Help keep Faith's family together during this next healing journey.
Southland
Faith is a beautiful 16 year old girl rocking Down Syndrome and living with terrible chronic pain.
In 2015 Faith was diagnosed with a serious hip defect that was about to cause her entire pelvis to collapse. She underwent an Bilateral Osteotomy to try prevent any further wearing away of her hip joints and after a long and painful recovery her Family were hopeful she would be able to dance and walk without pain.
In 2019 Faith's walking became very painful again and an emergency MRI showed that her hips were again dislocating and were now worse than before. She was flown to Auckland starship hospital from Invercargill and underwent a Periacetabular osteotomy where they make you a new hip socket out of your own bones. Again after a long painful operation it was thought this would increase Faith's quality of life and she would soon be back to running around with her friends, but it only got worse.
Soon Faith's hip was so sore and tight and it was discovered her hip had broken in another place post op because of the tension on the bones. It was decided Faith would fly back to Auckland for a revision. And again after a long painful recovery she never really got any better. This meant her Mum Louise could not return to work as Faith needed full time care so she resigned to become Faith's support person 24/7.
Faith now faces another Periacetabular osteotomy on her left side and then complete hip fusion on the injured right side as this is now full of necrosis and arthritis. The first will be preformed late June 2021.
Thankfully the Auckland surgeon has agreed to come work with out lovely Invercargill one so that we can stay local and have family support this time.
Faith falls a bit in the middle of nowhere funding wise. She is not covered by ACC because she just grew like this and it was not from an accident, yet we don't know how long Faith will be like this for or if she will ever get better, so she gets no funding from our DHB. It all falls on the family which they have done so happily because they want the best for Faith's independence and dignity.
Now that Faith is older and heavier needing at least 2 more big operations and will require long term wheelchair use and possibly lower body cast, her home is not suitable for a larger wheelchair and she will not fit through the doors into her bedroom or bathroom. She may end up spending her whole recovery in the hospital because it is more accessible and safer. This will be 6 to 8 weeks and then 3 months the second time.
Any money raised will be used to extend doorways if possible, and access ramp to bring Faith home, travel in a taxi van as her equipment will not fit in the family car and to support Faith's family so they can stay together and just focus on these operations.
With support Faith will be able to recover with her Family in her own environment.
You can read more about Faith incredible journey at www.facebook.com/seekingnormalnz
I am Faith's Mum
Any money raised with be gratefully used for better house access to keep Faith home.
Faith surgery 5 July 2021
Thank you to everyone who donated or shared. Faith is now 1 weeks post op and doing amazing. Her pain is a lot but so is her determination. She had some scary hiccups post op that you can read about on my blog. But over all we are hopeful for this left sides recovery and then we can make a big scary plan to complete the right.
Dad picked up internal doors today and the external gets measured tomorrow!
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