Well, I suppose it's time to update on the craziness our life has been the last few days! But before I get into the details of things, I want to take a moment to say THANK YOU to all our friends and family who have called, texted, sent Facebook messages, shown up at a moment's notice, offered help, etc. Our phones are iffy inside the hospital so we have had trouble responding to everyone's kindness, but please know that we appreciate each and every one of you so very much. Just knowing that so many of you have thought of us and prayed us through this has been such a blessing.
On Tuesday evening my parents decided to head up to Lifetime Fitness to workout. My dad did 4 miles on the elliptical and some chest exercises on the machines. Nothing overly strenuous for what he is used to. He started to feel light headed, and when they arrived home he was very pale. He tried eating and drinking some water thinking that might help. He continued to be pale and went to lay down. A little while later he began to feel as if something wasn't right, and tried taking his nitroglycerin. That did not help so he called for my mom. At that moment, the whirlwind began.
My mom and sister took my dad to the nearest hospital while I stayed back with the girls. By the time they arrived he was in a lot of pain, and it was quickly decided he needed to be transferred and that another stint would be put in. At this point, Rachel had Josh leave work to come home so we could meet them at the hospital. Because we were experiencing a huge amount of rain they were unable to Care Flight him so they arranged for the ambulance to take him to Denton. Our excellent neighbors came right over and took care of the girls.
Upon arriving at Denton, where they were waiting for him, he was immediately taken to surgery. My mom rode with him in the ambulance so she was able to see him before they took him back. She kissed him goodbye, and then we waited with her during the surgery.
After 32 minutes the surgery was complete, and the doctor came to tell us how it went. We were told that right after my mom kissed him goodbye his heart stopped. They were able to get it going again and perform the surgery successfully. They placed a stint inside the stint he already had. This is called a "stintwich". They also did some sort of balloon type thing. We were able to watch it on the screen as the doctor talked us through it all, but I'll be honest, it made no sense to me.
From surgery my dad went to ICU where he has done quite well. So well in fact, that his original date of release (Saturday) should be moved up to tomorrow (Friday)! My mom and sister have stayed with him the entire time at the hospital while Josh and I are holding things down at the house. My dad is currently waiting for a bed to become available so he can be transferred from ICU to a room in the cardiac unit. The girls can't wait to see their Popo!
At this point, things seem to be going well. It is our belief that this will continue to be the case, as God's hand in this has been very evident. For those of you who know my dad, his normal workout consists of a 6 mile walk/jog through the neighborhood and surrounding areas in the middle of the day when the rest of us are at work. This trip was his first one to Lifetime Fitness. We feel so blessed that this out of routine workout happened and that he was not alone far away from home or even here at the house alone. We are also grateful that this did not occur while he was home alone with Hadlie who he watches one day each week. By chance, my dad's heart doctor was not able to be reached when this all occurred so they had to have another doctor do the surgery. This was a man that had come into the shop where my dad works so they knew each other. We never would have asked for this to happen, but we are not blind to God's presence along the way. And we are so very grateful for our faith as it sustains us.
Again, I thank you all from the bottom of my heart for your thoughts and prayers. The outpouring of love has been a beautiful testament to the amazing people we have in our lives. May God bless you all!
This past week I began to notice some changes in Hadlie. Not only was she fussy and not eating, but she was getting lots of bruises and she even had her first little nose bleed. At first, I chalked it up to her being the rambunctious two year old that she is. But then they showed up in strange places. Places that were not normal. After Josh finally agreeing that something may be wrong last night, I decided I would call the doctor first thing this morning.
Of course, after Josh thought something was wrong I did what every good mother shouldn't do... I began looking up the causes for bruising in toddlers. Not one single diagnosis was comforting. It didn't matter how I rephrased what I typed in the Google search box. Finally, I had narrowed down her diagnosis to Leukemia or ITP (which is what my mom thought it was). After I couldn't take anymore, I decided to tell myself she was simply fussy and not eating because she had a virus. And because she wasn't eating right she was bruising easily. Simple enough. So I opened my Bible convinced (sort of) that I was right, and read until my eyes couldn't stay open. Then I rolled over with Josh's hand on my back and slept the most peaceful night's sleep I'd had in two years. Sort of odd for a worrying mother, but God is good like that.
First thing this morning I called the doctor. She went in at 11 a.m. Luckily, I had to take Lexie to the dentist before that and get everyone ready so I didn't have time to sit and research and worry too much. I had a few minor moments of sheer panic, but they were comforted by the sound of Josh's voice which was only a phone call away.
When we got to the doctor she quickly confirmed that there was more going on than just her not eating well and bruising because of that. She also said she felt sure it wasn't any type of Leukemia because everything in that area seemed to look great. Our first piece of good news. She felt like it was also ITP. So with a quick prick of the finger, some discussion about the possible next steps, and the doctor's cell phone number written down, the waiting began.
After four hours, our wonderful pediatrician called. She confirmed that Hadlie did have ITP. Hadlie's platelet counts were at 23,000. Low, but not horrible. So what does all this mean?!? Well, we aren't really sure at this point. I think that's the most nerve wracking thing right now. As of this moment, we will watch Hadlie until Tuesday when her levels are retested. She isn't allowed to do anything that includes physical contact, jumping, climbing, etc. If she starts bleeding and doesn't stop quickly or her gums bleed when we brush her teeth (or anything else out of the ordinary occurs) we are to call the doctor's cell phone immediately because this would signal a drop in her platelets.
The treatment for ITP is somewhat controversial. Some prefer an observation approach and others prefer a medicate approach. Luckily her doctor is leaning towards the observation approach at this time. We will take it step by step after each platelet count is taken. The good news in all of this is that often times ITP in children will clear itself up within a few months. We pray this is the case for Hadlie.
Right now there are many unknowns. One thing is for sure, we have been blessed beyond measure that her diagnosis was not worse. So while I am sad that my daughter cannot do the things she loves (soccer, gymnastics, be the wild woman she typically is), I am grateful that one day she will be able to do those things again. I feel blessed beyond measure, and I have no doubt that today was us seeing Gods "mercies in disguise."
