"DraMa"dilyn's Update

Notice the title - you'll understand why shortly.

Madilyn had her first doctor's visit yesterday with the Infectious disease specialist, Dr. Shore.

Two things we know for sure now.

1. Donny and I are convinced that the ER doctor, her orthopedic surgeon, and the oncologist that consulted on her case were definitely convinced Madilyn's mass was malignant prior to the biopsy. The steps they took and the aggresiveness at which they approached the situation prove that beyond a doubt. Not that they did anything wrong, better to rule out the worst case scenario first, and luckily, the doctors were wrong. No malignancy here.

2. We hate Atlanta. More on that later.

As for the visit yesterday, we are still seeking answers. I know, I know, you are probably wondering if we will ever really know what is going on. And, there is a chance we may not ever know what caused this.

According to Dr. Shore, she most likely has a disease that has caused the infection in her bone. And so now we need to pinpoint this disease so he can treat it properly to prevent this from happening again. He doubled the amount of antibiotic she is taking and said she will most likely need to be on the antibiotic for at least the next 4-6 months depending on her prognosis. He sent us across the street to Children's Hospital for lots and lots of tests. They took X-rays of her skull, chest (which will also give him a different angle to look at her clavicle bone from the original X-rays), and knee.

I haven't said anything on the blog about her knee, so if you haven't talked to me you might not know that before she started complaining about her shoulder hurting, she had been limping around on her right knee complaining about it hurting for about two weeks. I thought it was just growing pains. Then it just stopped, and literally the next day she was complaining about her shoulder. Dr. Shore thinks that sounds like too much of a coincidence for them not to be related, so that is the reason for the X-rays of the knee.

They also did lots of blood work. And, oh, the drama! You would have thought they were walking around with chainsaws cutting off children's arms to eat for dinner the way Madilyn was acting. First they put numbing cream on her arm that had to sit for 30 minutes. The closer the time got, the faster the tears fell. Then it's time to start. And oh my! She started all right. Weeping and wailing galore! She was crying and begging "Please don't do this to me" "Please, I don't want to do this" over and over. I know it sounds sad right now, but Donny and I could not help but laugh at the time. Of course while all the crying and begging was going on, the tech had started and was half way done and Madilyn had no idea. She finally settled down enough to ask me when she was going to start, and I told her she was already half-way done. Madilyn immediately stopped crying and looked down at her arm and was shocked that she hadn't felt anything. Imagine that. A Children's Hospital that DOESN'T torture innocent children. Unbelievable. I would have given my right arm to have had my camera on me. All that drama was Oscar worthy, for sure! Of course, she comes by it honestly, she is my daughter.

Just call me Drama Mama!

So what now? We have another appointment with Dr. Shore tomorrow at 3:00 to discuss the results of all the tests. My biggest concern right now is if the mass is going away, and if her bone will ever return to normal. Questions he could not answer yet. One way or another, the mass will be removed, whether it is because it heals itself or surgically. And as for her bone, he said that hopefully the bone will be healthy enough to heal itself and return to normal. So many questions, so little answers.

She also sees Dr. Fabregas, her orthopedic surgeon, next week as well. So hopefully he will be able to answer some questions about the bone issues.

So, that is what we know for now. You know I will keep you posted with any information as soon as I can.

Oh, and are you still wondering why we hate Atlanta?

After we left the hospital, hungry and tired, ready to get home, nothing says Atlanta like a tractor-trailer full of chickens on fire in the middle of the interstate, shutting down I-85 south for almost three hours. And there we were, first car in line to get stopped, sitting and waiting, and waiting, and waiting, and still waiting. Every single time we go into the city, and I do mean every SINGLE time, without fail, we get stuck in traffic from a wreck.

I hate Atlanta!