Iowa City Visit...

Today we got up bright and early (I even beat Nick up!!!) and headed to Iowa City for Parker's consultation! The hospital was a bit overwhelming... but we found our destination without too much trouble! :) They are SOOOO technologically advanced... we did all of our 'paperwork' on the computer!!! - WOW! I must say, I was impressed! The staff were all very friendly and helpful!! We saw Dr. Morcuende (the pediatric orthopedic surgeon) and was VERY impressed! He was wonderful!!! - - seriously... I was amazed at how thorough he was! He went through all of the details of the surgery and explained EVERYTHING in detail to me... and I even understood it! :) hehehe! I always hate it when doctors don't explain things in basic terms... and he did GREAT!

Dr. Morcuende showed me the x-rays and MRI that was done at Blank... and I am still shocked at what I saw! They told us the bone cyst was medium in size... but it was not, it was LARGE!!! The cyst covers the entire width of his femur. Seriously... it was as bad as the "BAD ONES" on the Internet we saw! It freaked me out a little... He showed me how it was right up to the edge of the left side of the femur and how it was weakening that section of his bone - - again very scary! He showed me on the MRI how it was a CLEAR fluid... which is good! He wanted to have a radiologist double check the MRI to be sure there was no infection... and there was not, which again is good!

For the procedure...

They will be doing the procedure 'OUTPATIENT'!! {smile} Which is great considering Parker hated "sleeping at the doctor's" !! :) It will consist of sedating him and then giving him an IV... once that is complete they will inject a needle into his leg and suction out the cyst, fluid and membrane. Once out they will inject another needle which will fill the cavity with a calcium substance to help rebuild the bone. Once he is out of surgery they will prescribe pain medication (he said it is a painful procedure since they go directly into the bone) for him. He will have pain for 4-5 days but will be able to resume all activities (minus swimming) as long as they don't risk getting the incisions dirty or wet to avoid infection. In 2-3 months after surgery we will have to go in for another x-ray (here in D.M.) to ensure the calcium is rebuilding the bone. If it is... then we are done!! :) (PLEASE PRAY) If not then we will have to look at other options that don't sound as easy as this one - - this procedure is pretty successful... however there is still a chance it will not take the calcium like they want.

The doctor told Parker that he needs to be VERY careful over the next few weeks to prevent a break! He told him NO JUMPING either... he said that if he were to jump on it just right he would break it! - - -again, a little freaked out here! He said to try to keep activity as simple as possible. He said t-ball was fine, but we are debating still! Fortunately it is just a few weeks... but I do NOT want him to break his femur... not only would it be super painful for him... but he will be starting kindergarten this year so I don't want him to have to battle a broken femur along with a whole 'NEW' experience.

We will continue to put this in God's hands and pray for the best. Thank you again for all of you concern, prayers and support... we appreciate it and are so grateful!