Answered Prayers for Caleb

I took Caleb to the doctor this morning. He has been having pain in his legs for over a year. We took him last February (2009) and the doctor ordered bloodwork, which came back perfectly normal. We've been watching him since then and recently noticed that he's been getting upset about it more often, even waking up in the middle of the night crying and sometimes stopping his play because he hurts. I got him an appointment for this morning and went in with a pit in my stomach. Best case scenario: growing pains. Worst case scenario: leukemia or something along that line. (We have some college acquaintances who recently lost their 5 year old daughter to leukemia which was diagnosed after she complained of leg pain and had recurrent fevers. Caleb hasn't had any fever.) Also notable is that Rudy had a lot of problems with joint pain as a young child.

So - I took Caleb in this morning and tried to shove all of the horrible thoughts from my mind, but couldn't just let it slide without checking into it again. Dr. Schaefer looked Caleb over and asked me a lot of questions. Caleb was a SUPER TROOPER about the whole thing. He even told the doctor, "We came to find out why my legs hurt sometimes. I'm not really sick." Dr. S did a great job with Caleb and even used a matchbox car to check for pain. (Caleb was impressed.)

When he was finished, he told me that he really thinks the problem is that Caleb is so flat-footed that it makes his feet turn in. That, in turn, causes strain on the muscles and bones in his legs. I told him that we buy really good shoes at Stride Rite b/c Caleb's feet are so wide. He said that's good, but he also needs an arch support and recommended that we ask at Stride Rite if they have anything like that. If not, we'll go see a podiatrist and get him fitted for them. I hope and pray that this solves the problem.

Dr. S did order a set of x-rays on Caleb's left leg, primarily to rule out the slim chance of bone cancer or a structural anomaly. When we went to check in for the x-rays, the receptionist asked me his name and I said, "Caleb with a C." Caleb quickly responded, "No, Mama, I'm Caleb with a W." He was excited about getting "special pictures" taken and the x-ray tech was awesome. She gave him stickers when we were finished and I gave him bubble gum. (He didn't like the kind of gum I had and promptly spit it in the trash.) I took him to get a Happy Meal to celebrate and reward his amazing behavior and bravery.

Now we wait to hear from the doctor about the x-ray results. Honestly, I have a peace about it. I feel so much better than I did when I walked in the office. I'm going to call and check on shoe inserts and schedule an appointment if I have to. Let's pray that it works and helps the sweet little guy not hurt anymore!