Wednesday, April 23, 2008

prayers for Isaac

Our little Isaac man, my 6-year-old stepson, could use some extra prayers right now. Last night his mom called and said they were on their way to the hospital. Isaac has been having some strange symptoms lately, the latest of which was unexplainable bruising. He went to the doctor yesterday and was told to go to the hospital for testing because it could be a blood disorder and possibly even Leukemia. We spent a worried night waiting for news, praying and hoping for the best, and trying not to let all the negative scenarios get carried away in our minds.

Fortunately, the blood tests show that his red and white blood cells look good so it's most likely not cancer. But his platelet levels were extremely low. The average range is 150,000–400,000 and Isaac's was only 7,000. The doctor says he probably has ITP, which basically means low platelet count for an unknown reason. I guess the bruises are from blood seeping out of the veins. He will be seeing a specialist tomorrow, so hopefully we'll know more then. Poor Isaac isn't allowed to do anything active and won't be going to school this week until we know more. A bad fall could even be fatal.

Please keep Isaac in your prayers. We really hope that it is nothing more serious than ITP, which can be treated fairly easily and often goes into remission on its own. It's so hard to be far away in North Carolina when he's in Utah. It's especially hard for Jared. Again, we are so grateful it's most likely not cancer. Jared has his Master's Thesis defense today too. I don't know how he would have done it if we had had bad news.

I'll keep everyone updated as we learn more. Thank you for your prayers.

8 comments:

  1. Thank you for letting us know so that we can pray for him--good luck to Jared also on his defense, and keep us posted on Isaac's progress.

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  2. OK, lots of love to everyone. We'll keep Isaac in our prayers. He's such a sweetie.

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  3. Oh no, poor little guy. There's not much that worse to a little boy than not being able to play. I really hope it's not serious and that he can get back to his life.

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  4. Ugh, poor thing! I can totally relate to what he's going through. I had a major blood disorder when I was 12 and was bedridden all through Christmas break. It sucks.

    I really hope it's something simple that goes away and doesn't come back.

    He must feel so yucky :(

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  5. We'll be praying for him. Our best to Jared. I hope all goes well.

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  6. I'm so sorry. He'll be in my thoughts and prayers.

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  7. Oh, how awful--the worrying and not knowing can just kill you. I really hope things turn out right.

    And poor Jared, timing always has to be like that. I was actually thinking on the way to my ultrasound what I would do if I found out that something was really wrong, if I would wait to tell Brett until after his prelim exam, or if that would be right, etc. (Sometimes I wonder about morbid-type things.) Luckily everything was good.

    And to answer, yes I'm pregnant and due August 21st, which means I'll probably have the baby somewhere more around the 7th (at least that's been the trend for me).

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  8. that would be scary, especially with the distance. I hope you hear good news soon!

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