It was a good day (Part 3)...

We were simply deflated when we left the appointment in Memphis. He was not getting better, but nothing could be found. We were still two weeks away from the next appointment.

When we arrived to see the Physiatrist, the first thing they asked was what did we think was wrong. Honestly, we felt it probably was Osteochondritis Dissecans, but everyone had made us feel foolish for even asking, so we said nothing. The Physiatrist listened to my son's complaints, watched him walk and then decided it was time to do another MRI, which was completed a week later.

In the meantime, of course, every person we knew was asking what was wrong. He was using a wheelchair at school, and we had no answers. One of my acquaintances is married to an orthopedic surgeon. He specializes in sports medicine. He felt the doctors were missing something (as they had discussed it like everyone else in town!). We asked him to look over the records and give his opinion. We also gave him a copy of the new MRI (with no report). Within an hour he called and said, "He has Osteochondritis Dissecans." The next day we also received a call from the St. Louis surgeon's office, confirming his diagnosis.

It took well over 6 months, multiple doctor visits and literally thousands of dollars in medical care to get this diagnosis. After a 6-week trial of complete rest, it was decided he needed surgery. We scheduled the surgery with the local orthopedist in July. It made for a long summer, but in the end, it was wonderful!  In 6-weeks the healing was strong and he was able to walk again for the first time in months. Initially it wasn't very pretty, but it quickly began to look more and more normal.

If you had told me last spring that my son would be auditioning for a musical and doing cartwheels, I would have told you that was a dream I was afraid we would never see.  Okay, so maybe he still can't do a full-on cartwheel, but he is getting there! We are so blessed to have him healthy again.

Never give up!

It was a good day (Part 2)...

Did I mention my son had to attempt a cartwheel in these dance auditions?  Yes, it was a true test indeed!

When we returned to see the surgeon, he was a little more concerned now. The MRI mentioned that there were signs that indicated he may have the beginnings of Osteochondritis Disseccans.  I asked the surgeon about that, and he told us, definitely not, it was too rare. He felt that perhaps my son's issues were rheumatologic in nature (arthritis). He referred us to see a Pediatric Rheumatologist in the hospital in less than a week. We were concerned. How can a child this young (just turned 14) have such debilitating pain? 

The Rheumatology appointment did not go well. After spending well over two hours in the office, the Rhematologist told me he thought my son was suffering from a psychosomatic illness. Despite the fact that the problems only happened when he was weight-bearing on his leg. He asked a lot of questions about wanting to miss school (never), feeling sad (not at all), poor grades (mostly a straight-A student), etc. Nothing fit, yet the Rheumatologist was convinced of his diagnosis. I have to say, this was one of the most stressful days of my life.

In the end, we decided the Rheumatolgist was wrong, and took our son back to his primary care doctor. She felt maybe he had femoral patella syndrome and recommended a more aggressive physical therapy approach. So we started 12 weeks of physical therapy, three times a week. After 6 weeks of no improvement, we called the surgeon in St. Louis and requested a referral to someone else. He referred us to a Physiatrist (specializes usually in post-surgery rehabilitation), but that appointment was 6 weeks away.

My husband felt we should have a friend of his that lived in Memphis to take a look. She is a very smart medicine-pediatrics doctor, and actually graduated at the top of her medical school class. We didn't tell her initially about the other appointments, x-rays or tests. We wanted a fresh start. She examined him and said, "I think it is Osteochondritis Dissecans". We let her look at the MRI, and she felt even more sure. She referred us to a surgeon at the renowned Campbell Clinic in Memphis.

A week later, with hopeful expectations, we saw yet another surgeon. My son had several more x-rays done at the clinic. The doctor reveiwed the x-rays and MRI and then spent about 15 minutes with us. He was sure he had patella femoral syndrome and encouraged us to keep up the physical therapy. We again asked about Osteochondritis Dissecans and again, we were told no, just not possible.

It was a good day (Part 1)...

Today, my son auditioned for a part in an upcoming musical at his school. The process requires three different auditions. Today's audition was dancing. I know, you are so excited for us and you are saying, "Congratulations, I hope he gets a part"!  It seems rather simple and mundane, except that it isn't. Six months ago my son could not walk.  The six months prior to that he spent in a wheelchair.  It was not a happy time!

In April of 2011, my son started complaining of leg pain. His pain was very non-specific, yet very focused. He would occasionally limp as he was leaving school in the afternoons. By summer, the limping became worse. By fall, his pain and limping was interfering with PE and daily activities.

We took him to see a Pediatric Orthopedic surgeon at St. Louis Children's Hospital. He had x-rays and an exam. The doctor diagnosed him with tight hamstrings and heel cords and recommended 6 weeks of physical therapy (once a week) and no PE. We found that the physical therapy didn't really help much, and my son had two excruciating episodes of not being able to bear weight on that leg. We returned to the surgeon where he still felt the diagnosis was correct and he wrote a new order for 12 weeks more of physical therapy.

Just after the 12th session, and without any increased "attacks", we left for Walt Disney World and a Disney cruise. Our first night we attended Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. My son made it through about 3 hours in the park, and then, you guessed it, was limping again. The next day we drove to Port Canaveral and it was obvious he was in tremendous pain. He could hardly bare weight on his leg. He spent most of that cruise in the room, only leaving for dinner each evening. Within a week, we were home and walking was too painful. An MRI was ordered, but the results were mostly normal.  We started using a wheelchair and waited for our next follow-up visit with the surgeon in January.