The Biggest Scare to Date

Thursday, Shaw woke up with his usual cries from his crib. Our routine is the same. We share the usual warm greetings and lasting hugs. Shaw has started to say, "I wuv ew" when prompted, so selfishly I've added this to our routine.

I changed Shaw diaper, talked about dreams of the night before and what exciting plans we had for the day. When finished, I stood Shaw up and started to move towards the stairs.

Shaw's legs went limp accompanied by a small whimper and he lay in the floor.

Again, I tried to stand Shaw up and time after time, his legs collapsed.

Shaw could not walk.

I immediately tried to identify the source. Was something on the bottom of his foot? Would he wince with pain if I turned his ankle in circles? Will he let me massage his calves and thighs? Is it is hip?

Nothing.

Again, trying to position him to stand, he would lean on his left foot, keeping his right off the floor. The right foot would not bare weight.

For the next hour, we watched Shaw crawl (like he had months ago) from toy to toy, playing while sitting refusing to stand.

Our emotions were wild.

Is this yet another sign of a potential shunt malfunction? Did he some how injure his leg while sleeping? If so, maybe the sensation would pass? Could it have been a another stoke and he was losing mobility on one side of his body? Do we call the neurosurgeon or the pediatrician? (Answer: Both)

Shaw and I spent the next four hours at the pediatrician. The doctor assured me that this was an isolated incident and not related to his shunt. We had X-rays - that revealed nothing. Shaw didn't respond to the doctors touch in pain. Ultimately, the directive was to go home. Watch it. And let him know if Shaw got worse or better over the next three days. His thought was perhaps the virus Shaw has had manifested in a joint, causing his immobility.

Next, the Neurosurgeon. While she said she had never heard of such a virus; she still wasn't convinced this was shunt related. However, we would need to watch Shaw carefully for the next few days and go immediately to the ER if any other symptoms appeared.

The rest of the day was intense. Shaw motored around, pulling himself up to standing as if he was 15 months instead of 2 years old and it sent me into a 'what if' frenzy that I don't care to revisit.

At 4pm, Nash woke up from his nap. In an effort to keep up with his big brother, Shaw slowly lowered his right leg and began to slowly limp in an attempt to play with Nash. You could see Shaw was in pain, but I just stood back and watched.

As the hours progressed, Shaw began to walk again. After dinner, he was running.

I think today, alone, has taken another 15 years from my life.

Both the Neuro and Pediatrician have been very engaged and glad to hear Shaw has improved. They both agree that this was a side effect of the virus Shaw has, although neither have seen it before.

Today is Sunday. Shaw has no signs of fever only a runny nose. He is walking and playing and chasing after his brother. Again, we remain thankful.

I attended a funeral yesterday of a dear friend's father. I saw many friends I hadn't seen in some time. As many common cordials, I was asked how our kids are doing. I replied, as I often do, "They continue to amaze us" but I doubt anyone really has any idea how much.