POWERBALL, ANYONE? in QUOTIDIEN

For as long as I can remember, whenever my daughter hurt somewhere, she would grasp my hand and lay it over the 'owie'. Naively, I believed that she was demanding a 'laying of hands' for healing. A wordless request for healing.

Then she learned the word FEEL - and she set me straight. Taking my hand, she laid it upon a scratch and said, 'Owww! FEEL, Mamamamamaaaa!'

She's 14 now, and though logically she gets that I cannot feel her pain...not really, she came to me several months ago, asking me to feel her wrist. 'It's killing me, Mom. I keep telling you.' Because I have a history of problematic synovial cysts, I suspected she'd inherited more than my big feet and fabulous hair. Knowing the protocol, we went out and bought a splint. She has been wearing it for three months now, with occasional breaks to check progress.

I never saw a bump though sometimes there'd be swelling. We saw the specialist on Wednesday. He didn't see a bump, either - but took an X-ray. He brought us into his office and showed us the results. There were all kinds of words thrown around as he pointed to a moon-like bone with a thick white ridge. 'Sclerosed', he said. 'Necrotic'. 'Disparity' he used as he pointed out the different lengths of the radius and ulna. He concluded by saying he does not believe there is a cyst, deep-lying or otherwise. 'We want to check for something called KIENBOCK's Disease. Presents just like this. We don't want it to be this....:muttermutter:......no differential for what I see......'

MRI was Friday, and the torturous wait until Tuesday afternoon was underway.

Meanwhile, I've done some research.

Kienbocks Disease affects the lunate which is the major bone of your wrist. At some point, the blood flow to the lunate becomes compromised, and the bone begins to die. Oh yeah - another term: aseptic osteo necrosis. Many with K.D. have short ulnas compared to the radius, creating an unnatural pressure on the lunate, further compromising the bone, contributing to it's eventual collapse.

It usually occurs in the dominant hand in men between the ages of 17-40, though reading through support boards, I can see that it isn't uncommon in children or in non-dominant hand.

Kienbock's Is a rare disease, affecting only .0006% of Americans.

If MRI confirms, I'm giving Anne-Marie $20 and making her pick Powerball numbers!!