When he started limping one Saturday morning in early March, we chalked it up to rough-housing with his brother...and perhaps hamming things up. He didn't complain or say he was in pain. One minute running, the next hopping on his left leg. As Sunday lead to Monday and his condition didn't seem to be improving...we trekked to the pediatrician who immediately suspected Lyme's Disease.
X-rays (on his right knee). Blood work. Then the wait for results. Heart in our throats.
The video below is from the day after. We promised LEGOs for the great job he did with getting his blood drawn. Sara took him to Target that day and sent this to me — It brings me to tears every time I watch it…
Results weren't conclusive...common with Lyme's...but we started treating him with antibiotics as if that were the case.
Within 3 days, we saw major improvements.
I think Sara summed it up best in her Facebook post:
Ollie appears to be 100% himself again, thanks to the meds and all the love and well wishes for him. We really appreciate the support.
I am embarrassed to admit that we weren’t very diligent about checking for ticks this past summer. As a family that spends a lot of time outdoors, that’s a no no. Summer is likely when he was infected by Lyme Disease based on his symptoms.
The last stage of Lyme disease happens if the early stages were not found or treated. Symptoms can start anytime from weeks to years after the tick bite. In kids, this is almost always in the form of arthritis, with swelling and tenderness, particularly in the knee or other large joints.
So this is my friendly reminder and a kick in my own ass—Check your kids for ticks and listen to them. They don’t always get the bullseye rash, you won’t always find the tick, but your kids may complain of being unable to walk. In Ollie’s case, fluid built up in his knee and he was limping and then couldn’t walk at all.
We just returned from a vacation in Florida. Our little guy was/is in rare form. The video below brings happy tears to my eyes…
The health of my family is everything to me…as I know yours is to you.
Please check your kiddos for ticks.
