Latest on Tab & Caroline

We are sitting here in the hospital, not a very cozy place, talking about our sweet Caroline. Tab isn't getting any better, and we are waiting to see what the next plan is. For now, he justs keeps getting the meds and waiting. The blood cultures should be back on Friday, so hopefully we will have some answers then.

My beautiful little girl.
She is very sick. She has a long road to go. We went to the the specialist today, and learned a lot. Her platelet count yesterday was a 10, today it was a 2. I asked the Dr. what happens if it gets any lower, and her response was, it can't. They gave a 3 treatment options, and we are going to see what happens next. The 1st was a round of steroids that will last for 2 weeks, the 2nd was to admit her and do IV Immune Globulin Transfusions for days, and the 3rd was a 1 time IV but it has some scary side effects.

My gut reaction was to put her in the hospital for 5 days, but her dad didn't want to go that route. We ended up opting for the steroids. The only thing about this is that after she's finished, her platelets will drop again until they slowly start to rise. The 5 day IV will get them up and keep them there.

What makes this all so difficult is that while her platelets are so low, she is in danger of internal hemorrhaging. If she gets the slightest bump of an arm, or falls down, there is a strong chance she will bleed internally. If she gets a cut, she will have excessive bleeding because she doesn't have enough platelets to clot her blood.

The nitty gritty
She can have NO activity. NONE. She is not allowed to play outside. Period. She can't swing, ride a scooter or bike, she is only allowed to stay inside and color. This is going to be the hardest task I have ever been delegated to do...keep a extremely active 6 year old totally inactive! We have to meet with the school tomorrow to see if they will be able to comply with this, if not, then I have to stay home with her.

The petechiea is worse, a lot worse. And she has bruises all over her little body. If this keeps up, or she has any more nosebleeds that are hard to stop, then they will test for more serious diseases. And make no mistake she has a severe blood disease, that may or may not go away. If all goes well, she will get the all clear in about 8 months. But every time she gets any viral infection, we will be back to square 1.

We have to go every week for the 1st month to have her counts checked. Then we move to every 2 weeks, then on to 1 a month for about 6 months.

I think I have touched on all the major points of ITP and how it affects Caroline.

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I know I have so much to be thankful for right now, PRAISE God it's not Leukemia! But that doesn't discount the seriousness of the disease. We have a long road ahead of us, and we just have to keep praying that He will heal her completely. For now, I will try to keep my chin up.

Thank you to everyone that has kept us in your thought and prayers! Please keep it up!