Matilda & Lottie
Our twins Matilda and Lottie were born 10 days before Christmas 2020 at 5 weeks premature. Matilda was sent home after a few days, but Lottie remained in NICU for a week and was finally allowed to come home for Christmas, our first as a family!
At 8 weeks old, they were sent for a routine scan to check their hips. Given the fact they are girls, who are twins and were in the breech position, they seemed to hit all the criteria for Hip Dysplasia!
The scan confirmed Matilda’s hip was underdeveloped and she was referred to a specialist team. Lottie’s hip was questionable; they were unsure if the ball and socket would mature as she got older. She too was referred and off we went down the path of specialist care.
We found out the true reality at the next scan.
Lottie had a mild dislocation of her right hip and was fitted with the Pavlik harness. Over the next few weeks, her scans showed that her hip was responding well to the harness so she carried on with this course of treatment. Unfortunately, the harness escalated Lottie’s reflux which meant that she was often quite uncomfortable. It was a tough time for us all, but after 9 weeks in the Pavlik harness, Lottie was declared hip healthy.
Tilly has a complete dislocation of her left hip. She was fitted with the harness at the same time as Lottie, but her following scans showed that not enough progress had been made and her harness was removed.
Tilly’s closed reduction happened in May 2021. It was one of our toughest days to date but the procedure was a success. She wore the Spica cast for 7 weeks, followed by a cast change, and another 6 weeks in the 2nd cast.
We visited the hospital regularly to check her hip and every scan showed the hip was stable with signs of ossification. On August 18th, Tilly’s cast was removed and she was fitted with a rhino brace to wear at night. This day was huge for Tilly but also for us as a family, it’s the first time in 6 months that we’ve not had a child in full-time treatment for Hip Dysplasia. And so we all celebrated!
This is not the end of our Hip Dysplasia journey, we still do have hip checks and hospital appointments in the diary, but I do feel like the darkest of our days are over. ❤️
