Unplanned Shriners Appointment on Monday

During the past 2 weeks, we've observed a change in Travis' walking and weight bearing on his left leg. Travis' left foot is pointing to the side more and he is "dragging" that foot on the ground more as well. We also noticed that Travis is crawling more and he does not have the range of motion he once had with his left leg. He has a PT appointment this Wednesday and we were planning on speaking with his therapist about this then. However...

Sunday morning brought a significant change to Travis' walking and he essentially stopped walking. He walked upstairs for Sunday School and sometime shortly thereafter didn't want to walk. Travis' teacher carried him from place to place in the room so he would be able to participate. Normally after 9a Sunday School Travis wants to head downstairs for a donut during coffee hour (actually 30 min), probably not a shock to any of us. This past Sunday, Travis wanted to go home and didn't want a donut. Something was definitely up. You could tell that walking wasn't going to happen without difficulty.

Travis and Barrett sing in the kids choir and they practice on Sunday afternoons. Travis wanted to have his power chair for then, this was the first time he used his chair at church. When I was at home I noticed Travis playing contently where he was lying on the floor.

Monday morning Travis had more difficulty in walking. He would slowly shuffle along only while holding onto a surface like counter, chair, etc. He was extremely unsteady and shaky, not bearing much weight on his left leg with very, very limited range of motion. Travis asked for his pink medicine, ibuprofen, and that helped with his pain. At school Travis decided to remain in his power chair for the day. He tried to get out to hang up his back pack like his classmates, but you could see his concern in his face as he unsteadily took a few steps holding onto his power chair. He did have enough mobility to transfer from the chair to use the bathroom. I checked on him after volunteering in his brother's classroom and he was happily participating in the game the school OT had for him at his desk.

I made calls to his doctors as this was uncharacteristic of Travis and coupled with the changes from the 2 prior weeks. Travis' orthopedic person was in surgery all day, but Dr. Viskochil was able to help up get things lined up at Shriners for Travis to have x-rays to check for fracture(s) after school. Most of Travis' x-rays were done at Shriners so it is easier to compare images. We know the bone density in Travis' left tibia is significantly lower than normal for kids his age (and when compared to his right leg) and that T is at an increased risk for fracture even by walking.

We arrived at Shriners and saw Travis' orthopedic PA (surgery had just finished). He did a quick, thorough exam of Travis and had T walk. He could see the great difficulty Travis had in walking and observed Travis crawling. The PA ordered 2 x-rays of T's legs from hip to ankle and held T in the position he wanted.

X-Ray time at Shriners

Yea for x-rays being over.

Fortunately x-rays revealed NO fracture. The PA commented on the weakness of Travis' muscles, a change from Nov's appointment. The thinking is that Travis pulled/strained a muscle and combined with his weaker muscles made for this sudden change in walking. We are to see the PA again tomorrow (Wed) before Travis' regular PT appointment.

Travis' walking this morning is slightly improved, but there are still difficulties walking and he wanted to remain in his power chair at school (uncharacteristic for him). Fortunately there is not the look of scared/fear and concern in his face as yesterday when walking was so difficult. If it happens again, I will try to get video to show his docs...cell phones do have some great features.