Cailyn and I visited our local hospital this morning to get her assessed by the on-call pediatrician.
On Tuesday, I learned that she had a pain in her left side, just above her hip. I asked her if she had felt the pain after making a specific movement, and she said “no”. She also shared that she started feeling the discomfort on Sunday. However, no more complaints were uttered that night.
As it turns out, the discomfort she felt Wednesday morning grew over her school day until the point that it was bothering her in Strings class, when raising her left arm to hold her violin. Consequently, when I picked her up from school yesterday, she shared that she didn’t think she should go to her swimming class.
I asked her again if she was sure she hadn’t strained or stressed her muscles… from my experience, this is the most desirable cause. She couldn’t associate the discomfort with a particular movement. Not being able to chalk it up to a simple cause, it’s amazing how your brain quickly considers all of the other more complicated causes.
I called our nurse case manager in London and her recommendation was for Cailyn to be assessed by a pediatrician… the discomfort had increased day by day, without an obvious physical cause.
Walking back down the familiar hallway caused opposing emotions… happiness at seeing the wonderful health-care team we have worked with over the years and distress at revisiting the anxiety often experienced by parents worried about the health and well-being of their kids. The longer we’re on this journey, the more aware I am of the many different signals of disease.
During our visit with the pediatrician, I disclosed my sincere wish that this discomfort was muscular! The doctor prescribed some tests, which we completed before I took Cailyn back to school. I am now waiting to hear the results.
Here’s to great news!!