@ 5 years 2 months 1 week 4 days
Ryan was down with a viral flu two weeks back. He had a mild fever on the Friday (17 June) and he got well on Sunday (19 June). On Monday morning (20 June), he woke up with a bad calves pain. Yes, it affects both side of his salves. Initially I thought he was playing pranks but when I saw him lying on the floor and was limping, I knew it was for real. So I rubbed on some Yue Yi oil and the affected area. After awhile he claimed he felt better but he was still limping. However, few hours later, his pain miraculously disappeared. I do not want him to waste his time doing nothing productive, so I asked if he wants to bake some cookies to which he delightfully said yes… yes to cookies time = in his definition to ‘mess’ time. That’s a separate post on our maiden cookies baking session.
That same Monday, in the late afternoon his pain striked again. Similarly, he complained of pain and discomfort and he couldn’t walk properly. Evidently he was limping again around the house. It really puzzles me as during his ‘ok’ hours, he was seen running around the house, playing kicking with YehYeh, jumping up and down on the bed. I ran a search on “growing pains” and found similarities on the symptoms but one thing to note was, growing pains almost never occured during the day. So the possibility of him suffering from growing pain is striked off. I came to read about the possibilities of more serious condition if the pain seem to affect the child persistently during the day/night. That scares me shit. You know how disastrous it can be by becoming one’s own doctor…
The next morning, it was same the old symptoms. The moment he stepped off the bed, his legs weakened and he could barely walk. Despite limping, he was acting normally. He told me the pain was bearable. Nevertheless, I decided to bring him to the paed. I felt a sense of relief after listening to what the doctor say. According to the doctor, eventhough the first for me, this condition is actually very common. It can occur prior or post a viral infection. In Ryan’s case, it was a post viral infection symptom. I felt I needed more assurance to ensure Ryan’s okay and asked if there’s a need to run a blood test or X-ray but Doc insist that was not necessary. He presribed Ryan a tube of anti inflammatory cream to apply, assured me Ryan should get better in a few days’ time and sent us home. That afternoon, his pain miraculously gone, this time for good. I haven’t even unsealed the tube of cream and here he is, jumping, running, kicking like he never had any pain at all.
I gave Ryan permission to go on another day of MC on Wednesday (22 June) so I could monitor him for another day. In the morning, as usual, he woke up full of joy and energy. No more a limping baby…. *mommy smiles*
* I later found out from another doctor, Ryan’s condition is consistent with a very mild case of Viral Myositis - a very common diagnosis associated with viral infection. I definitely learn something new from this episode. I later had a chat with Ryan’s class teacher and she shared she did hear the same symptoms from other parents. Well, so I guess it’s not quite a rare case? I hope so….
