Well, hello Autumn!
It’s one of my favorite times of year. The air is crisp and cool, it’s my birthday, school starts, the leaves change, and HALLOWEEN ! What’s not to like?
Pain. That’s what. Every year around this time, her pain ticks up. I have no idea why.
On October 17th, the day started out normal. She woke, she dressed, I stood her up, and her leg buckled. She cried. She took her weight off her leg, and she was fine. After a few tries, she decided we would use the wheelchair at school. As I pulled it out from it’s home in the back of the garage (under more than a few things) I was equal parts grateful and disgusted. Grateful that we had the chair when we needed it, but disgusted that we needed it at all.
Why can’t my child have a “normal” life???
We left late, and dropped the big kids off at the high school first, then went to Amy’s.
I was able to meet with her teacher and went over what accommodations she would need. (These are listed in her 504 Plan, but better to have a chat.)
She was fine at school, and at the end of the day, she was walking. The next day, she was fine… but by the end of the day, she had whipped her brace back off, and was hopping around and asking for Tylenol. Same all day Saturday. Sunday morning she was on her feet and selling Girl Scout candy at church, but that afternoon found her once more crawling and hopping around.
She was in tears this morning. I pressed her to use her wheelchair, but she refused, insistent she was going to play at recess. She wasn’t able to walk across a 4ft space to her daddy, but wanted to play at recess. *sigh* We snuck the chair into the car, and then I carried her outside. I called her orthotist, and got her in that morning. Good thing we had the chair. We needed it.
Guess what? Her brace was gaping on one side! She also had redness on top of her shin. What the heck?
Cammie added some padding to the gaping side, and Amy said she was okay. By the time we got to school, she said she was “fine” and walked to class under her own power. But when I picked her up 4 hours later, she collapsed into the car. “It HURTS! Can I take it off? PLEASE?”
I called Dr. Lerman at Shriner’s. Well, I called his people. They’re going to be able to squeeze us in tomorrow. I know this happens every year. I know I’m over-reacting. But I will feel better seeing that x-ray and knowing that she’s okay.
