JJ complained Saturday night about his shoulders and legs hurting. I brushed it off as we'd spent quite a bit of time outside and swimming that day. Sunday, he was very lethargic and although he absolutely loves spending time at my parents house, he spent the majority of the day sitting in a chair. He didn't swim (this should have been the first warning sign), he didn't run around catching frogs, he didn't dig tunnels in the sand. And everytime I asked him if something was wrong, he'd say, "It's okay mama. I'm okay".
Sunday night, I knew I needed to mow the grass as it is supposed to rain all week. JJ would pay you money to mow your lawn. He loves it. We have a self-propelled mower, so he pretty much just walks around the yard and guides it in the right direction. I asked him if he wanted to do his part before I did mine and he said, "I can't". "What? What does that mean?" He started to cry and said his shoulders and legs hurt too bad. I took him in the house and gave him some Motrin and told him to just rest on the couch. I thought maybe he was dehydrated from all the heat, so I brought two cold bottles of water to him and told him he needed to drink both bottles before bedtime. He did so and fell asleep shortly thereafter.
Around 2:30am Monday, JJ started screaming. I ran upstairs and found him sitting up and he was holding his right wrist. "It hurts, it hurts", he cried. I got some ice and put it on it and rubbed his back and he eventually fell back asleep. Monday morning, I woke him up for school. As I helped him get out of bed and to his feet, he crumbled on the floor. "I can't walk. It hurts. My ankles and knee hurt". I reached to pull him up and he yelped again. "Don't touch my hand. My fingers hurt too bad". What in the world is going on?
I ran downstairs to wake Justin up and told him to call the doctor now! They told us to get him there at 9:15 - the first appointment of the day. Justin took him over and I called in some personal time for the morning. The doctor looked him all over, moved his limbs gently around, and order a large number of blood tests to check for everything from lupus and rheumatoid arthritis to a viral infection. Luckily there is a lab next door to the pediatrician's office, so Justin took him right over to have the blood drawn. Before they left, the doctor had advised him to keep JJ active so his joints remained loose and didn't tighten up. Justin thought it might help to take him swimming so that he'd be moving his joints, but wouldn't have the weight bearing on them. This wasn't the case. JJ was in and out the water within minutes. He said it just hurt too much to swim.
The afternoon was mostly spent with JJ on the couch with ice on his left fingers, ice on his right wrist, and ice on his right knee. He said he ankles were okay with out ice for now.
With JJ basically snuggled in for the night, I headed to worship team practice. I hadn't even really looked over what songs we were singing until I got there. What a blessing those songs were today! They were just what we needed in this moment. They were filled with lyrics about God being enough and all I'll ever need and faithfulness and blessings. Also a blessing are the women of the worship team and of the worship team Bible study, who also prayed with me for JJ and our family. While I was at practice, our pastor came to the house and prayed over JJ and with Justin. What another blessing indeed. Justin is struggling with this, as any father would be. It's hard because there just isn't anything we can do, except keep cycling through ice packs and bags of peas. Also while I was gone, JJ got a fever and his knee started to swell quite a bit. Justin called the doctor and he ordered a steroid for the inflammation.
I came home and played the worship songs for Justin. Even through all the unknowns, in that moment we knew that it was going to be okay. As we wept together, our spirits were lifted up knowing that God would be enough.
Darkness has settled over the sky, but we are clinging to the Light of Jesus. JJ is currently resting peacefully, which is a blessing. As the swelling in his knee progressed, it became harder and harder for him to walk. Justin would carry him to the bathroom, support him as he went, and then carry him back to the couch. I carried him outside for a bit as well in hopes that the cool breeze would feel good to him. He only lasted a little while before he wanted to lay down again.
Tomorrow is a new day and we're hoping that the lab results come in tomorrow rather than Wednesday when the doctor said to expect them. JJ's pediatrician is the doctor on call tonight, so again that is another blessing. We are clinging to the blessings, however small they may be, and not allowing the bumps in this road to drag us down. JJ is our son, but he is the child of a Heavenly Father who knows just what he needs and in what timing he needs it. It is in this that I place my trust.
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