A Few Updates

Reece was in for another blood check this morning at Children’s.  While Children’s is a great hospital, it is not my favorite place to go.  Of course our reason for being there is my biggest reason for not wanting to be there, but now that we have been around this block a few times, I have other issues with the place–specifically the lab.  For starters, the blood draws are taken in a shared lab that is just like any other lab in any other clinic.  For being a kids’ hospital with a hematology/oncology specialty, it seems they would have those capabilities right in the hema clinic.  Second, there aren’t any special techniques they use that are geared towards helping your child cope with a blood draw.  Reece sits on my lap, I do my best to distract him, and I ultimately end up pinning his arm down while he whimpers or cries.  It royally sucks.  In every other dimension (including our doctor and the staff we’ve worked with), they are great, so I have very few complaints.  But when your child is there for a blood disorder, you want them to get the blood-drawing approach and process right.  It has been a totally different, much less stressful experience at the U of MN, so I am hoping we are done at Children’s for a long while. 

We were at Children’s a couple of weeks ago for a blood check and other than the red cells being large, his neutrophils had taken a huge dive.  Today’s appointment was a follow-up to see whether or not his neutrophils had recovered; they have not.  The doctor told us that in a regular clinic setting, this would send doctors into a panic, but in the hematology clinic, this is relatively normal.  In fact, he felt like the number was pretty good, all things considered.  It does mean, however, that he is more susceptible to infections.  Apparently, viral infections are not as big of an issue, but bacterial infections can be more problematic in this case.  Either way, if he happens to get a fever of 101 F or higher, we have to take him to the ER to determine if it is bacterial and, if so, he may need to be admitted for a couple of days to monitor his body’s recovery.  Additionally, as we are so close to work-up week (13 days, but who’s counting?) any infection or health-related issue could delay the transplant process.  We will need to be very cautious.  Our days of playing at the gym are probably over and our holiday gatherings will be interesting.  I already feel like I am a Purellaholic, so now what category will I fall into, “neurotic mother”?  Maybe I need a Purell holster and a t-shirt that reads, “Type-A, concerned parent, and proud of it.” 

In other news, I had my monthly OB appointment yesterday and it went really well.  I absolutely love my OB doc, so that helps.  My belly measured at 22 weeks.  22 WEEKS, people!!  That is two weeks ahead of schedule–I think this is a first for me!  The heartbeat sounded great and despite the small measurements during our ultrasound a couple of weeks back, everything appears to be normal (praise!).  We’ll be in next week for our follow-up ultrasound.  Your continued prayers are welcome and appreciated. 

As we get closer to January 3rd, I can tell the pressure is mounting.  I know next week will be especially hard.  If it’s on your heart, we’d appreciate prayers for an enjoyable holiday period, rest, and peace of mind.  Of course my number one constant prayer request is for either Reece’s miraculous healing before this whole thing starts or complete healing through transplant with no side effects.  God can do anything, right?  I’m asking for big things.  Thanks, all, for lifting us up.