Owen was born in 2009 with a short right femur and the right side of his hip not developed properly.

This condition is called Proximal Femoral Focal Deficiency or PFFD for short.

This blog is for Owen's family and friends to follow his progress and help other families who have a
child with PFFD.

Sunday, March 3, 2019

Patience! Patience! Patience!



The above picture is a mold of Owen's new prosthetic.  We had a fitting appointment on Feb. 7 to see if the cast they took of his leg was the proper fit so they could starting fabricating his new leg.  Unfortunately, Owen did not adjust well to the change and was not comfortable putting his leg into the mold.  We tried for 3 hours off and on.  Mr. Aaron was so PATIENT with Owen and allowed him to take breaks and tried his best to talk Owen through the process.  The end result was to just go ahead and fabrication a new leg and cross our fingers it fits.

Sunday, February 3, 2019

A New Year and time for a NEW Leg!

This past year we hit a fork in the road with Owen's journey.  One path lead to another surgery, another full body cast for 2 months, and permanent rod inserted into his leg.  The other path lead us to the Amputee Blade Runners, a local organization that provides running legs to amputee in hopes to get them more active.  Both paths had their pros and cons, but unfortunately a decision had to be made.

We went here in Nashville (thanks to 2 recommendations from friends at Drake's school that also have amputee children) to get a second opinion on the proposed surgery option for Owen.  During our visit they took a 3D CT image of Owen's legs.  We were able to see all the bones and muscles that he did and din't have.  I will attach images so you can see.  It was amazing and so helpful for us to understand what makes Owen…well Owen!  During our visit that approached us with another style of a prosthetic.  This would allow more bone to bone friction to stimulate the brain and let it know that Owen does in fact have bone there.  This would be a BIG change in the fit of the prosthetic for Owen…which he DOESN'T accept change well.

Both options would help Owen in one way or another.  But we decided to try the least invasion option first.  We were NOT ready to put Owen back under for another surgery.  We have started the casting process for his new prosthetic and we go back this Friday Feb. 8 to try on a prototype.  We are so thankful and blessed to have options for Owen and we look forward to this new journey.  It is bitter sweet leaving the Shriner's Prosthetic Department.  We will still travel to Shriner's in Lexington for our yearly orthopedic appointments, but just not the prosthetic side of Shriners.  Mr. Chris at Shriners has been a huge apart of Owen's life for 9 years.  Owen adores him and trust that Mr. Chris will take care of his leg.  We have no doubt that Owen will build that same trust and love with Mr. Aaron here in Nashville.      

We are thankful to each of you for walking along side us, supporting us, and loving Owen just as much as we do.