In October 2014, John Thomas was diagnosed with Perthes. The doctor’s diagnosis was a wheelchair for around 2-3 years, since we were in the second phase. We sought a second opinion from Dr. Paley. John Thomas had the core decompression procedure in Feb. 2015 by Dr. Paley. He slept in a brace 24/7 except for showers and swimming in the summer.
In September of 2015 we were hopeful that he was healed and life would return to “normal” only to find out that the head of the bone had collapsed. We were beyond devastated. In February of 2016, John Thomas had surgery to put on an external fixator by Dr. Feldman. This was very painful and exhausting, physically and mentally. The daily cleanings were beyond miserable. John Thomas went to physical therapy four times a week and was walking in the fixator after a month.
In May of 2016 the fixator was removed. Even though we were so happy for the fixator to be removed, John Thomas could not run, jump, skip or do all of the things a 7 year old boy loves to do. He was in another brace.
In August of 2016, just two years shy of his diagnosis, John Thomas was cleared for sports and running, jumping, skipping! Even though this was one of the hardest things to watch my child go through, I really cannot imagine any other treatment plan. Except for recovering from fixator surgery, John Thomas was mobile and able to walk around during the two years of treatment. I knew from the moment we were greeted by Jennifer Scott that we were in the right place! We are forever grateful for Dr. Paley, Dr. Feldman and their amazing staff for treating our boy!
