Tyler's owie

A couple of months ago, Tyler developed this bump on his arm. It turned red and never went away. He said it didn't hurt, but we still wondered about it. When I went to a derm appointment for myself, I took him along with me to see if the Doctor thought I needed to bring him in. She said it was odd and should be removed and biopsied. That was in May. It was pretty much just shaved off. I was able to have a friend take the other 2 children for me, so it was great alone time with my oldest child. He was a bit nervous at the unknown of the procedure, but he put on a very brave face. The toughest part is when they deadened the skin. I got really close to his face and sang to him and told him to just look in my eyes. He did, and although I could see the pain in his eyes as they poked him, he continued to be strong. It only lasted about 10 seconds, that scared pain in his eyes, but it broke my heart and I also fetl so proud of him. The Doctor told him he was much braver than most adults he knew. Tyler smiled and felt happy that he was so brave.

When I got the call from the office a few days later, words like "atypical" and "stitches" jumped out at me. They said the Doctor said they didn't get it all and could tell there was some left and they'd have to dig in deeper which would require stitches. I felt so bad that my boy had been so brave and he thought it was over. His skin was starting to heal and they'd have to cut it open again. Once again, we went alone, and this time, he knew what he was getting into. This was in June. We had a lot to time waiting in our room on the DR. table and I sat up next to him as we laid back and counted the ceiling tiles. To distract him, I gave him gum and as I blew bubbles with mine, I taught him how to blow bubbles. We just sat there shoulder to shoulder half way laying on the dr. table and practiced blowing bubbles over and over...laughing. He actually blew his first bubble and since then, he's kept it up. It was a special time for me and I hope it was for him, too. The doctor came in eventually and once again he had to have the skin deadened and it hurt him. He was so brave again and I could tell he wanted to cry, but he kept it in. I tried to understand from the Doctor what it was that was on Tyler's arm. Spitz Nevus is what he called it. He said it looks very similar to Melanoma and if Tyler were an 80 year old man, he'd treat it like skin cancer, but on a 7 year old, he doesn't think it is......ummmm...doesn't THINK it is? So is this supposed to make me feel better? He is a great guy and a great doctor, but his explanations and the googling I've done didn't put me at too much rest. After the 2nd procedure he came back and said that there was still a piece of the edge left in there. He wasn't worried about it, but if I wanted they'd cut again. Do I WANT my son to have to go through with it if my doctor doesn't think it is harmful? Sheesh, I don't like this decision. He said to let it heal for the summer and we'll look at it again just before school starts and decide. So I guess that's where we are.