and then all "H-e-double hockey sticks"
broke loose!
Lots of people have been asking about Claire and how she is doing, so I will give everyone the scoop.
Sunday, while at church, Claire took a fall off a chair and cut the inside of her lip. No big deal...I thought. I took her home because her mouth would not stop bleeding. 4 hours later, we were able to get the bleeding slowed down. I then noticed that Claire had small red spots under her skin all over her body. I thought it was odd, but hoped that it was because of her fall or something. Later Sunday night, while playing on our bed with Eli and Kyle, she smacked her face on the headboard and had a little bruise. The bruise began to swell and looked horrible by the time she went to bed. The next morning when she woke up it was even bigger and seemed to be growing by the minute. While at the bus stop with the boys on Monday morning (the 1st day of school), I talked to my friend, Kathy who is an RN. She said something was not right with Claire and that her blood wasn't clotting. She called a few doctor friends of hers and they recommended that we take her to the E.R. We decided to just rush her to our pediatrician and she what she thought. Our wonderful pediatrician took one look at her and left the room to call a friend on hers that is a pediatric hematologist in Las Vegas. He told her not to draw Claire's blood or do anything, just to send her right to him. By now, we were really freaked out and I cried all the way to Las Vegas. The hematologist, Dr. Bernstein (aka Dr. B) saw us right away and was pretty sure just from examining Claire that she had a blood disorder call I.T.P. (Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura). Her drew her blood and told us that her platelet count was 2000 (normal is 150,000-450,000). He told us that Claire's own immune system was attacking her platelets and that was why her blood wasn't clotting. We talked about several treatment options, but the only one that would work for Claire was called IVIG. It is a human blood product given by I.V. that tricks her body into attacking those cells instead of her own platelets. He told us if the IVIG worked that he was sure it was I.T.P. She was admitted to the hospital and a couple of hours later, Bishop Barlow came to help Kyle give her a blessing. Monday night around 9:00P.M. she started the IVIG (it takes about 4 hours). By the next day, her platelet count was up to 13,000. It worked! Then came the side effects....she spent all of Tuesday running a fever, vomiting, and in pain. That night, Dr. B ordered an anti-nausea medication for her that he gives his chemo patients that works for 5 days. Wednesday morning she was feeling much better, her platelets were up to 33,000 and we were ready to go home. She was finally discharged at 4:00P.M. and is so happy to be home. She is feeling good and her bruises are healing now. She seems to be her old self except that she still won't eat. Dr. B said she will eat when she feels like it.
This is just the beginning. IVIG worked for Claire, but it only lasts 4-6 weeks. Meaning, that she will need to be hospitalized and given the IVIG as long as needed. Dr. B told us that I.T.P usually lasts anywhere from 1-3 years. Plus, because he platelet count is still very low and will be unpredictable, she has to wear a helmet to keep her risk of brain hemorrhage to a minimum. It is scary, but we are so lucky that she got such quick, amazing care and that I.T.P. most likely will not last her whole life. It could be a lot worse. We are blessed.
We are so blessed to be surrounded by such wonderful friends and neighbors. We didn't need to worry about a thing at home. The kids were taken care of, they were fed, helped with their homework, the house was cleaned, all of our laundry was done etc. etc. etc. We didn't have to ask for a thing. Everyone just jumped in and helped. We are truly blessed and humbled by this experience. Thank you, thank you, thank you...Kathy & Paul W., Desi, Deanna, Kathy S., Erika & Dennis, Gerilyn, Lisa G., Gene & Kathy, Jennie B., Bishop Barlow and anyone else who helped us that we haven't even heard about yet. You are wonderful and we love you all!
