parker's bone scan went smoothly today. he's a brave little trooper and rocked the whole 3 hour ordeal. he received the 'dreaded' injection at 9am this morning and immediately underwent his first scan. this was all completed by 10am and we were able to go home to rest until we were due back at the hospital for the second scan which was scheduled for 12pm.
we decided that we would make this bone scan a 'family bonding affair'. why not, eh? it seems only fitting, with all that is going on in our family, that we'd turn a medical procedure into entertainment...with snacks to boot.
okay...cheap entertainment was only part of the motivation. all the kids have been struggling to cope with everything. parker is scared and nervous - but thinks getting a trip to SF out of the deal is kinda cool. we are amazed by his courage and his continued cheerfulness amidst his suffering. by nature, taylor is a sensitive and caring big brother with a fierce sense of protectiveness. having mom sick and now his little brother sick is a burden that weighs heavily on him. avery has been dealing with anxiety issues over the past couple of weeks. she has had a sudden emergence of an intense fear and worry about tornados and fires. she has been very emotional at school. one day last week, she called home from school and in her sweet, "boston" accent said,
"mommy, i'm not sick but i'm vewy wu-weed (worried) and nuh-vous (nervous) about pawk-ur. i need to come home and be with him."
avery keeping her 'brudder' company
to help the kids cope, we have felt it would be best if we could involve them as much as possible...thus the reason behind the bone scan bonding adventure. unfortunately, as much as he wanted to be there, it didn't work for taylor to come. ironically, he was undergoing his own special photography session today - GRAD PHOTOS. wow. truth be told, one child having to have a bone scan done and one child having grad photos felt equally surreal to me.
the bone scan went well. the second scan took an hour and a half...but a sponge bob square pants movie helped to pass the time. a radiologist was on hand to look over the results. he spoke with graham and i after the scan was completed. he told us that nothing worrisome was seen on the scan. no signs of arthritis, joint damage or inflammation.
sparky boy's groovy skeletonthis news was really no surprise to us. if this is lyme, as it is beginning to more and more look like, than finding 'nothing' is the norm. frustrating to still have no diagnosis...but good to officially rule out others. we were grateful the radiologist gave us the preliminary findings. as well, we were told that the doctor will call us (BEFORE we leave on dec 7 for SF) IF there is anything suspect found after the final report is in. this is an answer to prayer. the more information we can arm ourselves with heading in to our appointment with DR H, the better.
we arrived home from the hospital to an unsettling phone message.
the doctor's office calling to say that TAYLOR'S blood test results from last week had come back and that we needed to see the doctor asap.
ugh. my heart sank and my stomach lurched and my blood ran cold.
something is wrong with Taylor now?!
yeah.
surprise, surprise.
he's been complaining of ongoing fatigue, dizziness and headaches ever since he had the chicken pox in october. he has been missing a lot of school. we all have attributed it to the stress and worry associated with our family situation but we figured it would be a wise idea to just get him checked out. so last week, graham and i took him to the doctor. she decided to run a bunch of blood tests in order to rule out any conditions that could be associated with his symptoms. she said it would only take 2-3 days to get the test results back - and she would call only if there was a problem.
i nearly had a nervous breakdown waiting through those 3 days. (this worry was what part of the wailing in the park was about)...easy for my mind to head to a dark place - escpecially when it already feels so black.
so last night, i realized that it had now been a week and we hadn't heard back from the doctor yet. last night, i conciously breathed a sigh of relief.
and then today dawned and the blinking light on the answering machine taunted me with it's message...and promptly found myself sitting in yet another doctors office with my other son...recieving an unexpected diagnosis.
taylor has Acute Cytomegalvirus (CMV).
which is basically a viral infection that causes mono like symptoms.
fortunately, it is not serious. he will recover. it will just take time.
the biggest concern is that it can cause an enlarged spleen. which is not dangerous in and of itself but can be life threatening if it ruptures. if you have an enlarged spleen you need to take precautions - such as avoiding contact sports and vigorous exercise. taylor's basketball season is just revving up...so the doctor ordered an ultrasound to check his spleen and liver.
he is having that done tomorrow morning.
oh great, more test results to wait for.
excuse me, i think i need to go for a walk.
Many years ago I too had a bone scan and the results looked much like parker's. Dark at the knees and shoulders. My doctor told me that it was a sign that these were problem areas. Well here we are more than a decade later and my shoulders still don't bother me. The knees though well that is what prompted the bone scan.
ReplyDeleteKeeping you all wrapped in prayer. The burdens you are carrying right now can only be held up with God's strong arms. I'm praying for that today!
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