Day 1 (eve)

Hey...it's me, Mom. ...or Rhonda depends on who is reading this. (We are a family of 4...Rhonda=Mom, Travis=Dad, Hannah=15 yrs old, Hollee=7 yrs old) Tonight I write as Rhonda. I wanted to start a blog for Hannah and I to keep up with everything that is gonna take place over the next year or so. So I guess there will be 2 stand points at times depending on what Hannah wants to say. Here's her story from my view:
        When Hannah was about 11 years old she started complaining to her Dad and I about pain in her right hip. At first it wasn't constant, so we chalked it up to growing pains and gave her some ibuprofen and sent her to bed. After this went on for about 6 months and started to become more painful we decided to have x-rays done. The x-rays showed abnormalities and the doctor ordered an MRI. At this time we had no medical insurance so an MRI was out of the question. We went back and forth trying different doctors, struggling with paying the majority of our paychecks to have insurance and fighting Medicaid/CHiP. It's really one thing to have your little babies sick and them not be able to verbalize their pain...when your "big" babies can tell you exactly what is wrong and how much it hurts, it tugs at completely different heart strings! Travis's
 mom helped us pay for an MRI and we got 2 different diagnosis---Avascular Neucrosis or Leg Calves Perthesis Disease. Honestly they are basically the same thing but if it is A.V. it developed over time and if it is L.C.P.D. she was born with it. What all that means is that the ball of her femur has NO circulation to it and the bone is dead. This has over the years deteriorated and has been shoved up into her pelvis through being an active child. Active meaning that she played soccer, danced, ran, jumped, and played until it was so bad that her leg is at this point 1.5" shorter than her left leg. She has literally sat in my lap and cried and there has been nothing I could do for her.   :' (   The doctors wanted to put her on pain killers until she was done growing and surgery turned into an option. Since I am a drug and alcohol therapist that was NOT an option for me. To me they were handing her an addiction! We have kept pain meds on hand in case of really horrible pain, but we always try to handle it with ibuprofen and ice packs as well as some accupuncuture and chiropractic treatments.
Tomorrow we go to Shriners Hospital to get some final answers and hopefully a PLAN!!! Our whole family is going to use this blog (including Hollee) to share our feelings and triumphs!!!! Cant wait to hear from you all either!
MUCH LOVE~
Rhonda