Freeze frames in your mind

Some moments in life freeze frame in your memory like an image on your wall.  They can be recalled in an instant and often replay across your lids as you start to drift to sleep.

I find my freeze frames are some of my happiest and some of my bleakest times.

Whichever they are  – they are cemented in my mind.

I have a whole memory file dedicated to Libby-Sue and her journey with Hip Dysplasia.

I can recall every emotion I felt the moment we realised our baby had something wrong with her hips.  That she had been ‘missed’ through the usual checks,  and that at almost two years old, after just discovering the joy of walking she was going to be tied in a cast for three months.

I remember when she went into surgery and I held my breath for six hours.

I remember the first time she fed from my breast, four days post surgery and an emergency blood transfusion, it was then I knew she would get better.

I remember when she crawled in that bloody big awful cast.

And the moment she walked….

God – what a moment, she was over two and a half, wobbly and scarred.

Then she walked across the landing between mine and her Daddy’s arms.  That memory is beautifully burnt on my soul.

But your fears don’t go away once you have had a spica baby.  Every year she gets an X-Ray and every year I hold my breath, hoping her rebuilt hip is continuing to grow, praying that more surgery will be evaded.

We are due in September, please say your prayers for us.

Then yesterday she created a new memory in the Hip Dysplasia hall of fame,

It was Sports Day,

She was in the running race.

She set off, those little legs that I have seen bound and plastered, stretching out along the grass.

My mother and I watched, sadly presuming she would come last, because unhappy hips leave their legacy long after surgery.

We watched open mouthed as she gained speed down the track.

We called out her name as she ran past our seats.

I clutched at my throat as she crossed the finish line, first in her race.

I watched as she happily stuck a number one onto her shirt.

She has never won a race before.

In your face DDH!