has a cast on for 6 weeks and shouldn't ever require another cast. In a year or two he will go in and remove the plate and screws (there is no rush for this) and the bone will grow as it should and she should be walking normally and without a limp by the time she's 3.
I
came across Stephanie at Ivy Rose online as I was just looking for
things to keep a baby occupied while in the cast. We don't seem to have
anything like this here and she usually doesn't ship to Australia but I
was lucky she said yes and we arranged the whole shipping side of
things from here. It is not usually viable to send to Australia as the
shipping would normally cost triple the amount of what the chair is
worth but luckily I have an aunty in the importing business and because
she had an account with the shipping company, we were able to get it
shipped more cheaply, but were prepared to pay whatever it would cost
anyway. And I am so glad we did get it as Lucy is absolutely loving
it. She can sit up and play with her toys and eat her meals in it - her
big sister sometimes sits on the other side in a normal chair and plays
with her or when Lucy is asleep big sister will sometimes get in it and
draw on the chalkboard side. All in all we love it so much and can't
imagine how we would be coping if we didn't have it, so thanks so much
Stephanie for making it and being so helpful in the whole process!
Lucy's Family, Brisbane, Australia
Matthew's Story
We had some suspicions early on that Matthew had some hip problems. Our Paediatrician and family doctor both thought that everything was fine, but they ended up referring us for an ultrasound. It was fortunate that they did as it turned out that Matthew had bilateral DDH.
While we thought that there may have been an issue, we still weren't quite prepared for what a positive diagnosis meant. He was diagnosed at 4 months and we first tried to fix things with the cruiser brace. Unfortunately the cruiser was not helping Matthew and we ended up having a closed reduction scheduled for Matthew when he was 5 months. That didn't work either, and we've since had an open reduction on both hips, and a second open reduction on right hip, which ended up slipping out.
While we thought that there may have been an issue, we still weren't quite prepared for what a positive diagnosis meant. He was diagnosed at 4 months and we first tried to fix things with the cruiser brace. Unfortunately the cruiser was not helping Matthew and we ended up having a closed reduction scheduled for Matthew when he was 5 months. That didn't work either, and we've since had an open reduction on both hips, and a second open reduction on right hip, which ended up slipping out.
As I'm sure everyone who has a child dealing with
DDH knows, there is a lot of ups and downs. We have been nervous before
each surgery and each follow-up appointment, not knowing whether things
have worked. We were also nervous thinking about how we would be able to
manage with a young baby in a spica - especially a young baby that was
beginning to get curious about the world and starting to move around.
The spica chair really has been a godsend for us in
that regard. Seconds after we put him in the chair, he started beaming
and he hasn't stopped since. It allows him to be sitting upright and
feel more a part of things. The big surface is great for him to play on
and it really does take a load off both of us. We're definitely thankful
to have one of these chairs!
Thanks Stephanie!
Thanks Stephanie!
Haley's Story
Haley was diagnosed at 3 months of age with Hip dysplasia. She went through two closed reductions with a total cast time of 14 weeks. After the cast was removed her hip came out again within 3 months.
She then went through a open reduction. She spent eight
weeks in the spica cast. Haley learned how to crawl in her spica cast as well
as flip herself over. It was truly amazing to see how much she could do with
this huge cast on.
She was cast free for six months when we found out the hip
came back out. During those six months Haley learned how to walk and became a
toddler. Haley then went through another open reduction and pelvic osteotomy
at 21 months. Her total cast time was 8 weeks. Haley started walking with the
spica cast on. Your table literally was a life saver for Haley and us. We were
able to get Haley off her feet and at the table for hours of fun projects. She
forgot she was in the spica cast and just played like an active toddler
should.
Haley had her cast removed last Friday and she is already
walking and acting as if there never was a cast on for eight weeks. It is
amazing how resilient children are.
Thank you to you and your family for taking the time to
create and make this table for our family. You all have truly made this
horrible experience not so horrible.
Fondly,
Debbie Hogan