The good, bad, ugly and the sick

Well, there really isn't any ugly in this post but I thought it sounded good so I put it up there anyway.

Yesterday Phillip had an appointment in Salt Lake City at Shriners Hospital for his intoeing (see I already learned a new term for being pigeon toed). We left at 6:15 as we had to turn around and get my mom's cell phone. The roads were pretty bad and come to find out we managed to pass all of the road closed signs right before they closed them...I'm not sure if that's luck or stupidity on our part.

So, what should have taken us 4 1/2 hours took us 6 1/2 hours. We made it 10 minutes before his appointment. The doctor looked at Phillip walk and moved his legs and hips and then told me that his intoeing is caused by his femur being twisted which means that it will take longer for it to correct itself (possibly until the age of 10) and if it doesn't there is a fairly simple surgery to correct the problem. Then she told me we wouldn't have to come back unless it got worse. I was thinking "Wow, we drove that long to be told that we don't have to come back..." Then she decided that because there are some genetic hip problems on the Mobley side that she would have an x-ray done just to be sure it didn't stem from the hip. So, off we go to X-ray. Phillip did AWESOME! He didn't even say a word to the tech, but he didn't move either. After the x-ray we went back to the room to wait and the doctor comes down and says "What kind of hip problems are there exactly?" So I described what I recalled the problem being and asked if there was a problem. She replied "Not that one." My heart sank into my stomach. That meant there was a problem. She sent us back to do 2 more x-rays. This time he had to lay on a table with his legs straight and then in the "frog" position where you put the soles of your feet together.
As it turns out there is a problem that has to be monitored most likely for the next few years. He has what is called Perthes Disease. To make a long explanation short, it's where the blood supply somehow isn't what it should be to the ball portion of the hip (the part that is connected to the femur) and it causes deterioration of the bone. It is a very rare disease and even more rare that it's found in a 2 year-old. The good news is that the earlier a child has is the more likely they are to recover better. The bad news, when (hopefully it does regenterate) the bone regenerates and fixes itself it could come back bigger than it's supposed to be or smaller than it's supposed to be which would then require a surgery to change the shape of the socket. The other bad news is that if it doesn't fix itself he'll have to have surgery. It is more common in males than females, and can be genetic.
This is NOT his x-ray, however it shows what the difference is. As you can see on the left hand side of the x-ray the "ball" at the top of the femure is more oval shaped. The "ball" at the top of the right hand side is more flat, which is where the problem is and you can see that it has deteriorated.
I'm glad that we went to Shriners and they diagnosed this problem. I'm also VERY grateful after seeing many other children who are being treated there that my children a relatively healthy and whole. Phillip may have this disease, but in the long run he will most likely be okay.
It's a little scary to have gone in for one thing and come out diagnosed with something that is more serious. I was prepared for special shoes and possibly surgery. However after being told that they just don't know how his treatment is going to proceed because they don't know what the ball is going to do, I'm not sure what to prepare for.

Now I'll get to the "sick" part of my title. We've all been ill. It started almost 2 weeks ago with Phillip (gotta love a 2 year old with a fever and a nasty cough!). Then it hit KatieJo and Samuel. Now, it's poor little Maija. She hasn't been herself the past few days, and last night was particularly bad. So, after being stranded in Coalville, UT due to I-80 being closed on Thursday night we drove home and took her to the Urgent Care where she received a shot of antibiotics and a breathing treatment and we were sent home with more antibiotics and breathing treatments. It was a little scary because several times before we took her in her hands were blue and around her lips were turning blue. I'm SOOOOO grateful for modern medicine!

Oh, did I mention Stuart's got it too? I think we're having a home bound weekend!!!