We saw him back in January for an infection in his bone, which he had already had for a number of months at that point. In January, the X-ray showed that it was time for him to have an operation to have the dead, infected bone removed. So we wrote a referral to his local hospital, where he was from and where they have a surgeon trained in orthopedics, to have the operation. He never went.
Yesterday he shows up in my room complaining of arm pain, and then he removes his shirt and I find his humerus on the wrong side of the skin (which is bad, for those non medical folks who read this.) God made our bodies very smart and somehow our body knows that it has to get rid of the infection, and so it works itself out of the body in an attempt to get rid of it, saying if you won't go to the doctor to do it, I will do it for you. Thankfully not only does our body remove the bad bone, but it also regrows new bone at the same time. I don't always understand why people wait as long as they do to come and see us. There really is nothing subtle about this, the bone has been slowing growing out of his arm for at least a month or more. Why did they wait? Why didn't they come in sooner? I will never understand the reasons behind the delay, my hope is that this kid will get better, that he will be able to use his arm in the future, that the infection can be gotten under control. Please pray for him.