2012.08.10

My Alistair has been walking mostly on his tiptoes his entire life.  Every year at his checkup I ask the pediatrician about it, and every year she tells me it’s nothing to worry about, he’ll grow out of it, etc.

At this year’s checkup she asked him to bend over and touch his toes, and he couldn’t put his heels on the floor and reach forward without tipping over.  At which point she suggested we see an orthopedist.

“It’s nothing serious, they’ll probably prescribe some stretches and exercises”, she said.

Our appointment was yesterday.

Imagine my surprise (I wish I had a better word to describe it than ‘surprise – shock? flabbergastation? horror? – none of those do justice) when the specialist spent 10 minutes checking out his tendons and their flexibility, then immediately called the casting department.  

“He’s two years too late for stretches and exercise”, he said “if we don’t go this route, he’ll be facing surgery down the line”.

My six-year-old son is now wearing two knee-high casts.  They will be removed once a week, his tendons re-evaluated, and then new casts applied.  After several weeks the casts will be replaced by braces, which he will wear for several months, perhaps a year.

The moral of this story, friends, is this:  if you ever have a doubt about something your doctor tells you, see another doctor.

That is a mistake I will never make again.

Thankfully he does have walking boots, so he’s as mobile as ever.  Considering he’s been in them for less than 24 hours, he has adapted surprisingly quickly.  

I am thrilled to say that Alistair has been a trouper throughout; I, on the other hand, have been just barely holding it together for his sake.