You must be kidding?

      I'm not even sure where to begin, really.  For anyone that knows our struggles with Colin from the time he was born until now, I know what you are going to say when you hear the news. You are going to say,  " Can't you catch a break?"  or " Are you kidding me?" and in all honesty, that is exactly what I am saying. What else could possibly happen?
     Well, what could happen is this... Colin could come down from taking his bath and say" Dad, what's this? " (Pointing to the bone that seems to be protruding from his chest.) I touch it and it seems tender and he says it kinda hurts. He tells me it hurts when he breathes in and wants to do his inhaler. I consider taking him to the ER but of course, do my own assessment. He is not really in pain and he is breathing fine ( I think it just hurts for him to breathe deep). He is acting normal and so I just comfort him and put him to bed. I check on him throughout the night to make sure he is breathing.
     We get in to our pediatrician the next day. He does his "tests" and looks at me with a nod, "I think it's scoliosis." I immediately think of a former student that had scoliosis and I remember how difficult it was for her. She had to wear a brace 24/7 for some time. I then remember our school nurse's daughter had it but she had to have surgery. I remember the surgery was tough. A long recovery. My heart sinks. Why,why why? 
     We get the xray results back almost immediately and the news is worse. "There are many things going on " my pediatrician says. He refers us to an Orthopedic surgeon and within 24 hours we have an appointment. I know what this fast turn around means, it means our pediatrician put an "urgent" stamp on it. It is unheard of for things to happen this fast, especially when you have to get in to see a specialist. 
     Of course, I googled everything my peditrician shared about the xray results. And, of course, I have made my own diagnosis. Things do not look good. He has 2 issues going on, one in the upper spine area and one in the lower back. Based on the degree of the curves,etc. I think he will probably need surgery to correct it. Maybe I am jumping to conclusions but maybe I am not. I just do not have a good feeling about this. 
     I'm sad because if this is true I just don't know how much more this kid can take. I am sad because we just planned his whole summer and signed him up for a variety of fun camps that he is very excited about. That makes me sad because if this is true, he is going to have the worst summer ever. 
     I know that things could be worse and I know that this will not be the end of the world (but it will just suck for a while). I also know I should not jump to conclusions and maybe this can all be corrected with a brace. I know I need to have a positive attitude and I know that some things are out of my control. I know I shouldn't worry until we find out what is really going on and what the expert has to say. I know that in the end, everything will work out, it always does. 
     Our appointment is Tuesday. I hope I have good news to report. Unitl then, for my friends that have a connection with God, please keep us in your prayers. I appreciate that.