Transient (or toxic) Synovitis

I awoke Brian yesterday afternoon after a long nap with hopes to go to the grocery store. He was so cranky and clingy I didn't dare make that trip and the rest of the evening he just kind of hung out on my lap or laid down watching a movie. I was not impressed with the thought that he was getting sick once again. When I put him to bed and was putting his pajamas on him he said "Ow" and and I asked him if he had a boo-boo and he said "Boo-boo, yes" and tapped his leg. I looked all over his leg and I didn't see anything and he was back to laughing at that point so I thought maybe he was just using his language inappropriately (wouldn't be the first time).

This morning I went into his bedroom to wake him up. He wouldn't get up so I was teasing him about his lazy bones and started to just dress him as he laid there. Once I got his underwear past his knees he let out a blood-curdling cry. I knew instantly that something was wrong. Brian has a very high pain threshold, so you know when you hear that kind of cry that he is hurting big time. I carried him downstairs and tried to examine him- he wouldn't stand up and he wouldn't straighten out his left leg.

I called his doctor and asked if I should just go to the ER but they said they wanted to see him first but they couldn't see him until 10:50- don't you love it? So our morning DRAGGED as he watched cartoons but he kept trying to sit up because he just can't sit still and that would cause him to scream in pain even more. Finally, after his examination at the doctors they sent us to the hospital to get X-Rays.

I was very concerned on how they would ever do x-rays on him. As usual, when I have concerns about something, he just amazes me and breezes through it. The technician told me he was one of the best four-year-olds she had ever had in there :).

We came home to wait and wait for the results- I'm a huge worrier so of course it seemed like forever. It turns out he has transient synovitis (also known as toxic synovitis). It's a swelling of the hip that tends to follow viral infections- Brian had that really high fever he couldn't kick just a couple weeks ago. It is actually fairly common in young children and especially among boys. It is going to last 7-10 days unfortunately and there isn't much we can do about it but give ibuprofen and try to keep him off of it as much as possible. Also need to watch for a fever as that could mean it's actually something bacterial.

He's a trooper and is actually quite happy as long as you don't bend his leg past a certain angle. He's trying to walk now- very slowly and with a very pronounced limp. It's going to be hard work to convince him to take it easy.