Halfway There

     Today marks 6 weeks of having a "Froggied Princess"!
     That means we have hit the halfway point for our current treatment. We have a clinical check next week to evaluate the fit of the harness and in 6 more weeks we'll have an x-ray to see of the harness has done its job.

     In 6 weeks maneuvering around the harness has become "normal". It is actually more normal for me to have Froggie in her harness than the time she spends out of it in the morning and evening. She seems more comfortable with the harness on as well since then she doesn't have to figure out what to do with her legs. 

     So what happens in 6 weeks... Froggie will go in and have another x-ray done. If it shows her hips are at the proper angles then my understanding is that she will no longer have to wear the harness or have any other treatment for her hips. She would likely have to go in at specific times in her development (once she starts crawling, walking, etc) to make sure everything is still correct and may have restrictions regarding things she can do. 

     If the x-rays show that her hips are not where the doctor would like them then she will either have to wear the harness longer or move to a more stable form of treatment. I'm hopeful that the x-rays will be good; the International Hip Dysplasia Institute website states "Once the x-ray is normal, then there's probably a 99% chance that the hip will continue to grow normally. Recurrence of dysplasia is very rare after successful Pavlik harness treatment and a normal x-ray at 9-12 months old, but most doctors still recommend x-rays at an older age just to catch any shallow sockets that might need treatment to prevent early arthritis."

A happy Froggie to brighten anyone's day!