Getting to the bottom of it - kind of

Michael had been complaining about his legs hurting for a few weeks before we went on Spring Break. At first, Mark told him that his body was not built to be carrying the weight that it was and the he needed less food and more exercise. Then we thought maybe his shoes were not giving him enough support, so we got him new shoes. Then we went on Spring Break, and when we got home his ankles were swollen. I took him to the Dr. the week after we got home. The Dr. sent us for blood work, and then sent us to an orthopedic. The orthopedic said that Michael had severely flat feet and to purchase some good insoles to give him support. So, we did, and the next day I took him to join his class at camp.

This was THE camp that the 5th grade looks forward to all year. He missed the first day, so I drove him down on Thursday, he spent the night and then they came home on Friday. As soon as I found him, the first thing out of his mouth was "Mom, I shouldn't have gone! My feet and legs hurt so bad!" Come to find out, one of the father's had pushed him around in a wheel chair for most of his stay. He was pretty much miserable. It was disappointing for him, but I think he matured a lot during that time.

So, he stayed off his feet for the entire weekend trying to recover. He still was not ok to walk on his own very long, and by Tuesday, we had to find some answers. That was when I took him to Children's Hospital in Allen. The ER doctor, Kelly Phillips, was amazing. She said that our pediatrician had wanted her to try to rule out Juvenile Arthritis, but because of the symptoms, the presentation, and some blood test, she was not able to rule it out at all. Dr. Phillip was amazing and immediately took the bull by the horns. She found us a pediatric rheumatologist and made us an appointment. As a side bar, apparently there is a HUGE shortage of this specialty and to be able to get us in anywhere in 8 business days was no less than a miracle! She also completed and submitted all the paperwork to have him be "put on the list" at Scottish Rite Hospital in Dallas. In the waiting time, she prescribed an anti-inflammatory. We left with a fairly certain diagnosis of Juvenile Arthritis