This is Not the Post I Planned on Posting

I was supposed to post Disneyland pictures, but the camera is at the hotel with Ryan and the four boys. William and I are in the hospital and have been since Thursday morning. Total BUMMER. Bummer. Bummer. Bummer.

We spent Saturday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday at Disneyland and had a great time despite the expected tantrums, whining, and continual begging for overpriced Disney paraphernalia. Thursday morning as we were getting ready to check out of our hotel and head to Newport Beach until Sunday, William began to complain of severe chest pain and that his ankle which had been hurting during the week was getting worse. The chest pain was mild during the week and came and went periodically and I figured it was probably just sore muscles from the pushing and pulling motions while holding on on roller coasters. He never really complained a lot. His ankle was bothering him, but only appeared slightly swollen on Monday. We iced it each night and again, he spent most of the day in the wheelchair. I attributed the pain to possible overuse as he is just starting to be more active---maybe a possible mild sprain---he had no discoloration. However, when Thursday’s complaints seemed more intense, I called UCSF since chest pain isn’t something to really brush aside. We were sent to the ER at Children’s Hospital of Orange County (CHOC). I was already familiar with this hospital since it was part of our emergency plan, if needed.

Blood labs quickly determined anemia. He had low hemoglobin and needed a transfusion. Then he spiked a 102.5 degree F temperature. That earned us an official admission. 24 hours later, and after many labs were drawn trying to determine the source of the fevers, elevated levels of something in the blood indicated his body was fighting something somewhere. But what? And where? The ankle began to be a focus of attention. An x-ray revealed a possible fracture on the tibia, but was somewhat inconclusive. The orthopedic doctor ordered an MRI to rule out a bone infection, osteomyelitis. His MRI was at 8pm Friday night. At about 11pm, as Ryan was about to leave after finally bringing me a change of clothes (I had been suffering in a skirt for two days!) the orthopedic doc came in our room to inform us that the MRI showed a very obvious mass in the left tibia.

Our hearts sank. Really sank.

Mass is now an official bad word in our house.

A biopsy needs to happen to determine what it is exactly. But the doctor feels like it is best to begin this new process at our primary treatment center as soon as possible. He was discharged at 1pm today and we will head back home tomorrow and check in on Monday to the hospital at UCSF. There are a lot of unanswered questions and lots of phone calls to be made to coordinate appointments and treatment. We are trying not to jump to any conclusions and take each day one at a time.

Today we are going to spend this afternoon together at the beach, cherishing the good moments and making happy memories.

TO THE BEACH.....!!!