My Son, My Hero
Tougher than most...
Thursday, December 13, 2007 by messiah1 | Discussion: WinCustomize Talk
Well...after getting on the internet and looking up a few things we took our son Ethan to the doctor on Thursday due to some unusual nasty bruising he was getting all over his body. We were sent directly to the hospital for some blood work. We were told to stay put and wait. We were then sent back to the doctor where he informed us that he was pretty positive he didn't have leukemia but thought he may have what's called ITP (Immune Thrombocytopenic Purpura) and that we needed to get him up to Lutheran Hospital ASAP to see a hematologist, Dr. O'Brian. They would be waiting for us. Let me tell you what....when you can get in to see a specialist without an appointment like right now you know it's serious.
Once we got to Lutheran they took more blood and we found out that ITP is a bleeding disorder caused when your body's defense system mounts an attack and destroys healthy blood platelets thinking they are disease-causing agents. Well, your platelets maintain the integrity of the blood vessels and basically keep you from bleeding to death when you get an injury. A normal platelet count is 150,000 to 400, 000. Anything less than 10,000 is considered an emergency. His count at Huntington was 10,000. By the time we got to Lutheran it was 7,000.
He was admitted into the children's hospital and given an IVIG, which is an infusion of healthy plasma that lasted about six hours. Besides taking his blood four times (a lot of it I might add) and having to put in an IV five times (he pulled out two in his sleep, two veins blew, and they had to put the final IV in his foot which meant he could not get out of bed for about 24 hours); one of the side affects of the IVIG is nausea. So he spent most of the day Friday puking everything he ate or drank back up so they ended up hooking him up to fluids. By Friday night his platelet count was up to 30,000 and by Saturday morning 85,000. They let us come home then. Now....we wait....and see if his body is going to maintain a normal platelet count. He has to go in once a week for a blood test.
During this whole ordeal Ethan was so brave and seldom cried and never had to be held down while everyone poked and prodded him over and over. It was so heartbreaking for us to see him go thru that but we were so proud of him for being so brave. We were told he may never have an episode again or he may have to deal with this his whole life. We'll just have to wait and see. In the meantime he has to take it easy. No craziness. Like jumping around on the furniture or from one bed to the next or basically anything a rambunctious three year old boy loves to do because of the chance of injury, especially a head injury. If you have a three year old boy you know that is easier said than done.
Why post here...I need to vent. It's frustrating for me to have to see my child go through that. All the while they were sticking needles in him, to see him look over at me with his pleading eyes seeming to say "Daddy, they're hurting me." And I couldn't do anything because I know that they are helping him...
He's a trooper. He's my hero.
Once we got to Lutheran they took more blood and we found out that ITP is a bleeding disorder caused when your body's defense system mounts an attack and destroys healthy blood platelets thinking they are disease-causing agents. Well, your platelets maintain the integrity of the blood vessels and basically keep you from bleeding to death when you get an injury. A normal platelet count is 150,000 to 400, 000. Anything less than 10,000 is considered an emergency. His count at Huntington was 10,000. By the time we got to Lutheran it was 7,000.
He was admitted into the children's hospital and given an IVIG, which is an infusion of healthy plasma that lasted about six hours. Besides taking his blood four times (a lot of it I might add) and having to put in an IV five times (he pulled out two in his sleep, two veins blew, and they had to put the final IV in his foot which meant he could not get out of bed for about 24 hours); one of the side affects of the IVIG is nausea. So he spent most of the day Friday puking everything he ate or drank back up so they ended up hooking him up to fluids. By Friday night his platelet count was up to 30,000 and by Saturday morning 85,000. They let us come home then. Now....we wait....and see if his body is going to maintain a normal platelet count. He has to go in once a week for a blood test.
During this whole ordeal Ethan was so brave and seldom cried and never had to be held down while everyone poked and prodded him over and over. It was so heartbreaking for us to see him go thru that but we were so proud of him for being so brave. We were told he may never have an episode again or he may have to deal with this his whole life. We'll just have to wait and see. In the meantime he has to take it easy. No craziness. Like jumping around on the furniture or from one bed to the next or basically anything a rambunctious three year old boy loves to do because of the chance of injury, especially a head injury. If you have a three year old boy you know that is easier said than done.
Why post here...I need to vent. It's frustrating for me to have to see my child go through that. All the while they were sticking needles in him, to see him look over at me with his pleading eyes seeming to say "Daddy, they're hurting me." And I couldn't do anything because I know that they are helping him...
He's a trooper. He's my hero.
