ITP

I wish I could say this stands for 'I'm Traveling Purposefully' or 'I Train People' (for all those who know about my love for Training). ITP stands for Immune Thrombocytopenic Purpura, a mouthful of words that has landed us in the hospital for a few nights. Throughout the course of a week Mireya developed some markings on her neck that looked like her skin had been scraped against something. Her story was that she had gotten tangled on the steps and injured herself on the handrail. Not to far fetched or unbelievable, so we went with that scenario without to many questions. The next morning another set of the same markings appeared and then the next day another. I searched her bed thinking perhaps there was a spring in her mattress that was causing the problem. I looked through her bedding and combed over the mattress and didn't find anything out of the ordinary. Within a few more days she had light bruising on her legs and arms. Her level of play doesn't constitute excessive bruising. Remember she is the Princess of the crew, she sashays and glistens. Over the course of the weekend she complained about dizziness, headaches and stomach aches. Her appetite diminished and she just wanted to lay around. By Sunday evening I was really concerned because several more bruises appeared and we couldn't figure out why? My husband did some research online and found a few things it could be, all of which needed immediate attention.

I had a difficult time sleeping that night. I decided to get up and do some research online too. Within about 15 minutes I was in tears from information overload and all the possibilities of what this could be. I went in Mireya's room scooped her up out of bed, wrapped her up tight in my arms and finally managed to go to sleep. When we woke up Monday morning I called the Dr.'s office and was given an appointment time within two hours. When we arrived I gave them all the pertinent information which resulted in a finger stick and a platelet count of 7. The normal range for blood platelets is 150k-300k+. We were immediately sent to the Hematology & Oncology Department at MCV for further tests and admission. The test results came back with platelet counts a little higher than 7, but considerably lower than 150k. Her hemoglobin and white blood cell counts were a little low, but not of major concern.

ITP is a blood disorder in which the immune system destroys platelets. Platelets are necessary for normal blood clotting. In children this disease may follow a viral infection. We all know we've had a few of those run through our household over the past several weeks. One of the risks with low platelet counts is risk for excessive bleeding, especially head bleeds that can prove to be fatal if not detected. So activity levels in children with low platelet counts needs to be restricted. Reya is not the heavy hitter in over-exertion, but she is a normal 4-year old child who is constantly on the move. One of the initial treatments that has proven effective in cases where the body does not produce enough antibodies is a IVIg infusion. The process take 4-10 hours to complete and once it is given, you have to wait 12-14 hours before testing the blood for increased platelet counts. The common side effects are flu-like symptoms. Vital signs are checked every 15 minutes initially, then every 30 minutes up to 1 hour. If the body shows signs of fever, or increased blood pressure the process of administering the infusion is slowed down. Reya had no problems in receiving this treatment. The Dr. did some additional testing to eliminate other key factors. We were told if the counts when up at all, she could go home.

Unfortunately the news was not favorable. Her counts had in fact gone down several thousand. We were told the draws would be done again within 12 hours, resulting in us staying another night. The news in the morning didn't get us any closer to being released, because the counts remained the same. My prospective told me it's not better, and it's not worse, what next? The Attending Physician recommended a second infusion. That was completed about 3pm. So they will do draws at about 3am and then we should have results when the Dr. does his morning rounds. It is not known why patients develop ITP. It occurs in about 1 in 200,000 people. None of the tests or results have provided the medical team with concrete evidence or direction as to why this is happening. My prayer is that platelet count will increase, but also for revelation throughout this process. I pray the Lord will lead, guide and direct the decisions and the orders of the Physicians. That they will be able to routinely determine the origin of this issue. If routine tasks and measures don't produce answers, I pray the Lord will equip them with the awareness and necessary means to figure this out. We are so thankful for the prayers and petitions going up across the world to the Lord on our behalf. Heaven is listening! Thank you for the calls, texts and emails of love and support. We are standing on the word of God, trusting that all things are working together for the good and that in the end we will receive a good report. Stay tuned....