What you wouldn't want it to be

I sat in the pediatricians office back in February and listened to him reassuring me. That my son's hips were just being overused and it was going to be okay. And he proceeded to tell me that I should be thankful that it wasn't what he had thought it was. A condition called Perthes Disease, where the bone dies and so on and so forth. I thanked my lucky stars.

But as I sat in the Pediatric Orthopaedic office yesterday, his words came back to haunt me as the Dr. began to describe the condition that my little guy has. When she said "part of the bone dies..." I knew (sort of) what it was and that it wasn't good. The poor little man has Perthes Disease. It's not so much a disease as a condition. A process. Basically, what happens is that the blood supply gets cut off to the top of the bone that rests in the hip socket. And that part dies. The body breaks this dead bone down and new bone is formed. However, the bone won't be what it once was. There is a good chance it will be deformed. (Bear with me, this is still very new and I'm trying to wrap my head around it. I don't quite get it all yet.)

While this is going on, there is nothing that you can do about it. You just have to let it happen and monitor it with x-ray's every three months until it has run its course. There are different treatments that Dr's have used. According to the specialist we saw, they have studied and studied and studied this. And have no answers. No one treatment works better than another. Be it traction, surgery, bed rest or normal activity. So you might as well let your child play and give Motrin as needed for pain. (Again, not sure if I have this exactly right- I'm trying to work it all out, taking the info the Dr. told me and what I have researched on my own.) (It's a little strange, I know, that I felt a little better when I ran into familiar medical terms that I've learned about while dealing with hips previously. Quick, anyone? Bilateral osteotomy. What is it?)

The prognosis could be good, it could be bad. We don't know. It varies in every child. Answers will come as we see each x-ray and the progress that is being made. We don't even know for sure what stage the disease is in, it's a wait and see type of thing.

I'm okay with this, in some ways. I know that I can handle it. Nobody wants to deal with the frequent Dr. visits, the not knowing, the financial stuff. But it's okay. I can take. What I am struggling with is the fact that I'm the mom and I can't make it better. With the girls hips, we know that we'll get there. It'll be fine. We can stop their problems in it's tracks. We can't with Logan. And *that* is so hard. Yesterday he told me, "Mom! When they told me that I could still play in sports, I was so happy. I didn't want to have to wear a brace or have surgery or anything." Oh, my little man. We'll leave it at that with him.

So there you have it. Four out of five hippies. It's fine. We'll deal. I'm confident in this because: although we were dealt this hand, I was also given a surprise phone call when I needed it and a well timed chocolate cake. It will be okay. We have people who care.

What I know for sure, mamas, is these three things:
1. ALWAYS. Always trust your instincts.
2. Always get a second opinion. Third, fourth, whatev. Never stop at one.
3. Always use the person who is educated to deal with your one specific subject. Pediatricians are good for the regular stuff. ENT for ear, nose and throat. Orthopedics for bone issues. You don't want to mess with this stuff.