Just got back from round 2 at the ER, but this time we were only there 7 hours. Stephen, Granny, and I had gotten really concerned about Houston. His ibuprofen regiments hadn’t been managing his pain very well.

He was still eating like a bird and getting intermittent fevers, as well, and not improving in arm mobility, which was dramatically limited to begin with. In fact, it seemed to be getting worse!

We were told that he should start showing improvement after 48 hours, and even though we hadn’t quite reached that mark, we had grown extremely concerned. We called Kim, the amazingly compassionate MA at the Urgent Care we saw on Friday, to get her medical opinion, and she agreed with us: err on the side of caution and take poor Houston back to the ER.

We took two cars, since Stephen is sick himself and we knew he may need to leave early. Houston rode with him, so during my whole trek downtown, I kept having these visions of Houston never again being able to throw a baseball. Or write normally. Or give bear hugs. Or have full use of his right arm.

I was certain we had waited too long to get him to the doc in the first place, and that his little tendons and muscles were getting eaten away by the viral infection – or even sepsis. Thankfully, none of that was happening. (He did have to get another x-ray, but no blood work, which made him happy. Turns out, he hates having his blood drawn and has super-tiny veins just like Mommy.)

We got the exact same diagnosis: toxic synovitis caused by a viral infection. We also obtained an Rx for some heavy pain meds, which he needed by the time we got home from the hospital.

But more than anything, I guess what we really got was peace of mind. Knowing that Houston’s going to be okay – eventually. They say it’ll take a week to two to get him him back to the vivacious, funny, and smart kid we all know and love.

He’ll be seeing his pediatrician and orthopedic doc this week, and from there, it’s just baby steps and unceasing prayers on the road to good health. But God is good. So very good.