we are frail, we are fearfully and wonderfully made

Gosh! He looks like his Dad here! Well, I get so used to our family, and my kids especially, being fairly healthy, so it really shakes me up when one gets really sick. Warren, our oldest son, had been complaining of some pain since June or July, off and on. The pain seemed mostly in his right leg/knee, and would hurt for a day or two and he would limp severely, and then one day he'd be fine, play soccer, ride his bike, etc. We just thought maybe arch problems ("stop wearing flip-flops!") or growing pains ("here's an Advil"), but it still kept showing up every now and then. Then on Wednesday of last week, he was limping heavily again and avoided walking if he could. I was a little concerned, but then when he woke up the next morning and his right knee was the size of his head, I was definitely freaking out. He could barely walk, and was really lethargic. So we made an appt, spent all day seeing nurse practitioners, Drs, lab techs, and an orthopaedist. The ortho decided Warren's knee needed to be aspirated, as there was way too much fluid to leave in there. My little guy was very tough during the very painful procedure, and the Dr was amazed at his stoicism (so was I!). Yesterday the blood/fluid tests all came back positive for Lyme disease. No, we don't remember seeing a tick, and no, we never saw the "bulls-eye", and no, he hasn't run any fevers. Very strange, but here we are. For about 28 days he'll be on antibiotics, and hopefully that will be enough to kill the bacteria that's attacking his body. Poor guy is so tired and the pain is intermittent right now. He's handling it pretty well, just asking anxiously every now and then if they'll need to stick another needle in his knee. I am thankful this wasn't anything more serious, and that there are such good treatments for Lyme these days. And I have a lot to be thankful for, including that this was the first time I have taken a child in for a "sick" Dr visit in 3 years! I think God has been very gracious. He is so good -- all the time.