This week our Pediatrician and dear friend we attend church with, gave us some unsettling news about Aidan (the little bug in the previous post with a smile the size of Texas)....
Adam had felt a "lump" on Aidan's back one night while we were shopping in Lifeway....he just happens to fall at his daddy's hand level and his daddy just happens to love to love on his little guy...I had not noticed any of this before....I somewhat see what Adam is talking about and assure him that I'll just bring it up to our doctor in the morning because we already had an appointment to address some sinus junk he had been trying to kick.
Our appointment is routine....yep, it's a sinus infection....all is well enough. As we are wrapping up, I mention Aidans back and ask if he could have a look. He has Aidan bend over to touch his toes and immediately I could see what he saw.....one whole side of my baby's back was "raised" a bit higher than the other side of his spine....Scoliosis. How did I not ever see this before?!?!? Our doctor is a friend, a brother in Christ, and our small group leader. I knew his face was one of concern. He wrote out some orders to send us to get xrays and as Aidan and the other kids were in the hall picking stickers, I asked him..."Are you concerned about this?" He said, "I am....this isn't typical in a child so young and Aidan is only 6 and has so much growing to do yet so yes, it concerns me." .....Oh Lord, I can't do this....not my baby...I'm not strong enough to handle this fear. I need you Jesus...I need you.
Aidan was born with Pectus Excavatum...which is also known as a "sunken chest." We were told when he was a baby that it was a deformity....gosh I hate that word!....that happens in the womb when tissues and cartilage do not form right in the chest wall. We have always tried to make him feel comfortable with it and have told him that when God made him, he put His fingerprint on him by giving him a special "dip"....that's what he calls it...his dip! :-)When he was a baby it wasn't an issue....as children get older, it can be a major issue! It can begin to impose on the heart and lung capacity can be an issue...Our doctor feels very strongly that there is a connection between his chest and his spine....which makes this whole thing very tricky....figuring out which is the chicken and which is the egg....in other words, which is causing the other to become worse.
Aidan was as brave as brave can be about the whole hospital thing...in fact I heard him telling his brother and sister afterwards that it was "kinda neat"...Thank you Lord for calming his fears! I came home from xrays and awaited his call....while I did of course I scoured the Internet to read about Scoliosis and about Pectus Excavatum and to see if there were any reports of a connection....there were boogoos! And so many families that were frustrated because their doctors would not connect the dots of the two. Both of these issues can require surgeries....and the chest surgery is described as "excruciatingly painful"...requiring epidural catheter to control pain even....and surgery of the spine...that doesn't need an explanation of it's potential dangers.....all of this immediately FREAKED ME OUT!!! I'm talking panic mode. The thoughts of my precious boy going through such suffering.....in my human capacity it is almost too much to bear...How did you do it God????
So I began to cry out to God, literally....I was so overwhelmed with fear. And he so gently began to comfort my spirit with the reminder that Aidan is NOT mine.....he belongs to the One that created him....he is only here with me on loan to make this time here on Earth a time of joy and laughter and a really big toothless smile! And although I think my love for him could never be measured....there is One that loves him far greater than even I could! And although being at the end of my own ability to help my child is what I consider Hell on Earth....and not a place I want to be, it is where he has me....completely dependant upon Him to help Aidan....to spare him from any surgeries....and to heal his little ever growing back. And I began to feel that "peace" that surpasses all understanding....I asked the Lord to please let Aidans back be a "minimal degree"...that's how they measure the curve of the spine. Minimal enough to not spark any interest in talks of treatments. And I asked him to begin to move in his spine and completely heal him if it be His will...we believe He is mighty enough!....and if it not His will for complete restoration, that he would stop any progression in his back and chest from that point forward....and if that were not His will, I confessed and begged that I would need Him to make Himself very real to me and sustain me in whatever we would face...and I committed to give Him glory for whatever His will was for my son....our son.
Our doctor called that evening to tell us the results...he confirmed what I had already seen as they were taking the xrays....Aidan does in fact have a curve in his spine which is diagnosed as Scoliosis of the spine...but he reassured us with this....it is a curvature of only 6 degrees which is considered a "minimal degree"....no joke, his words exactly. And that his first thoughts of his ribs being compromised causing the scoliosis was not the case and his ribs looked perfectly normal...so did the placement of his heart, and the capacity of his lungs....Praise God!!! I immediately felt that it was my God hushing my fears and letting me know that He is there....always, He is there. Lord please forgive me when I doubt you....
So this leaves us with what to do now....he says that we are gonna take another spinal series in late spring to compare to these baseline tests we have now....if there is a change then, we will be sent to a Pediatric orthopaedist. His curve is so "minimal" right now that he says the specialist would do the same thing by waiting to see if there is a change. But he still feels there is a connection to the chest...and there is the very concerning factor that Aidan just turned 6 in September...imagine the growth left ...
So we covet any and all prayers for our little guy that you can send his way. And for Adam and I as well...the enemy taunts us daily with fears of the unknown. If you have a small group or church list you could put him on for continual prayer, please do...he needs it! Pray that NO CORRECTIVE SURGERIES WOULD EVER BE NECESSARY!! Pray for Godly insight for any doctor that sees him....pray that in late spring the x rays would cause professionals jaws to drop! And pray that above all, the Lord would continue the healing process in his back...and chest....we are already trusting and believing that He has started it! And we are praising Him for all He will do in the life of this little guy of ours His.
With so much gratitude!
Talysa
"And whatever I do, may it always bring glory to you"
