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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2of3
Reply #142 Wednesday, February 13, 2008 11:35 AM
Reply #142 Wednesday, February 13, 2008 11:35 AM
Aww man (
My thoughts continue to be with you and your boy.
My thoughts continue to be with you and your boy.
Philly0381
Reply #143 Wednesday, February 13, 2008 11:40 AM
Reply #143 Wednesday, February 13, 2008 11:40 AM
I'll be with all the way messish1, you and your family remian in my thoughts and prayers and that your son will be well again.
ArileenDesign
Reply #144 Wednesday, February 13, 2008 11:56 AM
Reply #144 Wednesday, February 13, 2008 11:56 AM
Oh Man ( that's really not cool, i thought he was better.
I keep you and your family in my thoughts.
that's really not cool, i thought he was better.I keep you and your family in my thoughts.
rickalot
Reply #145 Wednesday, February 13, 2008 12:02 PM
Reply #145 Wednesday, February 13, 2008 12:02 PM
My thoughts continue to be with your family, hope you get some more positive information next week.
seldomseen
Reply #146 Wednesday, February 13, 2008 12:16 PM
Reply #146 Wednesday, February 13, 2008 12:16 PM
Ethan, prayers and hugs from Idaho
Love,
Anabel(12) and Toby(10)
Love,
Anabel(12) and Toby(10)
WebGizmos
Reply #147 Wednesday, February 13, 2008 12:34 PM
Reply #147 Wednesday, February 13, 2008 12:34 PM
My friend....I'm really sorry to hear your little guys still having these problems...and I know your frustration with the doctors...been going through that myself. You might want to give this place a call... St Judes Childrens Research Hospital ...from what I understand they are really good dealing with kids...can't hurt to just call them. In the meantime I hope he doesn't get worse and at least stabilizes at some point.
Keila
Reply #148 Wednesday, February 13, 2008 1:01 PM
Reply #148 Wednesday, February 13, 2008 1:01 PM
I was so hoping things were better for good.
I pray you find the right Doctor to help him.
I pray you find the right Doctor to help him.
sydneysiders
Reply #149 Wednesday, February 13, 2008 9:19 PM
Reply #149 Wednesday, February 13, 2008 9:19 PM
messiah....hope this new direction has the answers for you.....keep at them until you get answers....and action....
...thinking of you all......and waiting for results.....
...thinking of you all......and waiting for results.....
messiah1
Reply #150 Wednesday, February 13, 2008 9:36 PM
Reply #150 Wednesday, February 13, 2008 9:36 PM
He did excellent during the CT scan today. Layed perfectly still so they could get good pictures. We told him it was a spaceship. He was all excited. He's my buddy. 
seldomseen
Reply #152 Thursday, February 14, 2008 11:04 AM
Thinking of you guys. Hang in there.
Reply #152 Thursday, February 14, 2008 11:04 AM
He did excellent during the CT scan today.
Thinking of you guys. Hang in there.
vStyler
Reply #153 Thursday, February 14, 2008 4:54 PM
Reply #153 Thursday, February 14, 2008 4:54 PM
How ur managing to keep it together through the ups and downs is beyond me man.. I think about y'all daily and keep up the positive thoughts and prayers.
continued good luck my friend.
continued good luck my friend.
messiah1
Reply #155 Monday, February 18, 2008 9:36 PM
The CT scan didn't show anything abnormal...just waiting until Thursday for the trip to Riley. Our family doctor has told us we should ask, if they don't suggest, that they do a bone marrow test. That's the definitive test for Leukemia I guess. So...
Reply #155 Monday, February 18, 2008 9:36 PM
Any update?
The CT scan didn't show anything abnormal...just waiting until Thursday for the trip to Riley. Our family doctor has told us we should ask, if they don't suggest, that they do a bone marrow test. That's the definitive test for Leukemia I guess. So...
shawnjam
Reply #156 Monday, February 18, 2008 9:50 PM
Reply #156 Monday, February 18, 2008 9:50 PM
Wow, I can't even imagine what you are going though. I hope everything works out.
RoseNell
Reply #159 Tuesday, February 19, 2008 8:35 AM
Reply #159 Tuesday, February 19, 2008 8:35 AM
God Bless., all my prayers are with you and your family and that little guy....
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Reply #141 Wednesday, February 13, 2008 11:29 AM
I'll make sure the kids drop a prayer for him tonight before bed.