It's Just a Bug Bite, Right? No, It's Not.

Two months ago Jackson had a “bug bite” on the right side of his head, above his ear. The darn thing swelled up but that was nothing new for Jackson, he reacts that way to mosquito bites sometimes. The swelling went down and he was left with a normal looking “bug bite”. The bite stuck around but was less pronounced. He lost the hair in that area (weird) and the “bug bite” got a little red and looked like dry skin in its reduced form.

After about 4 weeks of this I felt uncomfortable with how long it was sticking around so we met with his pediatrician. She thought it might be an ingrown hair and prescribed antibiotics with instructions to let her know if anything changed (began to hurt, itch, swell, etc). The bump really didn’t change, it just continued on as a red spot with no hair. Chris and I were glad it slowly reduce in size and almost completely went away. Well, a week later at a hair appointment the stylist asked us if we knew about the bump. I was confused because while there was no hair there the bump was gone. She had us feel and, sure enough, a little above where the original bump had been was another bump. This one was more under the skin, whereas the other bump was more outward. I planned to call his pediatrician on Monday to have him be seen again.

 The next day the bump changed, it was bigger and elongated. I freaked and called the nurse hotline who told me to request to be seen Monday. Our pediatrician knew about the bump so when I called Monday she sent us right to radiology for an ultrasound. She had the radiologist read the ultrasound and call her immediately so within 30 minutes of the ultrasound we met with her to get the results. Unfortunately, neither she nor the radiologist could figure out what it was. They could tell us that it was solid and that it was above the skull. The radiologist also said that it doesn’t exhibit the classic malignant tendencies but he can’t tell exactly what it is. So, we were referred to a surgeon with whom we met with Friday. He looked at the ultrasound, met with Jackson and told us that he wants the mass out as soon as we can. It’s not so much that he thought it was malignant but he couldn't tell what it was buy the ultrasound or visually. Because it’s a mystery the doctors didn't want to take any chances that it is something worse.

So, Jackson had surgery on Tuesday to have it removed. I had no idea how many times my heart would break that day from his little comments but it did many times. Pre-surgery comments:

"Will there be a hole in my head?"

"Are they going to mess with my brain?"

"I didn't sign up for this!" <-- blood.="blood." couldn="couldn" crying="crying" draw="draw" find="find" font="font" his="his" t="t" they="they" to="to" vein="vein" when="when">

"I want to go home."

 

He was so anxious and scared. The nurse did give him Versed before they wheeled him back. This is a relaxant that helps diminish the memories of the before and after surgery events. They wheeled him back to surgery and he was fine (half with it), I was not. Thank God Chris is strong because I fell apart. And not just when they wheeled him back but long before that. I greatly overestimated my ability to handle myself as a Mom when I was put into an utterly helpless and scared position.

 

They called us back when he was out of surgery in recovery. He was screaming and calling for us. Again, another heart breaking time. He was half with it and all he could say were things like:

"It hurts!"

"I want to go home!"

"I can't take the pain Mom!"

"I'm just one big boo-boo!"

"My head!!!!!!"

 

My reaction to this pleading was to demand the nurse give him more pain medication. She did but that took 45 min to sink in. The nurse unhooked him from his IVs and let us hold him. He was in and out of consciousness and trying to catch his breath from all the crying. He would wake up every 2 minutes or so and complain about the pain and start crying again.

 

We managed to get him dressed the best we could and I carried him out and sat with him in the back of the car on the way home. He fell asleep and when we got home I laid on the couch with him on my chest for a long time. He slept awhile. My Mom came up to see how he was and brought a care package from her, my Dad and my sister and her family. The care package consisted of a beautiful arrangement of flowers, Packer paraphernalia and a favorite book of Jackson's, "I Spy". THANK YOU!!!!

 

Jackson woke up awhile later and was like a new kid. The anaesthetic and Versed were out of his system and the additional pain meds had kicked in. The next few days were low key but by Thursday he was ready for school.

 

The best news is that on Friday we received a call from the surgeon that the pathology results came back fine. Talk about relief.

 

Chris, Jackson and I only endured a minor scare. My heart goes out to all of those parents who endure serious medical issues with their child. I don't know how you do it.

 

 

Getting his ultrasound and keeping Mom close by.

 

Playing Rock, Paper, Scissors with Dad while we wait for the surgeon.

 

 On our way to the hospital for the surgery. He read his Safari book (from Uncle Mike!) on the way there.

 

Putting on his gown. This is about the time the reality of the whole thing sat in form both he and I.

 

 Sitting in bed with his favorite stuffed animal and the little stuffed monkey with the surgical hat on he received from the nursing staff.

This photo was before the needle sticking began...which is why we're both smiling.

 

 Playing a reading game on the iPad to pass the time.

At home 4 hours post-surgery with his awesome loot from Grandma, Grandpa, Tanta and Family. 

Jackson and I relaxing that evening by the fire. We both fell asleep at 7:30 PM.

You can kind of see the cut and stitches on the side of his head. We have close up pictures but it's gross so I didn't post them.