A Jolt in the Night (Update on David)

Last Saturday morning at about 5am, Julie and I were jarred out of our sleep by the wailing of David (7) our oldest son. At the same time as we were abruptly waking up, Jonathan (5) is standing there silently staring at us wanting to tell us David needs help, which freaked out Julie a second time. Well, our son David who had been mentioning some slight pain in his hips for a week or so is now in terrible pain and can’t move his legs to get out of bed. This was surprising to say the least and so sad to see and hear our beloved David in the condition we found him early that morning.

As we talked with David and asked him what happened and how everything was feeling, we didn’t feel there was anything that the ER would do and we had an appointment with a pediatric orthopedic specialist first thing on Monday. I got David up, helped him walk around a little bit to try to loosen things up, gave him some Ibuprofen, and he was able to settle back down to sleep for several more hours. That morning however, I was carrying him to the bathroom, to the breakfast table, to the couch, and wherever else he needed to go so as not to inflame his hip and increase his pain once again.

Sunday we took it easy and he felt a little better and really wanted to go to church, so we did. This morning he, Jonathan and I went to the Shriner’s Hospital here in St. Louis to have David checked out. The hospital was wonderful and every step of the way we were so taken care of. Although we spent several hours between x-rays, pictures, therapy, and consulting with the Asst. Chief of Staff, the time flew by. Most importantly, we received a pretty good prognosis and information which definitely helps us as we move forward.

Although they could not diagnose exactly what the problem was, they believe it is one of two things. X-rays showed no bone damage to either the upper femur bone or hip socket. This meant that David either has a temporary infection of some kind which is inflaming his hip and in a week or two it will pass, or he has Perthes Disease (click on link for details). Not yet knowing which it is, the Dr. has taken precautions as if it were Perthes and we are to limit David’s leg activity. We need to remove any weight-bearing on the hip so he is to use crutches or a child walker for the next 5 weeks. At the same time, we need to do regular stretches and exercises to ensure that his range of motion stays constant and secure if the bone does deteriorate and thus begin to heal thereafter. The problem is that the bone could heal itself misshapen or oblong and endanger David with serious loss of motion in his leg and hip long term. The exercises ensure a smooth and rounded femur that fits smoothly and moves freely in the hip socket. It was kind of a shock to Julie when I told her David will need to use a walker and crutches, but the diagnosis could have been much worse.

Along with this little surprise, Julie continued to have some bleeding and complications in the aftermath of Selah’s birth, which also picked up in intensity this past week. Sadly, this is something that could have been discovered in the hospital, but after some post-birth challenges in the delivery room no follow up was considered or done. Julie went to the doctor today for an initial prognosis and we are going to see what our options are short of an extensive procedure which would require anesthetic on her part and complicate her caring for and nursing Selah.
The Zilkie’s are doing well and we love being here in St. Louis. However, we are “in the fight” and as Jesus said, you can expect opposition as you seek to follow after me. We humbly, yet confidently believe we are in the center of God’s will considering how He got us here to St. Louis and how well we have been received by the Rooftop family. We definitely need your prayers as we are commanded by our Lord to pray for one another and intercede on behalf of each other, believing whole-heartedly that our prayers are heard (2 Corinthians 10:3-5) and that we are actively involved in the battle each day.

In the meantime, “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble, but take heart, I have overcome the world.” (Jesus – John 16:33)