Hosanna!

Caleb led singing this morning at our church. 

No More Sharps

A view inside our sharps container

One more celebration for Caleb last week--the last tummy needle!  On April 4, we stopped the needles, as planned.  Caleb's tummy is slowly returning to it's healthier look.  The blood thinners caused a lot of bruising at the injection sites (we rotated the injection site around his belly-button so we didn't poke the same place twice in a row) so he had a perpetual ring of bruise around his belly button.  We almost can't tell that he had a bruised tummy.  We now have surplus of syringes & blood thinners in our cupboard.  Awesome. 

It's very freeing not to have to do these needles morning and night.  We no longer need to ask our friends if we can use their "Sharps Containers" (our funny joke).  We didn't realize how bound we were to the schedule of the needles.   And I find that you never really do get fully comfortable with poking your child.   We can put on a brave front and do what we need to do, but it doesn't feel good.  We're so glad we're done.

Caleb and his friends Alexis and Anna on a Sunday afternoon hike

The last two weeks have had other challenges for us--the first fever of one of our other kids.  I didn't realize that we had made it through flu season with no unusual fevers or exceptional sicknesses (other than Caleb's flu, Tim's flu, and the girls' stomach flu) until Nella Mae ran a fever two weeks ago.  Rest assured, Nella is fine.  Two weeks ago, Nella, out of the blue, ran a low grade fever with no other symptoms.  Right away, in the absence of other symptoms, my mind and heart jumped to my worst fear, that another one of my children may develop leukemia.  I thought it through and decided that wasn't likely, but that she probably had something else easily explainable, like a urinary tract infection.  The doctor we saw didn't think it was a bladder infection, and instead suggested we go for a blood test.  What?!!  That made my stomach turn--the only child in our family who goes for blood tests is Caleb. 

Nella continued to run a fever off and on throughout the weekend, and we went for the blood test on Monday.  Nella went to the same outpatient clinic that we took Caleb to on June 21, the day we went into the hospital.  Nella's white counts were low, which wouldn't have meant much to me before, but I read every piece of data I could on her "counts sheet."  We had her checked over, and still no other symptoms.  We had a follow up blood test four days later, and her counts were still low, but she was no longer running a fever. 

Nella since has had another blood test, last Thursday, and all is well again.  Our family doctor says that a virus can cause that to happen, and she sees it often.  That's comforting, but it wasn't much comfort throughout the two week ordeal of waiting to see what was going on in my little girl's body.  I no longer take comfort in the idea that something "rarely happens" or is a "once in a million chance."  It IS possible, I COULD have two children with leukemia.  Thankfully I do not, and I thank God for healing in Nella, but it was a long journey over the last two weeks. 

I understand my experience to be a bit of an over-reaction because of our past with Caleb, and friends have told me it's only to be expected.  I guess I do take comfort in that.  And I know now that many things can cause low counts.  I was also reminded that we continuously need to take life one day at a time.  Even when we think we're healthy or have things under control: one day at a time.  Or less, if we need it. 

Nella Mae, on the other hand, loved as much of the experience as she could.  As precautionary, Nella was prescribed an anti-biotic, the same anti-biotic that Caleb takes on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.  Nella danced in the kitchen singing, "I take Septra, I'm sick.  Caleb and I take Septra, Aleah, you don't because you're not sick!"  Nella talked endlessly about her pokes, and the healing that was taking place, and the band-aids she required.  Thankfully, she had a more appropriate response when they actually drew the blood from her (I was afraid she'd like that too).  Nella now looks at pictures from Christmas time and says, "That's me, before I was sick.  Now I'm better again."  This event has been significant for Nella, and for her parents.  We know that it's hard on Nella and Aleah to not be a part of everything that Caleb experiences.  In some small ways, Nella got to be a part of Caleb's world for a little while.  I'm so thankful we came back, and I think that Nella is too.