Doctor visits are usually discouraging for us, because they seem to always find something else wrong with our boys. However, yesterday was different. What a relief it was to hear from a specialist, “Your child’s hip joints are perfectly normal!”
Getting into see this highly qualified doctor was a direct answer to prayer. We had planned to go to the Institute of Orthopedics this week, but did not know with which doctor we should make an appointment. The last time we were at the Institute with our older boys, we were not impressed with the doctor we saw. Not wanting to end up seeing the same doctor and wasting our referral, we prayed that God would somehow help us to know which doctor we should go to. (In Ukraine, when one is referred to higher medical institution, a specific doctor is not assigned.) This past Sunday, we asked our church to pray about Andriy’s supposed hip problem. A lady came up to us after the service and recommended one doctor in particular at the Institute of Orthopedics, where her daughter’s serious hip condition had been treated with great success.
In this doctor’s office yesterday, she told us emphatically that Andriy did not have hip dysplasia. Apparently, the previous x-ray had been improperly taken, not allowing for accurate evaluation of the joints’ positions. Another x-ray was ordered and it confirmed the doctor’s assesment. For joy, we could hardly believe it was true, so our doctor showed the x-ray to another doctor and he agreed that Andriy’s hip joints are as they should be. “If she says your son is ‘ok’, you can believe her,” he told us. “Only one out of fifty parents hear that from her.” What a tremendous relief and blessing! God is so merciful and we praise His wonderful Name.
The doctor did say that, as with our other boys, Andriy has hypermobility (see link for a general description http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypermobility), but this is far better than hip dysplasia, which would most likely have required one or more surgeries and many other difficulties.
Thank you all so much for your prayers and letters of encouragement. We feel privileged to have so many people caring for and praying with us in times like these. God bless you all.