Jan 17 2008
If it isn’t one thing, it’s another
Zoe still has a little bit of a fever tonight; it was about 100.6 at 4 this afternoon. Since she’s eating normally and looks perky, I guess the doc’s not concerned any longer…about that. (It’s always something, right?)
Today was her “well child” visit. We went through all of the milestone questions and she’s doing almost everything. But, since she’s not crawling or pushing up and when he tried to get her to stand for him she didn’t do much with her legs, he decided he would check her hips again. She screamed as he twisted her hips in unnatural directions. He didn’t feel anything but decided to “take a picture of them”—it took me a few minutes to realize we were having another xray! DUH mom!
The xray showed that they were symmetrical but he felt her thigh bones were seated about 1/2 inch higher in the hip socket than he thought was normal. He’ll have a radiologist look at it and if necessary, he’ll either refer us to an orthopedist or a neurologist. A neurologist?? Ack! He did say that since the pushing/standing was the only milestone she’s behind on he probably won’t refer to a neuro, so I feel a little better, but I was trying not to be alarmed either. I’m proud of myself because I haven’t been googling, but I am wondering does this mean we could be headed toward crutches or a wheelchair/scooter. I need to stop going there mentally, and I know we’ll do whatever we need to do.
I’m mostly not concerned because she jumps like a kangaroo in her exersaucer and her jumper. She just has no interest in moving yet. She’ll lay on her back and be content. She might scoot up or down or in a circle, but she doesn’t roll to her tummy (it’s happened I guess maybe 5 times, but I’ve never seen her do it.) She doesn’t push up on her tummy, she’ll just roll over to her back.
Anyone have anything reassuring to say? Crawling apparently isn’t a check-off milestone, so he says he’s not worried about that. I don’t know how concerned he is about the hips/standing thing. Apparently I’m a bad judge of what he is and isn’t concerned about. 
Coming from someone who does not listen to this advice herself . . . try not to read too much online. Did the doctor say anything about her muscle tone, or was it just her hips? Although it may be frightening at least your doctor found it and is aggressively looking into it. NHL was not walking alone at 20 months. We were not concerned since he was talking up a storm. We eventually went to Early Intervention to have a PT evaluation and also took him to a neurologist. I was flipped out watching certain things that made me think MS, CP or worse. So again, reason why not to read too much online. Anyway, NHL was diagnosed as having low muscle tone and being hyper flexible (all of this caused issues with his balance and ability to stand, move, walk and do anything everything without being exhausted.
Early Intervention is an amazing program that can do wonders for children IF it is something you need. Hopefully you get in to see specialists and can talk to your doctor a little more to see what the concerns are so you can understand it more. Remember I am here if you ever need to talk. We have been down the road with NHL and continue our journey.
Hugs to you and Zoe.
What Angel said!! Don’t read anything online and make yourself worry more than necessary. Don’t wait for your doctor to refer you to Ortho or Neuro, if you feel something is wrong, make an appointment and take her yourself. One other thing I would like to encourage you to do is if in fact you find that Zoe may have some sort of orthopedic issue going on contact Shriner’s Hospital for follow-up and treatment. My daughter had ortho issue and spent 18 years under the watch and care of Shriner’s Hospital and I could not have asked for better care and treatment. Follow your gut feelings.
Prayers for you and for Zoe!!
Good luck and I hope everything turns out ok for the little one!
Thanks to all of you for the support and helpful suggestions. I’m making a list of questions to ask when I hear back about what the radiologist said/saw. (I just have to remember to carry them with me everywhere!) I don’t think I have enough information at this point to know if I should be concerned. He didn’t say her hips were popping out—if I recall, he said that it was easier to make them pop out at (I think) six months. I didn’t ask then if they popped out when he checked but my gut says that he didn’t feel them pop out because he didn’t mention it. I WILL ask that when I get my call-back.