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kenwas
Reply #22 Friday, December 14, 2007 6:52 AM
Reply #22 Friday, December 14, 2007 6:52 AM
Hard stuff to deal with for sure watching the pleading eyes of your child and especially when being so brave! Lets pray that it was a one time event and those platelets get back up over 100,000. Best wishes and prayers to you and your family, especially the brave lad!
rickalot
Reply #24 Friday, December 14, 2007 7:18 AM
Reply #24 Friday, December 14, 2007 7:18 AM
Best wishes to you and yours hope this years present is that this was a one off.
eieio
Reply #25 Friday, December 14, 2007 7:36 AM
Reply #25 Friday, December 14, 2007 7:36 AM
Hope everything turns out well for your family, messiah. It's tough watching them go through something like that.
mrs_starkers
Reply #26 Friday, December 14, 2007 8:35 AM
Dave has taken the words out of my mouth, your family are in my prayers... he is such a cute little man and I bet he looks like you too
Reply #26 Friday, December 14, 2007 8:35 AM
tearing up. we are all adding you to our prayer lists and hope that everything turns out great for you and yours.
Dave has taken the words out of my mouth, your family are in my prayers... he is such a cute little man and I bet he looks like you too
Koasati
Reply #27 Friday, December 14, 2007 8:48 AM
Reply #27 Friday, December 14, 2007 8:48 AM
Glad to hear he is ok now, hopefully there will be no further episode with this.
I suspect he gets it from his dad.
He's a trooper. He's my hero.
I suspect he gets it from his dad.
killajosh
Reply #28 Friday, December 14, 2007 9:21 AM
Reply #28 Friday, December 14, 2007 9:21 AM
messiah, be proud of Ethan. And be strong for him. Your family is in my prayers bro.....
And look out for him. That second picture makes me think he might wanna take you down (very Rambo-ish look on his face)....
And look out for him. That second picture makes me think he might wanna take you down (very Rambo-ish look on his face)....
sydneysiders
Reply #30 Friday, December 14, 2007 1:40 PM
Reply #30 Friday, December 14, 2007 1:40 PM
nothing worse than seeing your kids ill and in pain.....how horrendous for you......sounds like he's in very good hands....he is a trooper and here's hoping he doesn't have to go through this again......
vStyler
Reply #31 Friday, December 14, 2007 11:44 PM
Reply #31 Friday, December 14, 2007 11:44 PM
Just read about this Steve... man.. no wonder you've been down, I had no idea.. Life throws us some curveballs and once in a while a smoking fastball, looks like this is one of those.. It's real hard to look at your child on a bed knowing their in pain and have no power to make it better, fortunately, and I truly believe this, healthcare professionals are just that, professional.. I've sent more than a couple of thank you cards to a few of them over the years.
I'll include you, your hero and your family in my thoughts and prayers, He'll get through this.. I just know it.
I'll include you, your hero and your family in my thoughts and prayers, He'll get through this.. I just know it.
Xiandi
Reply #32 Saturday, December 15, 2007 12:08 AM
Reply #32 Saturday, December 15, 2007 12:08 AM
I can't even imagine what that's like for you and your family to go through. I'll say a prayer for the little guy... that he never has to go through that again.
messiah1
Reply #33 Saturday, December 15, 2007 7:41 AM
Reply #33 Saturday, December 15, 2007 7:41 AM
I wanted to swing in here and thank everyone who's posted for their kind words and thoughts.
skybright
Reply #34 Saturday, December 15, 2007 9:15 AM
Reply #34 Saturday, December 15, 2007 9:15 AM
What a nightmare that had to be for you and your family. I will be praying for Ethan and your family.
Alternate Setting
Reply #35 Saturday, December 15, 2007 10:07 AM
Reply #35 Saturday, December 15, 2007 10:07 AM
That was a hard stretch of road messiah1, I wish you and yours, easier travelling from now on....
Keila
Reply #37 Saturday, December 15, 2007 10:32 AM
Reply #37 Saturday, December 15, 2007 10:32 AM
What a precious little boy Ethan is.
I will keep him in my thoughts and prayers. I hope everything stay on track from here on.
I will keep him in my thoughts and prayers. I hope everything stay on track from here on.
I.R. Brainiac
Reply #38 Saturday, December 15, 2007 10:50 AM
Reply #38 Saturday, December 15, 2007 10:50 AM
I hope you get some better news on Monday Messiah.
HAPTORK
Reply #39 Saturday, December 15, 2007 12:06 PM
Reply #39 Saturday, December 15, 2007 12:06 PM
My prayers are with you, your family and your cute kid Ethan.
messiah1
Reply #40 Sunday, December 16, 2007 5:56 PM
Reply #40 Sunday, December 16, 2007 5:56 PM
As an update, Ethan's bloodwork from Thursday came back and the count has dropped by almost half...he has to go back in Monday to get more bloodwork done. He's also bruising up easy again...*sigh* (
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Reply #21 Friday, December 14, 2007 6:48 AM