Rotationplasty Prosthetic Leg...The Final Product

In early January 2013, Bailey picked up the final finished version of her prosthetic leg. I wanted to post a few pictures of the process that occurred to get to that point. I have been taking a lot of photos and video and eventually will put a more detailed progression together...but until then, here is the "snapshot" version. Bailey's rotationplasty was June 5, 2012. Chemo dramatically slows healing and so she was completely non-weight-bearing for almost four months following surgery. She received her first prosthetic leg at the end of September 2012. Every few months following that, revisions were made as she gained ranged of motion in her new "knee." She did not get a new leg each time, they simply tweaked the old one. However, from this point on, there will only be new legs when she either outgrows or breaks her current version. We'll then use the old leg for the beach or times when she needs a leg that can get really dirty, dinged up or messy.

This is the first day on the very first version of her leg. 

(September 28, 2012)

She had this first version for a while, as it takes some time to gain the needed flexibility in the ankle that has become the knee. The ultimate goal is for the foot to be pointed straight down similar to that of a ballerina. As you can see in the photos below, it starts out fairly bulky...the prosthetist does not "finish" it to look pretty until all of the final adjustments have been made.

 One interesting thing to note above, is that Bailey's "knees" are not aligned. This is because she lost a growth plate and so the surgeon had to estimate her final height. Eventually, as she grows, her knees will even out. While it may not be perfect, people can actually tolerate a couple of inches difference with no noticeable gait issues.

After a few months, Bailey went in for an adjustment...the foot socket was pointed even more vertically, since Bailey's range of motion had improved. They were also able to take some of the bulk off of the bottom.

 The below pictures were taken recently, after the final product was completed. Bailey chose a flesh-toned leg this time around, but she may go with a crazy fabric pattern or something fun on the next one. The metal rod at the bottom can be hidden to look like leg as well, but for now, she likes the hardware showing.  If you look closely, there is a protrusion on her right side where her calf would have been...this is because although she can point her foot down, it still wants to move to the outside a bit...so for now they are allowing space for that. In her next leg, that hump will not be there and her foot will be completely straight...almost giving the illusion of a calf in the back. 

This photo below just makes me laugh...its so Bailey. I've included it though because it does an excellent job of showing how her "k-nankle" (new knee) functions.

  

So, that is the new leg. Her three month scans showed no evidence of disease (NED) and the surgeon has cleared her for all activity with no restrictions. Bailey is back to playing some sports...and although she is slower for now, she knows this is only temporary. Since she has the "all-clear," Bailey is also about to begin more intense physical therapy and her next goal will be running...which she is very excited about.

After an incredibly long and challenging year in which we faced many fears and also made an agonizing decision...we are beyond thankful that this smile has returned...this is what joy looks like...

Celebrating Caleb

Today is the third anniversary of Caleb's adoption. Gotcha Day. Many use that term, although I typically don't. I'm not sure why...it really doesn't feel like an accurate description. It is a term that seems far too simple and the word "gotcha" feels a little icky to me. I can remember the very first time I laid eyes on this child...his picture was on my computer...sent by our agency. Baby Gebremedin.  He was so precious and so tiny...his eyes empty, afraid...almost searching. He wasn't fat and happy like my first three kids. The whole experience felt similar to carrying a child and giving birth, yet vastly different. There were nerves and there was suspense and hopeful anticipation. But our first three kids didn't come with the hard back story. They didn't come to me having already experienced tremendous loss. They were a clean slate. Caleb, even at nine months, had already been through much. Some might wonder how he could know that...he was so young when he became ours. But kids know. I don't know how and I cannot explain the complicated physiological mechanisms that go behind it, but I have talked with enough adoption mamas to be thoroughly convinced...these babies know when their first moms are not there...and the stress has a tremendous impact on their little souls.

It was about six months from the time I first saw his face until I could finally hold him. Six months of us living in excess...doing too much, spending too much, eating too much, celebrating a Christmas with too much, having TOO much...while he languished in an orphanage. We were ready for him; however,  due to the bureaucracy that is international adoption...there was still much red tape to wade through. But in early February 2010, Patrick, Bailey and I boarded a plane to make the very long trip to Ethiopia to meet our baby boy. I can remember that day vividly. As I picked up that beautiful, terrified, tiny little man...I wept deeply. I could feel the depth of what was happening, of this story God had crafted to knit our family together...and I knew what this child had already been through at the tender age of nine months. I believe part of me was weeping for him. I was happy that we were adding another child, but I deeply grieved the loss of his biological relatives and of his country. Adoption is complicated, but children need families...more than sharing genes and honoring heritage...they need someone who's eyes light up when they walk in a room. They need siblings with whom they can do life, they need parents to read them stories at night, they need dads who wrestle and mamas who will kiss their boo-boos and comfort them when they are afraid. Children do not bloom in orphanages - under any circumstances...but even some of the most broken children blossom in families.

When I look back over Caleb's transformation in the last three years, I am amazed. I'm pretty astounded by my own evolution as well. :) He has gone from a sad and scared infant with vacant eyes to a child so full of life and laughter and exuberance that he is hard to contain. I have gone from a woman who thought she knew the answers to a mom who embraces the fact that I actually know very little...and each day, I am more thankful that it is not up to me. Caleb's eyes twinkle, his laugh is infectious and I love him fiercely. To see what God has done, how he has healing and growing this little boy's heart, how he is refining me in the process...how Caleb fits perfectly and completely into our family...it is miraculous. 

If there is even a whisper from God in your heart that adoption might be for you...please pursue it. You may not feel as if you are capable of handling another child, but the good news is, that God will meet you. If you step out in faith, He will give you what you need. These are children. They didn't ask for this and they don't deserve this kind of pain. They are children who have lost so much. They are hungry, lonely and afraid...and they need us to give up a little bit of our free time, a little of our money, a little more of ourselves...so that they might have a chance to truly live.

Today we are celebrating three years with Caleb. It has come to be called Ethiopia Day in our house because it is a family occasion. We usually go out for Ethiopian food and all of the kids receive small gifts...in an effort to get everyone excited to share in their brother's birth culture, to remember his story. This little boy has been one of the greatest blessings of our lives and I shudder to think what we would have missed had we not been willing to take the risk...to take each scary little step to reach him. It would have been so easy to stay stuck in "our plan" and in our weak and selfish excuses...but we would have missed what God was trying to do. Please...if He is beginning to call you...listen. You don't have to leap over the chasm, all you must do is take that next baby step. 

Caleb Gebremedin Alemayehu...

you have made me a better mama and I delight in you.