A quick update........

I took Carter for his blood work this morning. Unfortunately, our "magic cream" didn't work too well. They were unable to get blood from his arm again. They stuck his hand and got blood at turtle speed. It was a very traumatic experience.

The nurse called 3 1/2 hrs later (my heart skipped a beat everytime the phone rang during this wait) and said that Carter's blood count had not dropped, but it hadn't improved either. She said it was almost scary how exactly the same the results were. She knows, however, that the lab didn't "mess up" because there were a few differences. Good news is that his reticulocyte count has gone up a point which means his body is working harder trying to produce more red cells. It is also good that we didn't have to go the hospital today for another transfusion. That would have put a damper on Thanksgiving. Now we have even more to be thankful for! His next appt is scheduled for Wed 12/3 at 1:40. We will be going in about an hour before for more blood work. His nurse said we can just request a finger prick from now on since the needle isn't working to well. This was a relief. Should things stay the same or worsen, they probably will start talking about a bone marrow test. Thanks so much for your continued prayers. Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving. God is so good!

Off to the Emergency Room we go....

Well, today was another exciting, eventful day for us. This morning I was in the back of the house when I heard Carter screaming and Tyler yelling, "Carter's bleeding." I immediately ran towards the play room/school room where they were and was met by Carter in the kitchen. Behind him was a trail of blood. From what I could tell, he fell off the couch and stabbed himself in the forehead with the colored pencil he was holding. Because it was a head wound, it was bleeding pretty good. Once I got it under control, I decided to take him to the ER. The puncture wound wasn't that bad, but I thought if I just used a band-aid it would leave a pretty nasty scar. I was out of band-aids (I had just used them to decorate my brothers truck last Fri, of course) so I made one. I folded up a tiny piece of paper towel and I taped it across his head with Scotch tape :) A homemade band-aid. My creation controlled the bledding while we rode to the hospital. I took him to Baptist South because they are usually faster. They used dermabond which is like a glue. We were in and out fairly quickly. Carter is doing fine. You would not even know it happened by the way he is acting. This is wound # 3 on the face.

I'm doing good, but this morning I was a little frazzled. "I'm done" was my attitude. When I got in the car, I heard the following song. I think it was written as if a mom were talking to her child, but it ministered to me in a different way. I kept thinking of how my Father takes care of me and how I am safe in him. I calmed down.

Clouds will rage
And storms will race in, but you will be safe in my arms
Rains will pour down, waves will crash all around
But you will be safe in my arms

God is so good to keep sending reminders to us. Later in the day, I was teaching Tyler about Abraham. We read from The Child's Story Bible and from Gen 15. God Told Abram He was his shield and to not be afraid. This was a good reminder to me that God stays with us during difficult times. Abram's faith was also an example to me. For nothing is impossible to God. Brenda also called and reminded me that God will not give us more than we can handle.

Please pray as we are going for our 2nd blood test tomorrow. Also, I believe my husband is feeling a bit overwhelmed right now. He has decided to teach piano Mon, Tues, and Thurs night to help us financially, but it seems the bills just keep coming. We are also facing some insurance issues with the kids that obviously need to be resolved very quickly. Love you all!

long awaited phone call

I just spoke with Dr. Perszyk, Carter's genetics doctor. I've been waiting since last Wed. He said the drop we saw Thursday after Carter's blood draw is pretty common after transfusion. He suggested giving Carter more folic acid either through foods or pills that I could crush up and mix with food. This would help his red blood cells. He said with cancer your platelet count is usually bad and your white cell count is way up. This is not the case for Carter. Good news! He said it does look like an isolated red blood cell problem. If the red blood cell production has in fact stopped because of a viral infection we could still be looking at months until recovery. This depends on how long the virus has already been in his body. His counts could drop more before they get better. How quickly and drastically they drop though is what to be watchful for. If blood test start to show something else "fishy" than more tests will be run. He doesn't think Carter has an iron deficiency because the red blood cell size is pretty normal and if he were lacking iron it wouldn't be. I told him Carter has had loose stools for some time now (he went diarrhea 4 times Sat) and he said it could be related to the virus, if that's what's going on, or he could have a problem absorbing nutrients. He mentioned Celiac Disease. I did a quick google on this and read Celiac Disease is one of the most frequent causes of malabsorption during childhood. Malabsorption can result in other problems such as delayed growth and short stature. I think Carter fits into the delayed growth and short stature category, but I'm not sure this is what he has because with Celiac Disease you usually have chronic diarrhea and I wouldn't say Carter has a chronic problem yet. All this will be ironed out as blood work gets done. And in regards to blood work, Dr. Perszyk told me to call my pediatrician because there is something called Emla cream that you put on your child before blood draw. It warms up the area (makes the draw easier) and acts as a numbing agent. He said Wed morning should be an "OUCHLESS" draw for Carter. HOORAY! PRAISE GOD!

