Orthopedic Surgeon Appointment Results

Well, we are home now.  We had x-rays of just his back done today.  Good news is that things have continued to stay stable and there hasn't been any significant change.  The uncertain news is that the bulge on his back is being caused by a protruding bone off of his vertebrae in his lower back.  Sounds bad, right?  What is the world is that?  I don't have his actual x-ray but I did find a pretty good example:

 So, if you look at the picture on the right, that is sort of what Thomas X-ray showed in his lower back.  Only the top bone comes down much more and is very slanted and the bottom bone is a lot smaller.  The small bone piece that is at the arrow is larger and actually coming at you more.  This small bone is making a knot in his lower back. 

I took this picture just to show you from the outside looking what we can see.  Again, its not exact as I am doing it myself but the main thing is that the bulge is there and is quite significant.  The major question they kept asking me was if he was in pain.  My initial response is 'I don't think so'.  I guess he should be based on their expertise and the x-rays, but to my knowledge and the communication skills of my almost 3 year old he hasn't really complained of specific pain.  He does fatigue and such, but not pain.  Long term, I have no idea what this means.  The orthopedic surgeon is quite confident that he will be able to treat any scoliosis issues that may arise.  Which leads me to our next topic of discussion.

Endocrinologists.  I asked his opinion on the medical debate of the link between growth hormone therapy and worsening the conditions of his spine.  He stated he was aware and the reading and research and felt it was inconclusive.  He has had patients on all scales and there is really nothing showing a direct link.  He stated if we were referred to do such therapy on Thomas that it would our call but ultimately we would have no one way of knowing how or if it would impact the stress on his spine.  He has had children on it who had no change and others whose back began moving aggressively that weren't on hormone therapy.  Having said that, he did state that if we moved forward and Thomas' back began to change in such a manner that was very significant than at that point we would probably stop the hormone therapy and focus more on the condition of his spine.  Again, he was quite confident that he can treat any scoliosis symptoms that may occur since we have our eye on it and have been tracking it for so long. 

I did ask if physical therapy could help with this hemi vertebrae condition and the answer given was a flat 'no'.  Not sure how I feel about that to be honest.  I don't know what this means for Thomas' future at this point.  The orthopedic surgeon is also concerned about another abnormal vertebrae just below his neck and wants to review that one more closely when we go back in six months.  So, that's what I know.  I don't have many more answers, but we know a little bit more of what is going on with his spine.  We only go back if he appears to be showing pain or I see any other changes like fever, cold chills, etc.  Otherwise we will go back in October.

He did get very upset and anxious when we went back for x-rays.  They only did back which was good because the neck x-rays hurt him.  These don't, but he didn't understand that nonetheless.  He was so sweet though, he was crying that he had to go 'tee tee', which we had already been twice since getting there.  They told him to say 'cheese' for the picture and he did through the tears and the whimpering.  He also wanted his brothers, Tyler and Tanner which I thought was so sweet.  That was the hardest part, everything else was talking and looking.  We made it back from Atlanta in time to stop by the school for lunch with his brothers.  It made everyone happy!

Three goofy brothers at lunch!

If you have experience with a similar back condition, please share with us.  We are just taking this one appointment at a time.  No need to worry about the future as we do not possess a way of knowing what it may bring.  We will live, laugh and love as often as we can!!  God has promised great things for us.

"Not one of all the LORD's good promises to the house of Israel failed; every one was fulfilled." Joshua 21:45