One Year Ago......May 2008

Maybe I should say 2 years ago. So two years ago in June of 2007, when Matthew was 3, he woke up at 2am screaming and crying uncontrollably. Louis gave him a blessing and he finally calmed down and watched Disney Channel until 5 am when he finally fell asleep. I took him into the doctor that morning. The doctor examined Matthew, moved his legs around (which caused great pain for him) and sent us to the hospital for x-rays. When the x-rays came back the doctor was quite grim and cautious. She used words like dying bone and cancer. I was balling and scared. She sent us to Primary Children's Medical Center to see a specialist....that afternoon as soon as we could. I had never been to Primary's before and didn't know what to expect. We met with the Orthopedic Surgeon and he then diagnosed Matthew with a rare disease.... condition called Perthes. Basically his right hip joint deteriorated and died due to a loss of blood flow to that bone. During that time he couldn't walk at all and was in severe pain. Then the blood flow would return and the bone would regenerate and he could walk, almost always with a limp. The cause of Perthes is unknown and treatment is Motrin. Every few months he had to see the Orthopedic Surgeon at Primary's. What a relief! I can't express how the weight of sadness had been lifted.
Fast forward 1 year to May 2008. The following is an email I sent out regarding Matthew's condition:

I took Matthew to his doctor at Primary Children's for his checkup and the doctor said the perthes is just about gone and he is almost fully recovered. From the x-ray, the doctor said the hip bone is regenerating and is just about normal. His range of motion is great and he said he can't even tell Matthew had perthes. His right leg however is shorter (about a 1/4 inch) than his left but it should catch up in time. Matthew was also given the ok to do "whatever he wants"... jumping, bouncy houses and trampolines, which was a good thing since we just bought one that weekend.
I wasn't expecting the doctor to have such good news. We left the doctor's office happy and grateful for our good news. As we walked down the hallway, I saw a nurse wheeling the lunch cart around and couldn't help but think of the very sick children there. At the motorized train display near the exit door, there was a boy laying in a Little Tikes type wagon with a pillow and what looked like an oxygen mask. His grandmother had stopped so he could look at the train go around the track. She rolled up a dollar to put in the wishing well candy house on top of the train. I don't think the boy could see the dollar go into the hole, he looked too weak to lift his head. In the parking lot, I walked past a dad carrying a baby carrier. All I could see were the plastic tubes coming out of where the baby was. These 3 encounters made me so grateful that I was with a healthy little boy who could walk, sometimes run in and out of the hospital, that I was carrying a healthy baby free of tubes or any problems and that the two older children were busy at school probably running around at lunch recess. There is so much heartache there at Primary's but likewise so much good that happens there too. I thank Heavenly Father that our experience was a positive one. We are so grateful that everything has worked out well with very little pain or problems for Matthew. Had perthes come just a few years later, the situation would be totally different and much harder for everyone. We are just so happy it has turned out this way.
Matthew has been so cute this pas year. Everyday, several times a day he would pray "my leg be better" and tell me how he can't jump because of his leg. His good liitle friend Sophie has a trampoline and he has never been on it because of "doctor's orders". When I told him about the trampoline he asked if he could go on it . When I told him yes he could now, he was so happy and excited. I can't imagine how many times he must have longed to jump and play on it with his friend.
Matthew loved these fishies.....look how little he looks here! Wow he's grown up alot
I included all this in our blog so we could remember this important event and the great blessings we had been given during this time. I am ever grateful that this situation wasn't that bad. Someday when we publish this into book form, I would like Matthew to be able to read about this experience.