The Biopsy

Doug is scheduled for a muscle biopsy tomorrow. It's purely a diagnostic, and supposively quite routine. The thing is, it's not routine for us.

They're going to take 2 square cm of muscle out of his left thigh. That sounds like a lot of muscle. We've been reassured by the doctor doing the work as well as several physiotherapists and other doctors that it won't impact his development. He is supposed to be up to his old tricks (with some minor pain that Tylenol can handle) in a matter of days. I guess the muscle is a big one, and kids are resiliant or something. The purpose of this is to measure the Dystrophin in his muscles. This is supposed to help figure out the timelines of the onset of his symptoms. This, in turn, is supposed to help decide on treatment options and timing.

But in the meantime, we will have scarred Doug for life. I know, a scar on his leg (5cm- and will grow with him) isn't anything compared to what he will be going through eventually, but it's the first big reminder that he's not a normal 2 year old anymore. The inscision will require some form of dressing or tape on it for 3 months. That's a long time. We've agonized long and hard over the decision to do this. It's not easy to send your child under the knife for "unnecessary" surgery, no matter how competent the doctors are.

And I guess that's why I'm frustrated with the hospital. His surgery is tomorrow - but we still don't know when. We might have to be at the hospital as early as 6am. We might not have to be there until the afternoon. How do you plan around that? The steps for taking care of Samantha when you leave the house at 5am are much different from 2pm. The uncertainly isn't really all that significant, yet it weighs heavily on our minds.

I think this is hitting Allison even harder. Pray for strength and peace of mind for her. And pray for the results. Up to now, we've pretty much received mostly "worst case" news. Not a balance problem, MD. Not Beckers, but Duschene. I'm not sure where the breaking point is, but I really don't want to test my emotional stability anymore.