This is a waiting game that can go on into the new year. As time goes, more will be found out. All in God's timing, right! Our conversation lasted almost 40 min and I tried to write down and retain what I could. He is a really smart man. I kind of feel like I'm spinning. I keep thinking I missed something or forgot something. I know I did, but am trying to trust I remembered what I needed to. I need to figure out a way to record things - any ideas let me know. When you try to do research online it can become really overwhelming and eats up your time.

We had a good time away this weekend and I hope to post about that soon. All in all, we are doing well - waiting until Wed morning!

My perfectly made son...........

Before Carter saw the doctor today, he had to get his blood drawn. This was a terrible experience. The events from the weekend were fresh in his mind and he started to cry as soon as we walked in. Not only did he cry, but he told me it hurt him. He didn't even want the nurse to touch his hand. It is really hard as a Mom to hold your child still and to allow hurt. Our doctors visit went well, but it really didn't tell us anything different. All we can do is wait. Talk about a faith builder! Each week, after they read the results from the blood test, they will determine the next step of action.

It wasn't until I got home that I found out Carter's blood count. His hemoglobin and red blood cell count had dropped. Not good. I wasn't expecting much change since he just had a transfusion 4 days ago. His hemoglobin was a 5 when he entered the hospital. It raised to a 8.3 after transfusion. Today it was 7.5. It is supposed to be between 12-16. The nurse thinks Carter will have to have another transfusion if it drops to 7 or below. He is only 1/2 a point away. The positive is that his white blood cell count went up which usually happens when you are fighting infection (it was low upon leaving the hospital) and his reticulocyte count went up very little.

If it is TEC, as thought, then his numbers should start improving. If this doesn't happen, then the doctors will start going down another road. This would most likely involve lots of tests. We should know more by 12/03. Carter will be going back the Wed before Thanksgiving for more blood work.

Thanks for your continued prayers. Not only do I want to keep my dear friends and family up to date, I also want to be diligent with keeping good records and I feel this is a good way of doing it. As I pulled up my blog this evening a song started playing. The first few words were, "God over all, giver of life and health and breath, I want to sing of your love." It really struck me hard! Pray that I will remember this.

I'M BACK.............

Sorry, it has been so long. Things have been quite busy this fall....well, really all year. I don't think I've ever had a year quite like this before and it's not over yet. Not only has God sovereignly allowed unexpected things to come into our lives, but we've also been out of town every month since April. April - California. May - Kentucky. June/July - family reunion in Alabama. August - Maryland. September - Missouri. October - Gainesville/Destin. November - Atlanta. In addition, every Friday night has been spent at a high school football game, whether it be a home or away game. My brother is a Sr this year and being at his games is very important to me. I love him dearly and believe God is doing a real work in our realtionship. Maybe I can share more on that later. We are also are in the "thick" of homeschooling now and are working extra hard because of a late start. Because of the busyness, I have considered many times stopping our blog. Looking back now, I wish I would have been more diligent. You forget so many things if you don't write them down and it is because of this in particular that I am back......

I never journaled when my kids were babies and I so wish I had. Not only for those precious moments that you easily forget, but for medial purposes as well. This is something I've been thinking about a lot lately. Carter was admitted into Wolfson's Children's Hospital this past Sat after a couple of blood tests revealed severe anemia. His blood counts were really bad! Doctors said that his body had quit making red blood cells. His hemoglobin count had dropped to a dangerously low level and, if no intervention was made, he would continue to decline. He received a blood transfusion that started late Sat night and went into Sun morning. His body responded well to the transfusion so the Doctor released us Sunday afternoon. They think he has something called Transient Erythroblastopenia of Childhood. TEC is thought to be triggered by a viral infection. If this is what he has, red cell production should recover spontaneously but it could take a few months. In the meantime, he may need another transfusion until his body recovers fully. He will be going to a Hematologist every week for blood tests. I'm not really liking this "waiting thing" but I am trusting God. There is a chance it could be something more severe, but no need to go into that right now. Carter was also given a transfusion at birth and because of his medical history Doctors are monitoring him closely. I am currently awaiting a call from his genetics Dr.

I really want to stay on top of this and thought picking up my blogging would help me. It would also allow me to update friends and share my prayer requests. Thanks to all who have faithfully been praying for my family and have offered to serve. I love you all and cannot thank God enough for blessing me with friends that I don't deserve. You can pray now that God would calm my anxious heart, give doctors wisdom, and that He would help me to be able to discern if something is abnormal during daily activity. It is hard to tell when something is wrong. More to come...........