Anniversary of a Bone - Part 2

Today is the 1-year anniversary of my son's bone graft.

Yesterday I wrote about how quickly we found out that he had a unicameral bone cyst. Today, I continue...

So just two days after we found out that my little boy had a bone cyst, we were at the largest orthopedic office in the state. We were pretty lucky to get in so quickly. However, that appointment did not go well. Let's just say that it ended in plenty of tears and frustration. The x-rays were terrifying to see. The bone cyst was actually very large, causing the outer bone to bow out. It was also in an extremely precarious spot that had a lot of pressure on it. The doctor was surprised that my little guy hadn't broken his bone yet. The fact that our son was so young was also surprising. He also said that this usually happens in kids ages 5-14.

He said the cyst needed an operation, and that while he could do the operation, it would be better to have it done by someone who sees more bone cysts than he does. I asked who he would recommend if it was his child, and he gave one name... Dr. Shindell. Ironically, Dr. Shindell was at the top of the list the pediatrician gave me (I later found out he is one of the top pediatric orthopedic surgeons), but I foolishly went to the bigger practice first. Hmm...

I called Shindell's office that afternoon and we were able to make an appointment for Friday. Yep, another two days. In the meantime, the first orthopedic doc told us not to let our son run, hop, skip or jump. Seriously, how on earth did he expect us to keep a 2-1/2-year-old from moving too much?

Two extremely slow-moving days past and my hubby, son and I were sitting in the new doc's office. He had come into the office just for us - it was one of his surgery days. He was very calming and explained everything to us. He said the cyst wasn't something our kid was born with, instead it was most likely caused by an infection that got into his bone and caused a cavity (like in teeth). He laid out our options and told us we could take the weekend to think about it. We took about 5 minutes to decide. We would do the surgery.

The following Friday (it was actually Good Friday!), our son was wheeled into surgery. It took 1-1/2 hours and was arthroscopic. They drilled a "pencil-sized hole" in his bone, scraped it clean, and filled it with a compound that mimics bone material. They also put a wire inside the length of his femur. The wire was a cutting edge procedure to help the bone compress and help prevent the cyst from reocurring. Unfortunately, the reocurrence rate for bone cysts is extremely high. But our doc knew of a new study that had just been completed with very positive results using the wire method.

Originally, we were told it would be outpatient, but since it was the weekend, our doc decided to keep our son overnight in case of any complications and for pain management. The nurses LOVED our little boy. They all said he was their best patient. Again, he never complained about pain. I could only tell by the grimace on his face. But the nurses worked to get his pain under control.

Waking up from surgery with your leg in a giant brace couldn't have been fun for him either. He had to wear the brace - a welcome substitute for a full body cast - for 6 weeks! Once he got the brace off, we still had to keep him from running, jumping, etc. for another 6 weeks. Yikes! Our entire family - grandmas, aunts, cousin, etc. - worked to keep our boy entertained. We really couldn't have done it without them.



Too small for a wheelchair -
so we fixed up his wagon!
He loved it!

The doctor said bone cysts typically reoccur after two or three years, and some kids need more than one bone graft, so our son will have periodic check ups. I've lost track of exactly how many x-rays he's had by now. However, once his bone completely fills in, it will be as if the whole ordeal never happened. It shouldn’t affect his growth, and it should be just as strong as any other bone.

Today is definitely worth celebrating! Within two weeks of taking my son to the pediatrician for a limp, he had surgery! How often does anyone get an appointment with not just one but two specialists in a matter of days? With HMO approval? And God must have had His hands around my son’s leg because everyone said that it was amazing he didn't brake it. Plus, our daycare provider had experience taking care of a kid in a full body cast, which meant less time off of work for us. And as icing on the cake, a girl I grew up with is a doctor at the children's hospital and happened to be working the day of the surgery.

This whole thing definitely wasn't easy. But it could have been far worse. And we are so grateful for all the miracles we experienced during this time. So yes, today is a holiday here at home!