Update...

Happy Birthday to Paul! What a blessing it is to have him here with us…well, he isn’t actually here with us right now…he is up having an MRI of his hip.  Yep, he is having hip problems…

Paul met with an orthopedic surgeon this week to discuss his hip.  The doctor is concerned that Paul has a condition called avascular necrosis.  Basically, it is bone death caused by poor blood supply to the area.  Most common places this occurs is in the hip and shoulder.  The doctor informed him that the chemotherapy he received along with the steroids can cause this problem.  It is amazing how many possible side effects can occur from treatment. 

Of course, it doesn’t help that when Paul was 15 years old, he grew 6 inches in 6 weeks!!!  Yep, you read that correctly.  Because of his amazing growth spurt, he experienced a slipped epiphysis (separation of the ball of the hip joint from the thigh bone (femur) at the upper growing end (growth plate) of the bone).  After he had his surgery his doctor informed him he would probably require an “early” hip replacement.   Another side effect of this happening can be avascular necrosis. 

Needless to say, we might be seeing another surgery in Paul’s near future.  We will deal with whatever it is when we find out more.

Life without out a stomach is very challenging.  Paul has problems daily.  Either the food doesn’t want to go down or he experiences dumping syndrome.  When he has dumping syndrome it is VERY painful.  He usually has to take a Lorazepam to calm things down, but when he does he is completely wiped out and has to lay down to sleep for awhile.  Actually, naps have become an important part of Paul’s everyday life.  He is exhausted a lot!  The doctors have informed us this is most likely his “new” life. 

Paul is maintaining his weight around 169 – 172 lbs.  He is quite thin for his height.  Realistically, he will always be thin.  We just hope to keep him where he is at right now.

I will update again when we know more.