Friday, October 28, 2011
Caramel Apples!
We decorated caramel apples on Jesse's first birthday so I wanted to do it again on his birthday this year. We didn't have enough time on his birthday after Bryan came home so we did it on Monday night instead. The boys loved it, but Malaya wasn't really sure what to do at first. She just started eating the candy, but then I showed her and she put a few on her apple.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Bryan came home from the hospital on Friday afternoon. His platelet count went up to 30,000. It wasn’t as high as they hoped it would be but definitely better than where it was at. Bryan was happy to be home and he’s been doing really well. I haven’t seen any new bruises on him! He has a doctor’s appointment this afternoon and he’ll have another CBC done to see where his platelet count is now. Here are a few pictures while we were visiting Bryan at the hospital.
Dad and Steve came over and brought dinner and a cake for Jesse’s birthday. After dinner, Jesse opened his presents and then we had cake.
Dad and Steve came over and brought dinner and a cake for Jesse’s birthday. After dinner, Jesse opened his presents and then we had cake.
Friday, October 21, 2011
Thursday, October 20, 2011
What is ITP?
When I took the pictures of Bryan's bruises on Tuesday night, he was just wearing his underwear but I cropped them so I could post a few pictures. He has so many more bruises now. It's so sad!
This is his left leg.
This is his back and you can kind of see the little red spots he has there.
And these are both of his arms
Here's some good information I read about what ITP is. Here's the link to the website I found it on if you want to read more about it. I'm just copying and pasting the overview here.
Immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) is a bleeding disorder. In ITP, the blood doesn't clot as it should. This is due to a low number of blood cell fragments called platelets (PLATE-lets) or thrombocytes (THROM-bo-sites).
Platelets are made in your bone marrow along with other kinds of blood cells. They stick together (clot) to seal small cuts or breaks on blood vessel walls and stop bleeding.
Without enough platelets, bleeding can occur inside the body (internal bleeding) or underneath or from the skin (external bleeding).
Overview
The term "thrombocytopenic" (throm-bo-cy-toe-PEE-nick) means the blood has a lower than normal number of platelets.
The term "purpura" (PURR-purr-ah) refers to purple bruises caused by bleeding from small blood vessels under the skin. People who have ITP often have bruises that appear on the skin or on the mucous membranes (for example, in the mouth).
People who have ITP also may have bleeding that causes tiny red or purple dots on the skin. These pinpoint-sized dots are called petechiae (peh-TEE-kee-ay). Petechiae may look like a rash.
People who have ITP also may have nosebleeds, bleeding from the gums during dental work, or other bleeding that's hard to stop. Women who have ITP may have menstrual bleeding that's heavier than normal.
A lot of bleeding can cause hematomas (he-mah-TO-mas). A hematoma is a collection of clotted or partially clotted blood under the skin. It looks or feels like a lump.
Bleeding in the brain as a result of ITP is very rare, but can be life threatening if it occurs.
In most cases, an autoimmune response is thought to cause ITP. Normally, your immune system helps your body fight off infections and diseases. But if you have ITP, your immune system attacks and destroys its own platelets. The reason why this happens isn't known.
ITP can't be passed from one person to another.
Types of Immune Thrombocytopenic Purpura
The two types of ITP are acute (temporary or short-term) and chronic (long-lasting).
Acute ITP generally lasts less than 6 months. It mainly occurs in children—both boys and girls—and is the most common type of ITP. Acute ITP often occurs after a viral infection.
Chronic ITP lasts 6 months or longer and mostly affects adults. However, some teenagers and children do get this type of ITP. Chronic ITP affects women two to three times more often than men.
Treatment depends on the severity of bleeding and the platelet count. In mild cases, treatment may not be needed.
Outlook
For most children and adults, ITP isn't a serious or life-threatening condition.
Acute ITP in children often goes away on its own within a few weeks or months and doesn't return. In 80 percent of children who have ITP, the platelet count returns to normal within 6 to 12 months. Treatment may not be needed.
For a small number of children, ITP doesn't go away on its own and may require further medical or surgical treatment.
Chronic ITP varies from person to person and can last for many years. Even people who have severe forms of chronic ITP can live for decades. Most people who have chronic ITP can stop treatment at some point and maintain a safe platelet count.
This is his back and you can kind of see the little red spots he has there.
And these are both of his arms
Here's some good information I read about what ITP is. Here's the link to the website I found it on if you want to read more about it. I'm just copying and pasting the overview here.
Immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) is a bleeding disorder. In ITP, the blood doesn't clot as it should. This is due to a low number of blood cell fragments called platelets (PLATE-lets) or thrombocytes (THROM-bo-sites).
Platelets are made in your bone marrow along with other kinds of blood cells. They stick together (clot) to seal small cuts or breaks on blood vessel walls and stop bleeding.
Without enough platelets, bleeding can occur inside the body (internal bleeding) or underneath or from the skin (external bleeding).
Overview
The term "thrombocytopenic" (throm-bo-cy-toe-PEE-nick) means the blood has a lower than normal number of platelets.
