So, that Friday, we went to the doctor who took X-rays. The X-rays did not show a fracture and the doctor said it was "probably just a broken blood vessel." We went home hoping it would heal on its own. It didn't. A week later, we went back to the doctor. This time, the swelling was worse and there was some redness on the sides of his finger. Also, this time, the doctor called in every other doctor in the office to look at Sage's finger. No one could definitively say what was happening and I was starting to get nervous with all the doctors in the room whispering and speaking in medical code. The doctors sent us home on antibiotics and said to come back in 24 hours. We did. At that time, we were sent to a hand surgeon. Dr. Moore took more X-rays, did an ultrasound, and called in every doctor in her office. Still no diagnosis. She splinted Sage's finger and sent us off for our family vacation weekend.
Sage and I drove home early Monday so he could get an MRI on his finger. Before he went in, Dr. Moore said she'd call us the next day with the results. Well, as Sage was coming out of anesthesia (poor baby), Dr. Moore showed up and said, "We need to talk about some possibilities." This was bad. I became more and more distraught and Dr. Moore rattled off several possibilities all of which sounded increasingly worse. She said she was going to go talk to the radiologists and hope that it was "just a broken finger." Please! But, that she would also talk with Infectious Disease for their opinion. What the hell? Infectious Disease?! Why?! What was going on? What does it mean for the MRI to be "impressive" and that his bone was "hot." I immediately called Jared and couldn't even talk to say anything more than, "Just come." I was scared for my baby.
Fortunately, Jared showed up right as Dr. Moore gave the final diagnosis - osteomyelitis. A rare bone infection. Sage was admitted to the hospital and scheduled for surgery the following day. The surgery went well and there were no signs of infection other than some fluid in the joint. During the surgery, the doctor took tissue and bone samples to biopsy. Other doctors put a PICC line into Sage's arm and chest for the IV antibiotics he would have to have for 4-6weeks! We stayed at Children's hospital for the rest of the week waiting for biopsy results and a decision on the course of treatment. Surprisingly, nothing ever grew from the biopsy - not even from the bone sample. When I asked at our follow up appointment with the Infectious Disease doctor, "What does that mean - that nothing grew?" She said, "It's a mystery." What the hell?! She said, "This isn't how we usually like to do things, but it seems to be working (the antibiotic treatments), so we are going to go with it." These are not words you want to hear from a doctor. I wanted answers - a definite, "Yes, we were right it was osteomyelitis, and, yes, we are treating it correctly." I wanted all the pain and procedures Sage had to go through to be worth it.
Sage finally got to go home at the end of the week. He was fitted with an infusion pump to receive IV antibiotics every 6 hours. Jared and I had to brush up on our nursing skills to change his IV every 24 hours. We are in what we hope to be the last week of treatment.
Sage, of course, has been the model patient - brave every day. He only cried one time when he went to hug Kai before surgery and hit his eye on a chair. Sage has been amazing! He hasn't let the PICC line or the splinted finger slow him down a bit except that he can't swim. So, our summer was modified a bit the last month with less vigorous activities - no summer camp, no lake weekends, and no swimming. But, Sage has kept a brave face the whole time even during his weekly bandage changes (which really hurt!).
Our next doctor visit is August 4th. We are hoping that we will get the all clear. Sage said the first thing he wants to do is, "go swimming!" Seriously hoping swimming is in our near future.
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