Small cuts, lots of blood!

Well, now that Alex is army crawling he has become the next Magellan. He loves door stops and vents, and I guess he also likes the air exchange vents. However, I didn't realized that those are sharp. Yesterday he was strumming the air exchange vent like a guitar and a few minutes later I noticed blood all over his hands. I first checked his mouth...no blood. Then I figured out it was coming from his hand. I tried holding his arm up and putting a cold cloth on his hand to stop the bleeding so I could get a better idea of what happend. Of course, he wasn't in to cooperating. I finally put him in his high chair and managed to get two little bandaids on his fingers. I then when on a mission to figure out what happend. He never cried, so I wasn't sure when the injury occurred and there wasn't a trail of blood. I finally thought to to check the vent and, man oh man, is it sharp! He will be disappointed as this will now have to be added to the "Can't Touch" list which seems to grow each day.

Oh so snowy!

Just when we were finally able to see all of the grass, a long came a snow storm. I have to admit that it has been a very pretty day even though I am longing for spring to stay. It looked just like a snow globe. We decided to take Alex out and attempt a snowman! Well, he ended up falling forward off a snow bank and face planting in the snow. He looked just like a cartoon. His head was buried and you could just see legs sticking straigh up kicking. Needless to say, he wasn't pleased and the snowman never was built. Here is some video of Paul and Alex.

Latest Stats

Alex had his 9 month appt. yesterday. His thyroid level is finally in the normal range. He weighed 19lb 6oz (24th percentile), 29 1/2" (80th percentile)! I knew he was getting long but didn't realize how long. The doctor was very surprised about his length because it meant he grew 3 1/4 inches in three months. It was such major increase that he kept saying maybe the nurse measured incorrectly. I haven't tried measuring him yet, but I don't think she screwed up.

We've tried to give Alex different table foods. The Ham likes ham! He also likes brownies. For any of the Frank family that might have wondered if he would have a sweet tooth, you need not worry. Bring on the family reunions...he's ready! :)

The Art of the Umbrella Stroller

Since Alex has gotten bigger it has been much harder carrying him in his car seat. We have nice stroller, but it is a little too much for quick trips in and out. We decided an umbrella stroller would be much easier for this. So today I gave it whirl when I went to have my blood drawn. Opening it wasn't too hard although the instructions lied about how to go about this and the ride was fine. However, after getting back to the car and loading Alex my hands were a bit frozen. After wrestling with the stupid thing and thinking how can I not be smarter than the Chinese kid who built it.... I just shoved it fully extended into the car and away we went. I guess Paul can fix it when he gets home. Better luck next time! :)

Yesterday

Things went well yesterday. I didn't bleed much, and I didn't get sick from the anesthesia. I'm sore but feeling good.

The doctor thinks I have cyclic neutropenia. Treatment for this is injections...probably daily to start with. The medicine is extremely expensive. There is a research foundation that pays for the medicine for the rest of your life if you qualify. In order to qualify I have to prove I have this disorder through the bone marrow biopsy and for the next six weeks I have to have to have my blood drawn every Monday, Wednesday and Friday to track the neutrophil count. Also they check for chromosomal abnormalities in the bone marrow which are indicative of pre-leukemia. If I qualify, I will have to have a bone marrow biopsy yearly. This isn't a common disorder. I guess the chances are .5-1 persons per million! This why this foundation is willing to give the medication for free in exchange for the bone marrow and tracking of patients through their lives. Hopefully, the doctor has it right. It would be nice to finally have an answer. I go back in the 19th to discuss the biopsy results.

Thank you to all that have been keeping me in their thoughts the last few days.

Revenge of the RotaVirus

Poor little Alex has rotavirus. It started last Tuesday with vomiting and then diarrhea. His diarrhea continued to worsen through the weekend. Yesterday I took him to the pediatrician because I was worried about dehydration. Today he is in a better mood and the diarrhea has slowed down....YEAH. The doctor told us we would probably have 3 more days of this! I think we will purchase stock in Dreft :)

A good bad day

Well, I had my visit to my hematologist today at RMCC. For the past few months my WBC has been low. The last few weeks it tanked which brought forth the lovely visit I had today. My doctor told me that my neutrophils are so low that if I were to step foot in to the hospital I would immediately be in isolation. Kind of a scary thought. He thinks that my body is killing my white blood cells. Blood was drawn and sent to the Uof M to confirm this if this is the case then I will have to give my self shots...possibly daily. If the test comes back negative he would want to do a bone marrow biospy to see if my marrow is bad. Unfortunately, the shots are extremely expensive. There is some deal...I think he said an experimental study that if I have a bone marrow biopsy yearly, my shots will be free! So, on Monday March 3 I will be put under for a bone marrow biopsy.

You might be wondering what could be so great about your body killing its only defense system.....well, I figure it beats having leukemia! The doctor was confident that I do not have cancer. I am hoping that the blood test comes back positive because I have a feeling bad bone marrow isn't a good thing. To add to all of this I'm anemic...just a small incovenience.

If we don't do the shots, we could probably end up having a show on TLC for having 20 kids. I guess, when I was pregnant my body was normal...Go Figure.