Judes Journey

Hi my name is Jennifer, my son Jude is 15 he was born with Talipes and he’s recently undergone a six hour surgery at Sheffield Children’s Hospital to have an illizarov frame fitted to reconstruct his foot. He will be in the frame for 6-9 months.

The Paediatric Limb Reconstruction team are amazing and have provided us with the basics like a wheelchair, walking frame and shower seat. We also bought a single bed for our living room as the stairs are too much for him to go up and down using his arms.

Judes clothes like boxers and trousers all need to be altered in order to get them on and off. I have a friend that’s very kindly done a few pairs to last us for now. The illizarov frame covers to be made are up to £80 each as well. They protect him from infection when out of the house.

Im currently on leave from work with no pay so As you can imagine the hospital stays and weekly appointments in Sheffield cost a lot. Parking is £20 for each 24 hours. It all adds up.

I’m trying to keep Jude as comfortable as I can while he’s going through all of this. I’d like to get some support pillows to make the journeys more comfortable and when I’m doing his turns 4x daily and pin site cleans.

If anyone has been through this and has any suggestions I’d greatly welcome them. We really appreciate all the love and support we have had starting this journey for Jude. It’s going to be a really hard year with lots of ups and downs but with amazing results and a better life for Jude in the long run. He is one of the strongest bravest most loving boys ever. He deserves the world and not to struggle. Xx