My DD who is 9 injured her ankle last Easter Monday (2011). She did a handstand and came down on her ankle with her opposite knee causing an inversion injury. She continued to walk on it for about 10 days before she said that it was really hurting, as she had an outwards bounds type school trip looming I thought it best to get it checked out. I give pretty short shrift to any medical things, unless it's hanging off or your are vomiting you go to school! Anyway, we went to a and e, we didn't see a doctor just a nurse, he said that there was nothing wrong, didn't x-ray said it wasn't even a sprain and to keep mobile.
After the school trip it was worse so I took her to a and e again and they x-rayed her ankle, there seemed to be a banana shaped piece of bone sitting below her ankle, they couldn't decide if it was a chip/break or a growth plate. The sent us off with a bandage and told us to rest it, a week later it was still hurting a lot so we went to see the GP, she sent the hospital a fax and asked them to re-examine the x-ray which they did, they then decided to put a cast on her leg. The cast was on for 4 weeks, it was removed and she was x-rayed again. They said all was normal and gave her an air cast to wear for a few weeks and told us that she should begin to weight bear on it a bit. She said it was still hurting a lot so when we went back to fracture clinic 3 weeks later for what should have been our last appointment they decided to re-x-ray, the radiographer refused to x-ray again and said that she needed some other form of imaging such as MRI or ultrasound. It was around this time that her ankle started clicking, upwards of 30 or so times a day, when it makes this clicking/popping sound she has a lot of pain.
They decided an MRI was to be done but the waiting list was very long. So we went back to the GP who referred us to see an private orthopaedic consultant he then ordered the MRI at a private hospital. MRI came back a normal but it was noted that there was oedema (swelling) of the ankle bone. He referred us to a private physio, so we saw the physio and we got down to using one crutch, it seemed to be going well. She came off the crutches and air cast just in time to go on our holidays on the 20th August. On our holidays (aboard a cruise ship) after about 5 days she said her ankle hurt again and she refused to weight bear on it, we saw the ships nurse and purchased some crutches for her. She spent the remainder of the cruise on crutches and refused to leave the boat at all for day trips etc.
When we got back from the holiday we went back to the private consultant who reiterated that there was nothing wrong and that he would refer us onto a paediatrician via the NHS at the local children's hospital, we were also to continue with physio, which we did. We got to see the paediatrician in November, he says that it is a somatoform injury (ie there is physical pain but no physical reason for it) he wanted us to use NHS physio so he could liaise with them and also he wanted us to go for EFT (emotional freedom technique), I found someone locally who could do this for us and paid for DD to see her once a week for 5 weeks (private medical insurance wouldn't cover this it was seen as too alternative).
We never heard from the NHS physio despite me chasing it up twice, I gave up in the end they were worse than useless. Stupidly I didn't go back to the private physio because the doctor told me not to, I really regret that decision. The EFT seemed to help a bit and with an awful lot of persuasion/bribery we got her off the crutches at the beginning of December, she was still refusing to weight bear properly on this foot (basically she was walking normally on one foot and on tip toes on the other foot). We went on like this for a few weeks and finally went back to the GP in January, he said to give it 2 more weeks and to come back if there was no improvement, I left it 3 weeks and went back, they have now referred us to see a paediatric ankle and foot specialist in London. We have to wait until 17th March for this appt (this is a private apt not NHS).
In the meantime DD has 'gone over' on her ankle again and is now back on crutches and pain medication (calpol and neurofen 3 x daily which she says only vaguely helps with the pain), so last night in desperation we went to a and e again (I'm pretty sure we have a black mark against our name now!), they talked to us and the doctor who was lovely has referred us back to the paediatrician we saw in November on a urgent basis (hopefully to be seen in 2-4 weeks).
I am at a loss, I think that if the paediatric ankle/foot specialist can't find anything wrong then she has to accept it. I almost hope that she does find something wrong so at least we can have it sorted even if it does involve an operation of some sorts. If there truly isn't anything wrong I don't know how I'm ever going to get her off her crutches. She sobs and cries with the pain most days and I'm starting to feel like crying with her.
Anyone got any ideas, anyone even managed to read to the end of this?!
Arghhhhhhhhhh