Soccer Guys Don't Like Deer Ticks

We signed Ricky up for his first soccer experience this summer. He participated in a Tiny Tot Soccer team that played every Wednesday evening for 6 weeks. I was able to be an assistant coach (which doesn't mean much except that Andrew ran wild during most practices, but Emily and Makayla took pretty good care of him).

Overall, the experience was OK. Remember that post about Lyme Disease last month? Well, Ricky just hasn't been himself since then. He was complaining of leg and back pain, was easily exhausted and unusually emotional. I took him to the Dr. three times in order to get to the root of the problem--a mom knows when their child isn't well and he was not well.

The first two Dr. visits are documented in that other post. The nurse at the Quick Care Clinic said he had Lyme Disease (which at the time I didn't believe and I am sorry for that). She had him see his usual Dr. the next day to confirm with a blood test. The Dr. did not order the test and instead said he had hives. I believed her diagnosis and the odd-looking rash went away within a few days.

However, the rash came back a week later. In addition to the rash, Ricky was waking up at night complaining that his legs hurt. I took him to the Dr. again. Again, they looked at his rash and told me--just hives (again). This time, I was uncomfortable with the diagnosis. Who gets hives so often? And what about the leg pain?

When Ricky's symptoms continued, I was concerned. Not only did his legs hurt, but now his back and arms. He wouldn't run, and when he walked or bent over, he looked like an arthritic old man. He was clearly in pain. I took him into the Dr. once again and told her the symptoms, AGAIN. This time blood and urine tests were ordered and Lyme Disease was confirmed. How frustrating!!

We are now treating him with antibiotics 3 times a day for the next month. We expect a full recovery, but a diagnosis like that is scary. Already, Busy Happy Ricky is back and we are so glad to be rid of Grumpy Old Man Ricky. His last soccer game was actually fun for him as he could run around and participate. Earlier in the season, he hated soccer. Last night, he was asking when we would let him play again.

The girls and Andrew liked coming to the games too (believe it or not). One night, Emily and Makayla made beautiful head wreaths with some flowers.

Pretty girls, huh. I just hope those flowers weren't teeming with deer ticks! My fond feelings for the wildlife and scenery around here are much dimmed with this last experience. There are way too many deer here, and I could definitely do without their buggy friends. Stupid ticks!

The following is an addition to this post written on August 8:

So, I couldn't sleep the other night with lots of thoughts running through my head and I realized that Ricky has had Lyme Disease since May--not June like we originally thought. One week after his birthday he was REALLY sick. He had a high fever for a week, a weird rash, and woke up during the night screaming that his legs hurt. By the end of the week, he wouldn't even walk because the pain was so bad. I think I might have written about this in the earlier post about Lyme Disease. Well, after two visits to the Dr. that week, he was prescribed antibiotics for strep (even though both tests--long and short--were negative). A few days later, he seemed to be better, but two weeks later that weird rash showed up again.

Now I realize that one awful week was when he first showed Lyme Disease symptoms. The antibiotics he took did not completely rid his body of the bacteria because they were the type that is most effective for strep but not meant for Lyme Disease. Instead, the antibiotics lessened the symptoms and lengthened the time of him having the disease until the bacteria attacked again in full force in June and July. How awful!

So, not three but FIVE visits to the Doctor. I like Dr. Saunders as a person, but from now on, she won't be seeing our children. We are transferring all of our paperwork to a pediatrician.