Thanks for your e-mail.
Here’s the story about my being frame-wearer.
When I was born, my right leg was shorter than the other one. That’s why I got my first frame when I was 9 years old. This was only femural and it looked like this:
In the period I was wearing the frame (8 months) I’ve had lots of pain and many complications. The most irritating thing was that the doctors didn’t understand what caused the pain and therefor they said that it was only psychical. When the pins were token out of my leg, they understood what the problem was. They pins had scoured big holes in my bones. Nobody had seen it before on the röntgenphoto’s [ x-rays ]because on the places where the pins go in the bones, the doctors had put ‘olives’.
This wasn’t the only problem. My leg was 6 cm longer by then, but my muscles had not become longer, so I couldn’t bend my knee. It was as stiff as a plank. After a few months vainly practising I was operated to lengthen my muscles. The first time was unsuccesfull, so the same operation was done again. Well, after much practising I could bend my knee more easily, and after a few years I reached the 90º.
In all, I’ve been in hospital for 7 months, and 10 months in a revalidation centre. I’ve skipped school 2 years.
Doctors discovered another problem. On account of all the operating etc. to my leg, there had slipped scar tissue in my ‘grow disk’ (don’t know the english word for it) . So my leg didn’t grow straight, but there came curves in the upper and lower bones of my leg. Besides, my right leg was still 5 cm shorter then the left one.
That’s why I’m a frame-wearer now for the second time. I’m 15 now (becoming 16 next month) and this is my frame since 3 and a half week: I’ve the elastics at my foot, because I can’t get it flat by myself.
The doctors still make all sorts of stupid mistakes. Last week I started with the corrections of the curves in my bones. I was told to turn the rotators to the left. Well, I did that for a few days, but Sunday one of the rotators jammed. So we went to the hospital, and after an hour of screwing by six men they discovered that I had turned the rotator to the wrong side. They had given me wrong instructions, so I had bend my bones only more in curves. This sort of things happens very often.
At the moment I don’t have extreme pain, only a little stinging pain at the pengates. I hope it will be so for some more time. I have to wear this frame ± 10 months, so I’ve a rather long way to go still.
Funny that your ex-wife is related to Hollanders. I live in Apeldoorn, so I don’t come in Tilburg very often, in fact I can’t remember ever being there.
I hope I don’t have made too many mistakes in this letter. I’m not very good at writing english. I’m learning.
Bye,
Gerdien Folmer.
SLIM'S NOTE
Gerdien apologises for her English!
Gerdien your English is very good!
Thank you very much for your story. I look forward to being able to update it as it continues.