Today has been a rough one for my little guy.

We had an appt in Syracuse this morning (factor almost 2 hours to get there on time with a little time to spare) with a pediatric ortho as a follow up on the Legg-Calves-Perthes Disease. It was really just a formality at this point because there is no denying that this is indeed what he is dealing with in his left hip. I think the appointment did a lot for Gabe's and my peace of mind however.

The ortho sees a fair number of children with this disease and does not believe that there will be any long term damaging effects from it because he is so very young. He is, in fact, the youngest child she has seen with this condition.

We discussed various treatments that could be considered if Liam gets to the point where his hip won't stay in its socket to heal, but she doesn't think that it will come to casts or surgery. Thank goodness, right?

The upsetting news is that from here to healing L will probably go through more frequent bouts of inflammation (pain) that last for longer and longer times. During those periods, we will treat him with motrin and (wait a second while I catch my breath because I laughed at this one) rest. She even laughed over the word. What we are hoping is that he will naturally stay off the hip when it is bothering him so that it doesn't become necessary to immobilize him. Send any and all craft and quiet activities you can think of to occupy a stir crazy toddler and keep him still for moments at a time. I want to be armed and ready for the next period.

It mostly occurs in children who are smaller than average. His chances of having LCP in his right hip are about 25-50%; 25% if he is healthy and "normal" and 50% if he does indeed have a growth hormone deficiency. We should know within the next year if the right leg will be affected.

Overall, Gabe and I left the appointment feeling a lot better about this situation. You can't ask to hear something better than "expected full recovery with no adverse effects" now can you? We celebrated by going to a little boy's dream of a restaurant, Dinosaur Barbecue, where (joy of joys) he (being Liam) got his first tatoo to sport around for the rest of the day.

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The rest of the day has been merely that of a normal active toddler. We arrived home with a rested (napping in the car) and energized little boy who was ready to run circles around his tired parents. Here is just a glimpse into our afternoon...

1. An entire roll of toilet paper had to be fished out of the toilet where it had been gleefully unrolled.

2. Liam decided to remove his clothing. He took everything but his diaper off in his room. He then ran into the living room, grinned at us, and ripped his diaper off as he ran away knowing we would try to reverse his efforts. He shows no interest in using the potty and we were not interested in cleaning up messes.

3. As I moved after him into his room he hopped on his bed and BELLY FLOPPED into his toy box. Unfortunately, he slammed his face into a wooden box that was in there. I wonder if this is the turning point at which he will start to look before he leaps. Somehow, I doubt it. Ice was applied, kisses were placed on the bruising areas, popsicles were eaten, and all is right in the world again.

4. Incident #3 did not slow him down enough to prevent a major spill into the kitchen floor as he tried to round a corner too quickly. More ice, more kisses, and off he went again.

5. His little feet still didn't slow down and in another sharp turn he slid into a corner and bumped his knee rather hard. Yet more ice, kisses, and hugs were required and given.

At this point, we decided that Dora and Blue might be just the friends he needed to keep him whole until dinner and bedtime.

Now my little innocent is safely tucked in his bed and all really is right in the world again. Hopefully, he won't have too many battle scars from this day.