Luck of the Irish???

Instead of a pot of gold at the end of my rainbow tomorrow, we get to make another trip to Tripler. I received a call from Lily's oncologist a little while ago. After the cursory greeting, I immediately ask- what's up? Well the Radiology report of Lily's wrist on Friday was just a preliminary. It showed some swelling around the bone, but no evident fracture. Upon "official" review - it has been diagnosed as a Salter- Harris fracture. This is the same kind of fracture Kiera had on her elbow- a growth plate fracture. Since kids are rapidly growing- they have growth plates on the ends of their bones- Xrays can't really pick up these fractures because the cells are growing and dividing and morphing and playing hide and seek. The radiologist and doc have to evaluate other symptoms in conjunction with evidence of swelling of the soft tissues around the bone. Lily has swelling and tenderness and was kind enough to milk the dramatic on Friday which prompted the doc to be extra concerned.

So I rattle off a bunch of questions about hygiene and skin sensitivity and chemo and practicality of a cast on Lily. Plus, have they emphasized she not be unnecessarily xrayed- lets throw some more radiation at her and see what tumor pops up next. Not a good time to not be able to practice good handwashing- especially on the hand with the thumb that she sucks. Phil suggests maybe there's a bowling glove she could use...I know the point is to immobilize the bones so they can grow normally- but doesn't the chemo mess that up anyhow? Well what it boils down to is that the situation is not ideal, they will look into alternatives, but a cast is probably the best option. Oh bite me. Florence suggests ativan before we come in for casting tomorrow. Yeah- the orthopods haven't met Lily- this oughtta be a riot. Something restrictive on Lily. We just got her to wear clothes in public again....They better have purple. Yep- cool the green beer- I'm gonna need it tomorrow!!