Monday, August 30, 2010

The Good News

We went up to Primary Children's Hospital to meet with the specialist there.  I think the hardest part of this experience was sitting in the waiting room with other children with Leukemia.  They are so small to be facing something so hard!  I still tear up thinking about it.  But while sitting there I felt so much peace and I realized how blessed we've been.  One parent, talking with another, said it took them 10 months to finally figure out that their daughter had Leukemia.  I saw how blessed I was to be sitting in that office after less than two weeks of identifying anything was amiss.

We were all ready to do the bone marrow sample when the doctor let us know that Claire's platelets were back at normal levels, giving her confidence that Claire did not have Leukemia.  Hallelujah!!!!!  We didn't have to do the bone marrow sample.

The doctor told us that Claire is Neutropenic, meaning she has low neutrophils - the white blood cells that fight infection.  She said that it could be caused by any number of things and that we will monitor her blood weekly for 2 months so we can see any patterns to help determine the cause.  But she told me that usually you don't find Neutropenia unless you get REALLY sick and end up in the hospital.  That made me realize how blessed we were that Claire didn't have to get super sick.  It was first noticed in a well-baby check up!  That's a miracle!

She said we can go back to life as normal.  We just need to try and keep Claire from getting sick as best we can - avoiding crowds and sick people.  And then when Claire does get sick, as soon as she gets a low fever, I need to take her to the doctor or the ER so we can fight the infection ASAP.  None of this waiting around for a few days to see if she's really sick.

We follow up at the end of October and hopefully this has resolved itself.  But if not, we are comforted to know that treatments are available.  Its all going to be OK.  The Lord has really blessed us and watched over us through this all.  I know He is real and that He loves us.

5 comments:

  1. Man, what a whirlwind! I'm glad that it's not leukemia. Good luck these next two months- I hope all the testing goes smoothly!

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  2. What an amazing story. I'm so glad Heavenly Father was watching over your family. Good luck with the next few months. Hopefully all the testing goes well and Claire stays healthy!

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  3. It's so hard to keep kids from getting sick! Good luck with that. We are so happy that things turned out well. These potential trials keep us humble and help us to realize just how truly blessed we are!

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  4. I'm so glad that Claire is ok! Things like that really make us so grateful for what we have. Just hearing your story makes me want to love my girls more and enjoy every minute we have together. Your faith is inspiring! Give those cute girls an extra squeeze for me! :)

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  5. Wow, what a crazy time for you. So impressed with your faith and your ability to rely on the Lord. I am glad Claire is okay.

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