Edit: Here is a link to the first post about Peter's limp.
Today was Peter's appointment at the pediatric orthopedic clinic, and I'm feeling pretty good about things. For starters it was really nice to have the doctor treat this like it was a concern worth evaluating and exploring further. Again, so nice to not feel crazy and paranoid. At the same time, he managed to help us feel pretty reassured that a BIG problem is looks unlikely.
He answered all of my questions and walked us through all of the possibilities that good 'ol Google has so kindly supplied me with.
Peter's limp has subsided (again) quite a bit from the weekend flare up, and it was barely noticeable today. Doc listened to everything that had been done and had been going on, watched several of the videos that I had taken, and then ordered some x-rays to be done right then.
The good news is that everything on the x-rays looked great, there was nothing alarming. This means no breaks or fractures, it also means no Legg-Calve-Perthes (basically the ball of the hip joint disintegrating), and no hip dysplasia. Peter's pelvis was nice and even which means no difference in leg length. There may have been more that the x-rays excluded but that's all that I remember.
Doc ordered some lab work to rule out other scary things that wouldn't be as visible in the bone. Things like the dreaded leukemia and juvenile arthritis. The limp may be caused by something as simple as some inflammation and the labs would tell us that. He also said that as frustrating (and also relieving) as it can be, sometimes with kids as young as Peter the problem will just fade away or resolve on it's own before you know what it was.
We should get a call about lab results early next week, and if those look good then there may be nothing more to do. Especially if Peter is still only having a slight limp. It's hard to know when to run a massive gambit of tests over something that doesn't appear to be causing Peter any real distress.
This was Peter running through the waiting area before our appointment. Not exactly looking like a little boy with anything seriously wrong:
And here's a longer one that Marty took, if you're into that kind of thing:
The hardest part of the whole thing was the x-rays, Peter thought that was pretty scary, or rather that Dad couldn't hold him through the whole thing. He cried pretty hard for the last one (of three). It made my heart hurt, but a pack of fruit snacks later and he was a happy camper again.
He handled getting examined super well, he liked Doc and let himself be twisted and pulled and prodded all over again.
He was such a CHAMP for his labs! He sat on my lap while the technician drew his blood. He let out a little yelp when the needle went in and that was it. What a trooper.
Carolyn was [mostly] a gem today thank goodness, this is her sitting in my lap with her little feet crossed while we waited to get blood drawn:
Peter wanted to keep "running, running" after we got home (like had been "running, running" in the waiting room), so I obliged. Try not to smile when you watch this one:
