31 Days of Rest & Risk :: Day 7 ~ The Risk of Being Broken

10.7.08 X-ray of the 2 pins inserted into Eden’s left hip socket

Four years ago on this exact date, October 7, 2008, Eden had hip surgery.  She was diagnosed with Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip {DDH} which is “an abnormal formation of the hip joint in which the ball on top of the thighbone (femur) is not held firmly in the socket.”¹

Four years ago, we wrote this to update our family and friends.  We knew surgery was the only answer.  We knew that we had to allow the doctor to fix her.  We knew the risks of allowing our child to be broken.

10.8.08 Home from the hospital

She was going to experience pain.  She was not going to be able to walk & run and play in the yard with her older brothers.  She was going to have to be carried everywhere.  She would need sponge baths & we would learn there’s an exact science to wearing diapers in a spica cast.  She would learn to hate the inside of the waiting room at the doctor’s office.  She would learn to scream bloody murder when she saw the doctor enter the room. She would learn to develop a fear of band-aids.

We knew the risks.

However, the risk of not doing the surgery was far greater than the risk of being broken.

10.31.08 Eden as a Mummy for Halloween

There is a flip side to allowing her to be broken.  What would this do to her spirit?  Would it break her?  Sure she had her moments of frustration and being very upset but Eden taught our family so much during this season.  Her frustration turned into determination. She didn’t let the fact that she couldn’t walk in a spica cast stop her. {If you are reading this via email, click here to see the video.}

She brought us joy out of her brokenness.  Despite her young age, she was determined to not let her brokenness keep her down.  I wonder if I would have the same determination as an adult?

4 years and 3 surgeries later, Eden is doing great.

She has overcome her fear of doctors and band-aids.  She keeps a piece of the spica cast on her dresser to remember.  She loves to run and play sports.  Don’t tell them, but she can throw a football better than any of her older brothers {thanks Grandpa!}.  She’s enrolled in a gymnastics class right now & she can’t wait to get home to show us the new things she has learned in class that day.

We took a risk and allowed her to be broken.  We do not regret that decision one bit.

~ Caroline

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Source(s):
¹ OrthoInfo

{This is a series of posts for 31 Days of Rest & Risk. To read the other posts, click here.}