Friday, October 10, 2008

...the rest of the story.

Okay...sorry for the delay and thanks for your patience. It was a LONG day at Dartmouth for more than a few reasons. I was sent from the ER with Ben up to see the derm people which resluted in a waste of time. The rash was not related to his arm situation - just as I had figured. The ER doc was ready to release us at that point. I told him not before we get a dopplar, an x-ray and some blood work. How's that for specifics? The dopplar shows whether or not he has a clot, thankfully that came back negative. His x-ray on the other hand showed a significant dislocation. Both with the ulna and radius, but significantly more with the radius. The problem? The ortho docs do not think this is an acute dislocation, but one that has slowly progressed due to the inactivity of his arms and the way they are growing. So...that means they do not think the swelling is related. We went home after they manually tried to manipulate his bones back into place - very, very painful. I finally told them to stop. We go in on Monday for a different procedure/overnight stay due to something totally unrelated, but his swelling will be addressed again. Monday or Tuesday I'll hopefully have an update. Thanks for your thoughts and prayers.
This is the x-ray of Ben's left arm. You can see the swollen tissue surrounding his bones. The two lower bones are the ulna (left) and radius (right). The round circle spot in the middle is his growth plate. Both the ulna and the radius should be sitting below the growth plate.

11 comments:

Papa Don's Place said...

Gee, Ben, I'm sorry your bones have gone out of whack, but it sounds like they're going to try to get them back "in whack" (is there such a term?) less painfully than this last try. Best wishes, as always.

Adam and Anya said...

Ben, you are an amazing little champ. You inspire me.

Many prayers to your whole family..

barryblog said...

Oh, I just ache for him. He is so special and brave to go through all of this. You are so strong, too Becky. Thanks for your faith. It increases mine.

KeriLyn and Matthew said...

Poor kid. He sure does go through a lot, doesn't he.

Jane said...

I just read Ben's blog from start to finish. What a sweetheart Ben is! I was in tears as I read and saw all of the wonderful pictures of him. What a special child that you have been blessed with. And I can tell that you are pretty amazing yourself.

Hugs and prayers for both of you.

Christy said...

It is so bitter sweet reading all Ben's up's and down's! (they are yours too!) You are his best advocate and it is awesome how you push for the best treatment for your sweet son! Stay strong! we love you all!

DainBramage said...

Oh, that looks like it hurts! Hope you're feeling better soon, Ben.

shirlgirl said...

Say, Ben, that's quite a picture. Hope the doctors can take care of the dislocation soon for you so that you won't be in pain. You are a brave boy, and your Mom is a wonderful gal who just fights for all that is good for you. You are a fighter, and we love you. Good luck next week. You are in our prayers. Love, Aunt Shirley and Uncle David

Unknown said...

Oh Benny... heaven has a special spot reserved for you...
I'm SO sorry your little arm is not behaving. I love you, little guy!

Jo Jo said...

You stop playing so much soccer with the pugs! Get better fast...Love, Aunt Amy Jo

claire said...

I know this sounds like an odd question but did you figure out what the rash (red spots) were from?
I occasionally get something like that on my neck and have never figured out what it was...allergy perhaps?