Dad's View: So many things in life are worse

I could name 100 things that are worse than our situation. Like a wise person told me, no matter what your situation is, it’s yours when you’re in it.

Our six-month-old just underwent hip dysplasia repair surgery. The only visible scars are the body cast that she now wears, and the tiny incisions we can see on her thighs when changing a diaper.

According to About.com, “the location of the problem can be either the ball of the hip joint, the socket of the hip joint, or both.” In our daughter’s case, both of her legs were out of their sockets, and one of the sockets is “shallow.” Doctors expect that the socket will mold around the bone now that the socket is in joint. She’ll be in the cast until the end of October.

We’ve been here before. In fact, my wife has been here three times. She doesn’t remember the first time, which was when her hips were out of joint at six months of age. Yes, it’s hereditary, according to doctors. Our six-year-old went through the same thing. I’ll share her thoughts on this experience in my September blog.

At times, I feel sorry for myself. Why are we tucking newborn diapers into a small opening in this cast, when a six-month-old should be in larger diapers? Why will our child develop a little slower than other children? Why was our family chosen to go through this?

In every visit to our orthopedist though, I’m reminded that there are worse developmental challenges that our child could have. Although, to keep myself sane, I remind myself that I’m in this situation. Can I be thankful for what I have, and still be allowed to feel disappointment for our situation?