Kohler's Disease

Thomas had been limping on his right leg for about 3 days and it wasn't getting any better, in fact I thought it was getting worse.  We weren't really sure what he did to his leg, he thought he hurt it at his soccer game.So I took him in to see the doctor on Monday. The doctor sent us over to the hospital for x-rays, thinking he could have broken a non-weight bearing bone in his leg. He had booth legs x-rayed so they would have something to compare.  I tried explaining to Thomas that he was going to get a picture taken of his leg b/c we were going to see if a bone was broken.  He asked me if his leg was going to be cut open.  Poor kid, I said no, the were just going to take a picture.  In the end Thomas thought getting his legs x-rayed was pretty cool.

It was late in the day when we went for x-rays, so I wasn't anticipating hearing back until Tuesday morning.  As Tuesday progressed I still hadn't heard back, so I called the doctor's office.  The doctor was out of the office that day.  Would it be okay if he called me on Wednesday?  I said no because I was waiting to hear if he had broken his leg.  The nurse called me back and said, it wasn't broken, but the x-rays showed some differences between the feet and the doctor would call me in the morning.

Wednesday came and I waited and checked my phone frequently to be sure I didn't miss the phone call.  The doctor finally calls around 2:30.  He tells me that Thomas has a rare disease called Kohler's disease. One of the bones in his foot is not getting blood, therefore it is breaking down causing all the pain in the foot for Thomas.  Over time the bone will regrow, but this could take up to two years.  For those of you who want the more specifics, here is link: Kohler's Disease.

There isn't much that can be done for Thomas' foot.  It is a self-limiting disease (meaning it will heal on its own and no treatment will really speed this up).  We are supposed to limit his activity.  We got him fitted for a walking boot.  We will see a specialist on October 15th.  Hopefully we will learn more.

He is coping fairly well.  He doesn't like to wear the walking boot, even though it helps the pain in his foot.  He has handled not being able to play soccer for rest of the season, having to sit out during PE, and having a low key recess.  We have explained to him what is going on, but we don't think he really grasps what is happening or how long it might take to heal.  Hopefully he will continue to have a positive attitude as we continue along this journey.

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