Some of you only read this blog for updates on Little Bittles, so I'll start with that so that you can read that and then skip the rest if you want.
Bittles (if you haven't figure this out already; this is our bloggy nickname for our 1 year old daughter.) seems to be doing fairly well right now. On Friday, she developed a sty in her eye (likely caused by a staph bacterial infection), which we kept a close eye on. We decided to just wait it out and see if it went away rather than see the doctor about it. I read on the internet that often neutropenic patients have to go on antibiotics for something as common as a sty, but being Thanksgiving weekend, we decided to just wait. Of course, a sty would normally be of no concern, but with her severe neutropenia, any infection can become serious quite quickly. Besides that, it's next to impossible to keep a one year old from scratching her eye and then touching her nose, lips, mouth, etc. and spreading the infection. Then on Saturday I noticed she had a red mark under her nose and her top lip was a bit swollen. Of course, I immediately started wondering/worrying what caused this (did the infection spread, did she bump herself, etc). Things I would normally never think twice about, let alone even notice cause me concern these days. In the middle of the night when I got up with her, I was convinced it had turned into a blister, but in the morning, I decided I must have been seeing things in the night because it looked no worse than the previous day. Today (Tuesday) she still has the red mark under her nose, but now I'm thinking she probably just bumped it or something. Her top gums still look redder than normal, which is probably due to the neutropenia. This morning I noticed she still has a few sores in her mouth but I think they are healing and they do not look nearly as bad as they did a week ago. Her diaper rash seems to be better again, thankfully. Tomorrow she goes for more blood work and she will see her pediatrician. Please pray for good results tomorrow. Specifically, pray that her neutrophils would be significantly improved (even up to normal) and that her platelets would be down to normal. Thanks again for praying!
Now for some random updates and thoughts.
So...yesterday I woke up with a tender spot in my calf. Upon further investigation, I discovered a lump underneath my skin, which hurt when I touched it. At first, the lump wasn't all that big (maybe pea-sized or a bit bigger) but as the day went on, the pain got a bit worse and the lump grew to about the size of a nickel. The pain was not just in the lump but also in the surrounding area. By the evening, there was a red mark on my skin at the same place the lump is. So, I rack my brain trying to think if I bumped my leg in the night (some things do go bump in the night, you know) or what could possibly have caused this. After looking some stuff up on the internet (someone like me who is, of recent, suffering from paranoia really shouldn't try to self-diagnose using the internet - "oh no, I hope I don't have that", "wait...what if I have that!" LOL), I decided that I really have no idea what it is, but it probably isn't anything that needs emergency medical attention. Although I cannot remember bumping my leg in the night, with all the sleepless nights I've had lately (as in, the past 13 months!) :-), I cannot trust my memory or my brain to think clearly. I decide that strange lumps and bumps should probably be checked out by a doctor, so I call my doctor's office to book an appointment, which brings me to my next topic...
Things you should never say when you book a doctor's appointment.
" Hi, I am calling to book an appointment with Dr. ____. Oh, you don't have anything open for 2 weeks. Okay, is that the earliest available? What if it's something medical?"
...WHAT!? What if it's something MEDICAL? As in, pertaining to the field of medicine?? Well then I suppose I've called the right place. Now I am embarrassed beyond belief of my absolute stupidity in saying that, and I really hesitated to even share it because I am so seriously embarrassed, but I decided to share this with you because I hope it will cause you to laugh. At least then I can feel somewhat better about myself and my big-time blunder. Don't ask me what I was thinking when I said that because I wasn't (thinking, that is). Basically, I was so surprised that I couldn't see a doctor for at least 2 weeks, that I just didn't know what to say (Listen to me trying to justify my stupidity - Ha!) And, please tell me I did not then proceed to book the appointment and give them my name. How the receptionist didn't burst out laughing is beyond me! Seriously, I need to get some sleep. My brain is turning...make that, has turned... to mush and I have decided it is not safe for me to 1) phone anyone 2) drive anywhere 3) cook anything using the stove.
By the way, we had a nice Thanksgiving weekend. Unfortunately, we had to miss our niece's 1st birthday party (due to Bittle's being in isolation still, we have to keep her away from large groups of people or people with any symptoms of illness). We did stop in for a minute before the party just to say Hi and drop off a present. We also stopped in the field to say hello to my husband's family, who we have hardly seen this past month due to Bittle's sickness. Then, we went out to my parent's place for a gluten-free Thanksgiving dinner, which was very good. I even got to soak in their new hot tub for a few minutes, which was nice.
Well, that's about all for now. I am off for a nap (a much-needed nap). Hopefully with the nap will come some increased brain function. :-)
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