Update from Mom

Chayah is in surgery as I write. It has been three hours so far and we just got word that they will finish in the next thirty to forty minutes. She was tearful and upset before she went in, crying, "Mommy do it!", as in 'mommy should do the surgery'! What they are hoping to accomplish is the rodding of her right tibea with the help of a bone graft from her right hip. As the doctor shared with us yesterday,"This is an attempt to save the leg which is almost beyond salvaging." So we need your prayers that this little leg will heal with healthy, strong bone to replace the shattered bone that was there.

Chayah will be sporting a bright pink hip spica cast. (She choose the color- her first choice being orange, but alas, or relief, they were out.)


The doctor just came out to speak with us. Chayah's lower leg is straight!!!! They took out the old wire from the China surgery and also removed a lot of fragmented bone as well. Chayah has not one but two rods in her leg, the one in the fibula is a 1/8 in. diameter, the other, in the tibea is larger.
She will wear her hip cast for at least six weeks then progress to a smaller cast we hope. At the end of three or more months she will graduate to a leg brace and a shoe lift. Again, our main concern will be the regrowth of healthy bone.

Chayah is probably going to be a 'little mad' at us at first. We were told that the hip grafting is
exceptionally painful and the hip cast will not allow her to move much. The anaesthesiolgist was just here- Chayah will need special pain/care considerations..she said it is a fine line to keep them both pain free and still breathing...obviously we will opt for breathing! Hopefully we will be able to see her in the next hour or so.......more later