Beckham's Hospital Stay

This was on Dec 1st 2018. One minute we were hunting for our Christmas tree and playing in the snow....

The next minute we were rushing Beckham into the ER at Utah Valley Hospital. He had been complaining of his leg hurting while we were Christmas tree hunting. He was still able to walk and play and have fun, so we thought it was simply a case of "growing pains". Once we got home early that evening he went down to the basement to watch TV. Minutes later he was screaming bloody murder. Chase and I ran downstairs to check on him. He had tried to get up because he needed to use the bathroom but his leg would not let him. He was in excruciating pain. Chase tried to assess it to see if something was broken, which we were pretty sure nothing was since he was just walking on it. We ended up having to roll him onto a sheet, using it as a gurney, to put him in the back of the car. It broke my heart as he begged us through tears and screams not to move his leg. But we knew something was seriously wrong. 

We pulle up to the ER and Chase immediately ran inside while I stayed next to buddy in the back of the car. He came out with a nurse and a real gurney to roll him inside. Its times like these I am so grateful for Chase's job. His medical knowledge and connections he has at the hospitals are heaven sent during emergencies. We got him all checked in and the nurses got him on some pain meds pretty quick. He was able to relax somewhat and it made him very sleepy.

As it goes in the ER, things take FOREVER to get done. They did blood work and an X-ray. Everything came back normal. Beckham was awake again and trying his best to be happy. But if he moved his leg, he was still in so much pain, even with the pain meds in his system. The doctors said it was probably a muscle strain. When we tried to move him to come home he was screaming in pain again. They decided he needed and MRI. This was the very frustrating part because the hospital had no pediatric sedation team there on Saturdays. They wanted the MRI done with him awake, but mildly sedated. Chase and the MRI tech didn't like this idea and begged the hospital to let someone sedate him. Our only option was to get the MRI done now or transport him to Primary Childrens (which would have taken another 2 hours at least). They gave him some ketamine and other sedation and put him in the MRI. Chase was in there with Beckham talking him through it. The ketamine made poor Buddy hallucinate and vomit everywhere. He was screaming in a panic and was terrified. Chase had to hold his head and talk him through it for over an hour. I was not there for this part and it was probably for the best. The MRI tech finally got what he needed and they found a pocket of fluid in his right hip.

The pocket of fluid explained his severe pain. We were told it was a substantial amount of fluid and needed to be drained immediately. There could be a possible infection or it could be something even worse like a tumor. Again, there was no pediatric sedation team, so Beckham had to go under full anesthesia in the OR. He had an excellent team of nurses, anesthesiologist and surgeon. So we were wheeled into the pre-op room and waited again. 

Beckham was still smiling and telling joked and charming everyone around him. If he didn't move his leg, he wasn't in as much pain. It was going to be a very short procedure but Chase and I were not happy our little boy had to go under general anesthesia for this. That has its own potential risks. We were also doing our best not to freak out over the "what if's" that were going through our minds. What if our boy was truly really sick? Would this change our lives forever? Is it really just harmless fluid and he will be fine? 

Luckily the procedure only took 15 minutes and the surgeon came out to relieve our worries. There was NO INFECTION! It was simple synovial fluid and he had something called Toxic Synovitis. The name sounds worse than it is. Doctors are not sure why, but they think this can happen when the body is fighting off a virus, inflammation gathers int he hip joint and then fluid accumulates. He was able to drain it all and the fluid was clear which is a good sign. He sent it to the lab to confirm there was zero infection. 

We were in the hospital with Beckham almost 24 hours but it felt like longer. We brought him home very early in the morning. He had to miss  a week of school because there are strict orders to rest so that the fluid will not come back. He was not allowed to run or jump or have any high impact on his hip. He limped around for a few weeks but was as good as new after that! It was such a traumatizing experience for him, especially the MRI. He still talks about how he saw scary faces in the MRI machine and it breaks my heart. I am grateful for modern medicine in times like these. I am grateful we were able to find the cause of his pain and it was nothing serious. I am grateful everyday for my children's health and always for their bodies can stay strong and happy.