The story of Erin
My Son, Wyatt, is 9 years old. He was diagnosed with Perthes Disease at age 7. His affected leg has lost more than half of the femoral head and it has deteriorated past his growth plate. He does not ever complain of being in pain but cannot walk long distances and has a pronounced limp. In the beginning of the disease, he used walkers, canes and a wheelchair.
Wyatt had a Femoral Osteotomy in June 0f 2020 and we felt very lucky to have a chance to have this surgery performed during the Covid Pandemic. Wyatt spent 12 weeks off his feet post surgery and now walks with a limp. He uses a wheelchair if we are going long distances at the park or at a museum. He continues to do Physical Therapy to strengthen the muscles around his hip. We are near a Children’s Hospital that has a pool and water therapy has been very beneficial.
Wyatt wears a lift in his shoe to help with his leg length discrepancy. He will have another surgery in 2022 to remove hardware from his previous surgery and will be casted on both legs and off his feet for 12 weeks after that surgery.
Wyatt has a good attitude about his disease. He is not able to be very active physically and misses out on socialization because of that. He has some secondary issues like ADHD and abnormal tooth formation that seem to frequently affect other children with Perthes. It would be so helpful for us to understand more about this disease that has no cure and no set treatment.
We currently do not know what causes Perthes Disease so lots of research is needed to help fight this disease.