My daughter Emily was diagnosed with a dislocated hip (or Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip) in early September 2010. She was 18 months old. After a whirl wind diagnosis we were told that she would need surgery to correct her hip, followed by 3 months in a hip spica cast. About one in 100 hips present with some dysplasia at birth decreasing to approx one in 1000 hips by six weeks. It can happen to any baby but is predominantly associated with: ? females ? the left hip ? first born children ? babies born breech (or in breech position in the last trimester of pregnancy) ? babies with other orthopaedic problems (club foot etc.) ? a positive family history In Wellington approx 4 children between the ages of 1 and 7 are put into a hip spica every month. Whilst waiting for confirmation of her surgery date we tried to work through some of the practicalities of one of us being off work for three months to care for her as well as the actual practicalities of caring for her in a hip spica cast, car seats, strollers and highchairs. One of the things we really struggled with was finding a car seat that would fit an 18 month old in a hip spica. Because the legs are wide set in a hip spica most car seats are unsuitable. The only seat we found that would work is the Safe n Sound Maxi Rider. Once we found the right car seat we tried to hire one ? going down to one salary meant that buying one was going to be a bit of a stretch. Unfortunately no-one in Wellington hires out these type of seats so we had to buy one. Over the past few months I have met many other families in the same position, so now that Emily is nearing the end of her treatment I am trying to do something to help future families going through the same thing. I am personally fundraising money in order to purchase Safe n Sound Maxi Rider car seats that will then be donated to the Wellington Plunket Car Seat Rentals for the specific use of hip spica families. Plunket have kindly agreed to administer the rental of these seats along with their normal car seat rental scheme and Britax have agreed to sell the seats to me at wholesale prices. If you'd like to find out more about Emily's experience you can go to: http://wiggleinherwalk.blogspot.com?
