My Son, My Hero
Tougher than most...
Thursday, December 13, 2007 by messiah1 | Discussion: WinCustomize Talk
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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Reply #104 Thursday, January 10, 2008 10:14 PM
Reply #110 Friday, January 11, 2008 3:55 AM
Reply #112 Friday, January 11, 2008 4:13 AM
All those wonderful little prayer vibes, coming in from all around the world messiah ...I'd like to think that had just a little something to do with the current good news...
That, and that your l'il fella must have depthless strength within..
Keep fighting the good fight with your boy ...and we'll keep thinking good thoughts his way [and yours].
Thanks for update. 
Reply #114 Friday, January 11, 2008 7:19 AM
Reply #115 Friday, January 11, 2008 8:07 AM
109,000
Now that's what I call post count.
Great to see those numbers build up messiah
Reply #118 Friday, January 11, 2008 8:52 AM
Know that you have all the support from this community.
Show your bravery for Ethan's sake, It's not easy that's for sure but, that will help him through this. Try to Be positive my friend, keep us posted. (
Reply #119 Sunday, January 13, 2008 7:46 AM
Reply #120 Monday, January 14, 2008 9:58 AM
I googled and found the following:
Types of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura
There are two types of ITP: acute (temporary or short-term) and chronic (long-lasting).
Acute ITP generally lasts less than 6 months. It mainly occurs in children, both boys and girls, and is the most common type of ITP. It often occurs after an infection caused by a virus.
Chronic ITP is long-lasting (6 months or longer) and mostly affects adults. However, some teenagers and even younger children can get this type of ITP. Chronic ITP affects women 2 to 3 times more often than men. Treatment depends on how severe the bleeding symptoms are and the platelet count. In mild cases, treatment may not be needed.
Outlook
For most children and adults, ITP isn’t a serious or life-threatening condition.
Acute ITP in children often goes away on its own within a few weeks or months and doesn’t return. In 80 percent of children who have ITP, the platelet count returns to normal within 6 to 12 months. Treatment may not be needed. A small number of children, about 5 percent, whose ITP doesn’t go away on its own may need to have further medical or surgical treatment.
Chronic ITP will vary with each individual and can last many years. Even people who have severe forms of chronic ITP can live for decades. Most people with chronic ITP are able at some point to stop treatment and keep a safe platelet count.
We can only hope this is acute and we'll get past it soon.
Good thoughts.
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Reply #101 Tuesday, January 8, 2008 11:50 AM