May 11, 2011

Over the last couple of days, Jake has complained about his right leg hurting in his groin area. This morning he woke up and wouldn’t put any weight on it.

So, for the normal family, you would wonder if your child strained a muscle or maybe even had a hernia. For us, we wonder if he has leukemia… seriously.

The situation bore an eerie similarity to how Tanner came to be diagnosed with leukemia. She had recurring, come and go, back and leg pain, actually her right leg come to think of it.

This sparked a moment… well a few hours, if I’m being honest… of panic for John and I. I’m looking over him for bruises and petichae. I’m trying to figure out if he looks pale, taking his temperature, asking him endless questions about the little cough he had when he woke up. At one point, Jake said to me, “Why do you keep taking my temperature over and over, Mom.”

Needless to say, we went to our pediatrician, who is not only brilliant, but also a friend, and understood my terror right away. She offered to do bloodwork just to ease my mind, but we decided he had just pulled a groin muscle after examining him. But, she wanted us to get a hip x-ray just in case the joint had anything to do with the pain (did I mention she is brilliant?).

So, after picking up Tanner from early dismissal at school and stopping by the house for a few minutes, we went for said hip x-ray, which showed that the joint did indeed have everything to do with his pain. He has reactive synovitis, which is just a fancy way of saying he has some fluid build-up in his right hip joint. At this point, we believe the cause to be viral, which would probably explain why he has been so whiny for a week or so. He never had a fever or anything, but apparently, a virus can cause this kind of thing in about 3 percent of kids between 3 and 7 years of age, especially boys. We have a flair for the dramatic here at the Page house. We love to deal in long odds.

So, just ibuprofen for a week or so and keep an eye on him to be sure he doesn’t show signs of the fluid getting infected (fever, increasing pain). He’s doing fine, just walking with a little limp and crying out occasionally. Crazy, huh? That’s how we roll.

Tanner has been doing pretty well since her recent hospitalization. We had a week of hyperactivity due to some med changes, which was a little challenging, but we squeaked through with no major crises. She’s had a rough week at school; she’s still kind of agitated and emotional. We’re learning how to talk her down when she gets going so we don’t end up in a full-on meltdown. So far, it’s working. I think the next three months will be rocky.

God Bless Tanner’s teacher, Mrs. Sholar, and Moore Elementary for working so closely with us to help Tanner navigate school as well as possible during these times. They’ve also graciously agreed to let her stay there again next year, so we don’t have to worry about adapting to a new school and the end of treatment at the same time.

Tanner was the honorary guest at a very nice fashion show hosted by one of the Woman of the Year Candidates last weekend at Goodpasture Christian High School. The students were so sweet and had made a beautiful poster for her and some cards to bring home. She and a little friend she met there got to model on stage and they had such a good time. There were some really nice clothes and accessories for sale that were very reasonable and a portion of the proceeds went to LLS. Jan Dillard, the candidate, will be hosting another fashion show with the same clothing line at Richland Country Club on Thursday, May 19. If you want to come, you need to buy tickets by this Friday at https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=150807998320089.

I’m trying to post any MWOY events that I know about on the Friends of Tanner facebook page. I’m not soliciting donations for this event since you all are so generous to our Light the Night team in October. BUT, these folks are very resourceful and have put together some great events. So, if you see something you like, know the proceeds are going to a great cause and come on out!

Working a hat on the runway

Oh, and Tanner is going to be on the Channel 5 News tomorrow night at 10 pm for the story on Eli, the therapy dog that visits the oncology clinic. Eli is a Katrina survivor and has three legs and the kids love him. We’re so grateful to people like his owner and to my friend, Ashley, who brings Chili, her colossal golden doodle to clinic as well. They are a welcome distraction to the kids. You can watch a video teaser for the story here: https://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=217136378313987&oid=250799749909&comments

Hoping to get through the next couple of weeks until Sleeping Beauty and the end of school without any more drama. Cross your fingers.

Love,
Beth