Praising God for the Mayo Clinic!

Our sweet Ethan started limping for no reason a couple of days ago. I didn't think much of it because he is all boy. I thought he probably ran into something and just didn't remember. Adam asked me to make an appointment with the doctor if he wasn't better the next day. This concerned me a little because I wouldn't have thought to call the doctor about a limp. Ethan's leg kept bothering him throughout the night so we made an appointment in the morning, and we were able to see the doctor that day. It is awesome because we can walk from our apartment through the sky ways to the doctor's office, and Adam was able to meet us there since he works at Mayo. The doctor did a series of tests with Ethan and concluded that a variety of things could be causing his limp and that we needed x-rays. We were able to go downstairs right then and get x-rays. Adam actually asked for additional x-rays of his leg to rule out some other causes. Of course, I was praying up a storm and worrying about my sweet little guy because the doctor mentioned some possible causes that were life threatening. The doctor called Adam a couple of hours later with the results of the x-rays, and Adam was even able to look them over with his colleagues. It looks like Ethan has something called "Perthes Disease". He is not officially being labeled with this, but that is what the doctor's think he may have. In short, there is a temporary loss of blood to the hip which results in death to that area. In other words, the ball of the 'ball and socket' joint of the hip starts to collapse or flatten due to lack of blood flow, and this causes a lot of pain and inflammation. Perthes is seen 5x more often in boys than girls, and it usually happens between the ages of 4 and 10. It is rare, and they do not know what causes it. Our pediatrician referred us to a bone doctor who specializes in this area, and we saw him this morning!! Praise the Lord for his provision for us during this time! The bone doctor was awesome and very thorough while testing Ethan and explaining his condition to us. The treatment he is suggesting for Ethan is Motrin 3x a day for 2 weeks. This isn't for pain as much as it is to decrease the swelling and keep the ball shape of the ball and socket joint. We also have special stretches to do with him to make sure that he continues to have a good range of motion in his right hip. He is not supposed to run and jump--tears for me when I heard this! However, the huge blessing is that swimming is GREAT for him, and we have a heated pool downstairs. Bike riding is also good, and he loves to ride his bike--so he can look forward to that when we move back to Indiana. We don't have to go back to the bone doctor for 4 months unless Ethan gets worse. Please pray that he does not get an infection and that he gets better! In some cases, this just goes away. Ethan is having a great attitude, but he is a little bummed about not being able to run and go down hill skiing. He can still go dog sledding though! :)

I also have to mention that the Mayo Clinic is gorgeous! The children's area is so enchanting! It makes it much less scary to visit the doctor! They had volunteers there who were giving away free books to the kids as well as doing science experiments for them while they waited to see the doctor. They are also working on setting up a movie screen that is directly connected to the Minneapolis zoo so that they kids can watch the animals while they wait. Even the floors were gorgeous and mesmerizing! I so appreciate the thoughtfulness that goes into making every area of the Mayo Clinic welcoming and special for the patients. On our way home from Ethan's appointment we stopped in the Mayo lobby and enjoyed a lady playing Christmas music on her flute. Yesterday, we listened to a hand bell choir play Christmas music. The Mayo Clinic is a blessing to us and so many others! Please pray for Ethan! We appreciate your thoughts and prayers so much!

The girls loving on Ethan in his cool scrub shorts that he wore for testing :)
Daddy and Ethan with his book that he picked out from the Mayo Volunteer :)