Mystery Illness

Over Christmas, Sydney was out of sorts.  She ran a low grade fever and woke up in the middle of the night clearly not feeling well.  Of course, this started when the doctor's office was closed for the holiday.  So on Christmas Day we took her to Urgent Care, where the doctor diagnosed her with her first ear infection.  Sydney finally slept well Christmas night, but that was mainly due to the Zyrtec the doctor had us give her because her throat looked red.

When Sydney's pediatrician reopened after Christmas, we brought her in as a follow up.  We also wanted the doctor to take a look at one of Sydney's fingers.  A few weeks before Christmas, Blake and I noticed a small knot on her middle finger on her right hand, on the surgical site.  We thought it was possibly a callus from where her fingers are curved in and tend to rub together.  It also reminded me of what a cyst looks like.  I had called the pediatrician and spoken with two different nurses to get their opinion.  We really wanted to avoid bringing her to UNC if it wasn't necessary.  Both nurses asked about the bump itself: was it hard or soft to touch? Was it hot? How big was it? Did it seem to bother Sydney? Had we noticed it grow? The second nurse suggested we call UNC to see what their thoughts were.  The nurse Blake spoke with had us make an appointment but said it wasn't an emergency, so the appointment was set for a couple weeks out.

Well, by the time we followed up with the pediatrician about the ear infection, the bump had become larger and red.  So, after the doctor checked her ears (and said she did NOT have an infection) we focused on her finger.  Now let me say that Sydney is a good patient for a 16 month old, but when someone starts messing with her hands she gets a little testy- not that anyone can even begin to blame her.  The pediatrician said she wasn't sure what the bump was, but that she wanted us to follow up again with Sydney's surgeon.  She felt that it was infected and didn't want to wait too long before she was seen.  She said she wasn't comfortable lancing (OUCH) it because it was directly on the surgical site. 

UNC put Sydney on an antibiotic (via the pediatrician) and said it was ok to wait until our appointment date, that we didn't need to move it up.  In the meantime, the bump definitely seemed to drain, although we never saw it happen.  When we finally made it in to see Sydney's surgeon, I was surprised at what she thinks it is.  She feels as though it is a stitch that Sydney's body has not absorbed.  The only way she can know for 100% is to open it up and look.  Well, that requires a trip to the OR.  At this point, she is having us wait it out.  We will go back in four months if things stay status quo.  However, if it becomes infected again, gets larger, or seems to bother Sydney it sounds like we are going to have to make an earlier trip to the OR than we hoped. 

Now, that last part about if it bothers Sydney is the hard part.  I told the doctor that I think it does somewhat bother Sydney.  It certainly does not hold her back in anyway- she uses the hand as she always has.  But there are moments when I wonder if it does in fact hurt her.  The part that worries me the most is that Sydney has a high pain tolerance: she cut two molars and we really didn't know until the pediatrician felt them during a well check.  I think that pain doesn't compare to what she felt following surgery (these are all my assumptions).

So it's a holding pattern for now....we like the pattern we are in, so we are hopeful to remain in it, or move into a pattern where the bump is gone!

Not at the doctor's office, but still cute as can be!