"HIP for Justin" Help Justin walk
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Our son Justin Haire, a Junior at Wakulla High School in Crawfordville Florida has a rare medical condition called Legg Perthese Disease. This restricts blood flow to the femur head and causes the bone to die. This condition limits Justin's physical activity and causes him a great deal of pain.
Justin was born and raised in Wakulla County and is very proud of his Wakulla roots. Justin is a kind and fun loving young man with a positive attitude despite the challenges he has endured and continues to face. His will is truly inspirational.
At age 12 Justin was place in a lower body cast for 2 months in an attempt to relieve some pain and to immobilize the hip in hopes that the hip would rejuvenate. At age 13 Justin continued to be in pain and was walking around with the help of crutches and a shoe lift. To compensate for the pain he walked very sway-back and with a limp. This has led to a distorted body image. Dr. David Bellamy, who had treated Justin since he was diagnosed, informed us that to relieve his constant pain he would need a hip replacement. Dr. Bellamy was reluctant to perform the surgery since at that time Justin would have been one of only ten children in the U.S. to receive a hip replacement that young. In an attempt to delay this surgery Dr. Bellamy reached out to other doctors for their opinions. Dr. Dror Paley who is a leader in children's orthopedics agreed to see Justin as he felt he could offer some options.
On April 21, 2010 Justin underwent surgery at St. Mary's Children's Hospital in West Palm Beach under the care of Dr. Paley. The surgery was to dislocate Justin's hip and reshape the femur head so that it would move more easily in the hip socket. The goal was to relieve Justin's pain and temporarily delay the hip replacement until he was older. After 6 hours in surgery, a week in the hospital and 12 weeks of intense physical therapy we were finally able to bring Justin home. Our goal was reached in that Justin had no more pain and still had his hip.
At 14 Justin returned to surgery due to his knee beginning to turn in. Dr. Paley was able to do minor surgery to place a plate on Justin's knee that would force the knee to turn back in place. He also cut some tendons to release some of the tension.
Justin is now 17 and still walks with a 3 inch lift on his shoe and still walks very sway-back. He is actually starting to have some back and knee problems. Dr. Paley will be going back in to Justin's hip in an effort to reposition the pelvic which will allow Justin to walk straight. The surgery will require Dr. Paley to cut the femur bone at the top and apply an extension from the femur to the hip. He will also be cutting the femur above the knee to insert a rod into the femur bone. This will allow Dr. Paley to lengthen the limb.
Justin's surgery is scheduled for June 11, 2014 and will require at least another week long stay at St. Mary's Children's Hospital in West Palm Beach Florida. Once released our family which also includes Justin's 14 year old sister will be required to stay for 8 weeks so that Justin can have physical therapy daily by Dr. Paley's staff. Although a total hip replacement is still in our future, this will hopefully relieve Justin's pain and prolong the need for that.
Justin often wonders why but realizes everyday how lucky he is. He has a caring heart and a loving soul. As parents nothing would make us happier than to see him walk normal again. For him to be able to start his senior year in high school and just feel normal without everybody staring at him would be the best gift he could ever receive. Although we have insurance we are still faced with the huge financial burden of lodging, transportation costs and daily co pays for his physical therapy. Any assistance would be received with much gratitude. Please keep Justin and our family in your prayers as we all have some tough challenges ahead of us.
Gary and Debbie Haire
8 TW Wood Road
Justin was born and raised in Wakulla County and is very proud of his Wakulla roots. Justin is a kind and fun loving young man with a positive attitude despite the challenges he has endured and continues to face. His will is truly inspirational.
At age 12 Justin was place in a lower body cast for 2 months in an attempt to relieve some pain and to immobilize the hip in hopes that the hip would rejuvenate. At age 13 Justin continued to be in pain and was walking around with the help of crutches and a shoe lift. To compensate for the pain he walked very sway-back and with a limp. This has led to a distorted body image. Dr. David Bellamy, who had treated Justin since he was diagnosed, informed us that to relieve his constant pain he would need a hip replacement. Dr. Bellamy was reluctant to perform the surgery since at that time Justin would have been one of only ten children in the U.S. to receive a hip replacement that young. In an attempt to delay this surgery Dr. Bellamy reached out to other doctors for their opinions. Dr. Dror Paley who is a leader in children's orthopedics agreed to see Justin as he felt he could offer some options.
On April 21, 2010 Justin underwent surgery at St. Mary's Children's Hospital in West Palm Beach under the care of Dr. Paley. The surgery was to dislocate Justin's hip and reshape the femur head so that it would move more easily in the hip socket. The goal was to relieve Justin's pain and temporarily delay the hip replacement until he was older. After 6 hours in surgery, a week in the hospital and 12 weeks of intense physical therapy we were finally able to bring Justin home. Our goal was reached in that Justin had no more pain and still had his hip.
At 14 Justin returned to surgery due to his knee beginning to turn in. Dr. Paley was able to do minor surgery to place a plate on Justin's knee that would force the knee to turn back in place. He also cut some tendons to release some of the tension.
Justin is now 17 and still walks with a 3 inch lift on his shoe and still walks very sway-back. He is actually starting to have some back and knee problems. Dr. Paley will be going back in to Justin's hip in an effort to reposition the pelvic which will allow Justin to walk straight. The surgery will require Dr. Paley to cut the femur bone at the top and apply an extension from the femur to the hip. He will also be cutting the femur above the knee to insert a rod into the femur bone. This will allow Dr. Paley to lengthen the limb.
Justin's surgery is scheduled for June 11, 2014 and will require at least another week long stay at St. Mary's Children's Hospital in West Palm Beach Florida. Once released our family which also includes Justin's 14 year old sister will be required to stay for 8 weeks so that Justin can have physical therapy daily by Dr. Paley's staff. Although a total hip replacement is still in our future, this will hopefully relieve Justin's pain and prolong the need for that.
Justin often wonders why but realizes everyday how lucky he is. He has a caring heart and a loving soul. As parents nothing would make us happier than to see him walk normal again. For him to be able to start his senior year in high school and just feel normal without everybody staring at him would be the best gift he could ever receive. Although we have insurance we are still faced with the huge financial burden of lodging, transportation costs and daily co pays for his physical therapy. Any assistance would be received with much gratitude. Please keep Justin and our family in your prayers as we all have some tough challenges ahead of us.
Gary and Debbie Haire
8 TW Wood Road
Organizer
Debbie Haire
Organizer
Crawfordville, FL
