.....you get nasty bruises!
My little buddy bonked his head on the bathtub last night (Wednesday) and I literally watched as his skin filled up with blood (he didn't break the skin open)! It was crazy... he had the biggest lump to the left of his eye and then this morning woke up with the black eye. The blood must have drained into the eyelid area and spread around a little bit.
He is such a trooper and did just fine. After a few cuddles and kisses he was ready to get in the tub.
And as you can see it hasn't affected his mood... He is still as happy as ever!
He does look like he got kicked in the eye. Poor thing!
Praise God for His healing powers!
p.s. If you didn't know... Aaron and Andrew both have a genetic disorder called "Epstein's Syndrome" that is characterized by a very low platelet count with over-sized (giant) platelets (macrothrombocytopenia), hearing loss, kidney dysfunction, and cataracts.
Aaron has everything except the cataracts and so far Andrew only has the giant platelets/low platelet count.
These special boys follow up at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN every year with a hematologist (blood doctor) and nephrologist (kidney doctor). They also saw a medical genetics doctor this past year to confirm their diagnosis. We love our Mayo doctors (Dr. Khan, Dr. Monico, and Dr. Wick)!!
As a point of reference a "normal" person has a platelet count of 150,000 to 450,000 platelets per microliter of blood. Aaron and Andrew have between 2,000 to 11,000 platelets per microliter of blood at any given time. In most individuals if platelet levels fall below 20,000 per microliter, spontaneous bleeding may occur and is considered a life-threatening risk.
We have had many (all) doctors say that in spite of the low number of platelets that they have, they work! The reason they say this is because Aaron has lead a relatively healthy life and is 33 years old.
We pray everyday that their platelets will continue to work and that God will grant both of them LONG, healthy lives!
Aaron has everything except the cataracts and so far Andrew only has the giant platelets/low platelet count.
These special boys follow up at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN every year with a hematologist (blood doctor) and nephrologist (kidney doctor). They also saw a medical genetics doctor this past year to confirm their diagnosis. We love our Mayo doctors (Dr. Khan, Dr. Monico, and Dr. Wick)!!
As a point of reference a "normal" person has a platelet count of 150,000 to 450,000 platelets per microliter of blood. Aaron and Andrew have between 2,000 to 11,000 platelets per microliter of blood at any given time. In most individuals if platelet levels fall below 20,000 per microliter, spontaneous bleeding may occur and is considered a life-threatening risk.
We have had many (all) doctors say that in spite of the low number of platelets that they have, they work! The reason they say this is because Aaron has lead a relatively healthy life and is 33 years old.
We pray everyday that their platelets will continue to work and that God will grant both of them LONG, healthy lives!
1 comment:
Thank you for the explanation of Epstein's Syndrome. I was curious after I read a blog post of yours last month about the guys at Mayo for a check up. I had no idea! I like the way you put it, "all doctors say even though the count is low -- they work!" I know you and Aaron have always been active and sounds like little Drewey will be the same way. No stopping this smiley kid, black eye and all!
Love, Al
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