Taking responsibility...

Three years a go I bit the bullet and decided that I could no longer ignore the situation and should get my leg fixed once and for all.

I got back in touch with my surgeon (Mr RA Hill) whose care I'd been under at Great Ormond Street (GOSH). As I was now over 18, I was no longer able to attend GOSH, therefore I started to see him at his adult NHS clinic at the Princess Alexandra Hospital (PAH) in Harlow.

This was a huge step for me as I had successfully buried my head in the sand and tried to forget about the situation for a number of years. However, the time seemed right. I had been in my job as an event manager for a sports marketing agency for a couple of years and my employers were very supportive, I was also in the right place mentally to take responsibility and had fantastic support from my friends and family.

Mr Hill presented two options:
a) A closing wedge osteotomy - straightening my leg acutely on the operating table utilising a number of plates and screws to hold it on place
b) Application of a TSF and the slow and actuate correction of the deformity

Initially option a) looked like the most preferable... more pain up front but all the gore would be done in theatre and I would be in a full leg plaster cast post-op. However, looking into it in more detail and taking Mr Hill's advice this turned out not be the case... much to my horror! He explained that although option a) may seem favorable, it would not be his preferred choice. He advised that there was very little room for error with a closing wedge osteotomy, if the angle was not got absolutely accurate then there was no going back. However, the TSF option was much more versatile. The programme could be re-run and altered to ensure that the angle was corrected.

Therefore, against everything I wanted, I went with Mr Hill's recommendation of the application of the TSF - after all he was the expert. This was a tough decision as I had a phobia of the frames. They made me feel sick to the stomach. I saw them at the clinics I attended at PAH and I had to look away. How could anyone cope with having one of those attached to their leg? Clearly I had to overcome this fear before I was to go under the knife.