Toxic Synovitis

It has been a long time since I last had a post. When you are out of town for three weeks in a row there is a lot to catch up on. Not only is there unpacking and extra laundry to do, this was also the week I scheduled doctors and dentist appointments (I totally take advantage of Chris being home in the summer!!!!) So the week was already scheduled to be busy - but as life would have it I was busier and more sleep deprived than I could have imagined.



There is nothing more that I would like to do than catch up on blogging too. I still have my visit to Utah to write about, my trip to Alaska, and I have missed some very important "10 years ago dates" regarding our (Chris and I) courtship and engagement. But while I have a few minutes before falling asleep from exhaustion I would like to talk about the new medical vocabulary words that I learned today. Today I learned all about "Toxic Synovitis."



While Chris and I were away in Alaska, my mother wonderfully took care of my three munchkins. A few days before we left Halle had had a cold and fever but was almost over her illness when we left her with my mother. Everyone else was healthy as can be. A couple of days into our trip when I was able to call home I found out that Sean had been really sick. Throwing up and lethargic and moaning. The biggest scare for my mom though was the thought of Sean having another seizure. After several days he finally felt better and was back to his troublesome self. The day that Chris and I arrived back home, we came home to Chad and Halle not feeling well. They now had the same stomach bug as Sean. So my mom got relieved of taking care of any more sick children and Chris and I were quickly dragged back into the reality of being parents.



The virus seemed to have hit Chad and Halle harder. They were in total agony for about three days. Just when things looked like they were getting better - they didn't. Halle's tummy finally started feeling better but yesterday she woke up with a sore leg. We couldn't figure out what the matter was. She had been sick and in bed for several days, so it is not like she had fallen and broke a bone or strained a muscle. Still we treated it like sore muscle - not thinking of anything else it could be and kept ice on it and then a warm bath later. I felt so bad for her because she was in so much pain and could barely walk. Every time she moved her leg she would crumble in pain. As I put her to bed I noticed she was really warm with a fever (101.5). I worried about her all night.



Finally this morning when she cried out in pain from her bed and cried every time I tried to move her I decided it was time to take her to the doctor. Luckily they were able to get her in within the hour. After checking her out and hearing all her symptoms the Dr. told me she had Toxic Synovitis. Which means the virus moved into her hip joint and is inflaming it just like she had arthritis. (If you want to know more just click: http://parenting.ivillage.com/tp/tphealth/0,,3q4w,00.html )



She had to withstand traveling in the car, getting to the Dr.'s office, being poked and prodded and then the grand finale of having her blood drawn. All in all she did rather well and was really brave. But the poor girl will be suffering for a little longer. At the moment there is nothing they can do - it is a self limiting disease that should last 7-10 days. All we can do is give her pain medicine and keep her in a sitting position and keep her leg from moving until the inflammation goes down. We should get the blood results tomorrow just to rule out anything more serious. If it is more serious they may have to drain the fluid from her hip joint. So of course I am hoping and praying that it only gets better from here.



And of course with Halle being so ill, Chad's symptoms came back and he moaned and groaned from stomach cramps all afternoon and evening long. Sean is totally fine - so between keeping Sean out of trouble, seeing to Halle's every need, and dealing with a 6 year old in screeching pain it has been a very long day. And to top it all off I got to have my annual OBGYN visit. At least I got to go by myself and have a break from the kids for a couple of hours.



Sorry this post isn't so fun. I don't like to be down or negative - just needed to get it all out.



I don't need pity (some sleep would be nice) as I know this too shall pass and compared to a lot of people out there - it really isn't that dramatic. I love my kids, I'm just glad I can be there for them and some day we will be able to look back with altered memories of this present time. But if I don't post for a while again - you know we are still dealing with kids around here.



If you are interested in my"good news" you can catch up on my happenings with my photoshows. (Sorry you will have to copy and paste - too tired to figure out how to add web links right now.)



http://www.photoshow.com/watch/pd3Pr2uH



http://www.photoshow.com/watch/Aj2Ma2Tr



http://www.photoshow.com/watch/db6gR3ms