My 7 year old.

Earlier this week my son was diagnosed with a rare bone disease called Perthes Disease. It basically is a condition in which all the sudden the blood stops flowing to the upper ball of his femur. When this happens the bone begins to crush. It started as a limp last weekend during his baseball games, and 3 days later he is now on crutches and cannot place any weight on it without severe pain. This disease is what Bo Jackson had as a child, and what lead to his sudden retirement when he was in the prime of his career.

My wife and I are faced with a difficult decision to put him through a very difficult surgery where the pelvis and femur are relocated so that less stress is placed on the hip joint. If we go that route, it's a week long in the hospital, and 6-8 weeks in a body cast up to his chest following the surgery. OR, we can do nothing more than therapy and keep his weight off till the bone begins to re-harden which could be months, possibly 1-2 years. Either way, he now faces a long road of hip problems and hip replacement surgeries, and physical therapy throughout his life. There are no guarantees of helping the problem with the surgery, or if we do nothing.

Sports are my son's life.....he plays basketball, baseball, and football. He had made the travel team this year for baseball and we had just gotten his uniform for their upcoming games. Needless to say, for us to tell him that he can no longer play this year was devastating on all of us. With luck, he will regain most the use of the hip joint and can possibly play next Spring.

Anyway, we are leaning toward not doing the surgery...and putting it in God's hands. I'm not overlooking the blessing of how much worse this could be, but for a 7 year old it's pretty bad. Please keep Kyle in your prayers and help Him guide us to the right decisions. Thanks.