The term "purpura" (PURR-purr-ah) refers to purple bruises caused by bleeding from small blood vessels under the skin. People who have ITP often have bruises that appear on the skin or on the mucous membranes (for example, in the mouth).
People who have ITP also may have bleeding that causes tiny red or purple dots on the skin. These pinpoint-sized dots are called petechiae (peh-TEE-kee-ay). Petechiae may look like a rash.
People who have ITP also may have nosebleeds, bleeding from the gums during dental work, or other bleeding that's hard to stop. Women who have ITP may have menstrual bleeding that's heavier than normal.
A lot of bleeding can cause hematomas (he-mah-TO-mas). A hematoma is a collection of clotted or partially clotted blood under the skin. It looks or feels like a lump.
Bleeding in the brain as a result of ITP is very rare, but can be life threatening if it occurs.
In most cases, an autoimmune response is thought to cause ITP. Normally, your immune system helps your body fight off infections and diseases. But if you have ITP, your immune system attacks and destroys its own platelets. The reason why this happens isn't known.
ITP can't be passed from one person to another.
Types of Immune Thrombocytopenic Purpura
The two types of ITP are acute (temporary or short-term) and chronic (long-lasting).
Acute ITP generally lasts less than 6 months. It mainly occurs in children—both boys and girls—and is the most common type of ITP. Acute ITP often occurs after a viral infection.
Chronic ITP lasts 6 months or longer and mostly affects adults. However, some teenagers and children do get this type of ITP. Chronic ITP affects women two to three times more often than men.
Treatment depends on the severity of bleeding and the platelet count. In mild cases, treatment may not be needed.
Outlook
For most children and adults, ITP isn't a serious or life-threatening condition.
Acute ITP in children often goes away on its own within a few weeks or months and doesn't return. In 80 percent of children who have ITP, the platelet count returns to normal within 6 to 12 months. Treatment may not be needed.
For a small number of children, ITP doesn't go away on its own and may require further medical or surgical treatment.
Chronic ITP varies from person to person and can last for many years. Even people who have severe forms of chronic ITP can live for decades. Most people who have chronic ITP can stop treatment at some point and maintain a safe platelet count.
Bryan
About 2 weeks ago I noticed that Bryan had a lot of bruises on his legs and one on his side. He said that he play fights at school all the time so Derek talked to the school about it. We figured they had to be play fighting really hard in order for him to get bruises like that. I started asking Bryan every few days what he did at recess to make sure they weren’t play fighting anymore.
On Monday after dinner, Bryan told me he had little red spots on his skin. I told him it was probably just eczema and told him to take a shower and then I would look at it and he could put lotion on. He had the spots all over his feet, legs, stomach and back. He also had a whole lot more bruises that I hadn’t seen before. So I asked him if he had been play fighting at school lately. He said no.
After he went to bed, I looked up bruising and red spots online and decided that he needed to go to the doctor. I made an appointment Tuesday for him to be seen on Friday. On Tuesday night I saw a few more bruises on Bryan so I took some pictures and emailed them to Rachelle to show Lew, my father in law once removed(he he). He’s some kind of doctor so I asked him if those red spots were petechiae which was something I read about online. He emailed me back and told me that that it did look like petechiae to him and he thought that Bryan probably has ITP(Immune Thrombocytopenic Purpura). He explained it a little bit to me and told me he should get a CBC and be started on treatment as soon as possible.
On Wednesday morning, Derek saw more bruises on Bryan so I called the doctor and asked if they could see him that day. Derek took him in and the doctor agreed that he probably has ITP and sent him to get a CBC. We got the results back about 3 hours later and the doctor called and said he needs to go to the hospital right away for a platelet transfusion. His platelet count was at 2,000. The normal range is 150,000-450,000. So that’s why he was bruising everywhere.
While Derek and Bryan were on their way to the hospital, the doctor called again and said that he just talked to a blood specialist in Oakland and she didn’t want him to have the platelet transfusion so he told him to just come to the office instead.
He told Derek that he thought it was ITP but because they weren’t certain, the blood specialist didn’t want him to have the transfusion and she would fly out here by next Tuesday to see Bryan.
The doctor told Derek that Bryan would need another CBC on Monday. He said that Bryan needs to take it easy and be very careful so he doesn’t keep bruising. He pretty much gets bruises or red spots from anything touching him. The doctor stressed that anything on his head or stomach is cause for concern and to call him right away if he bumps his head or anything happens to either of those places.
Bryan ended up getting a bruise on his forehead that evening and then a little while later, we noticed that it had started swelling. He started getting ready for bed and then his nose started bleeding. It stopped after 10-15 minutes and then about 15 minutes later, it started again. Derek called the doctor because of the nose bleeds and the bump on his forehead and the doctor said he needs to go to the emergency room
When we got there, the on-call doctor had already talked to our doctor and they wanted to do another CBC and a cat scan. Poor Bryan had to get poked 3 times to get his blood!! The CAT scan came back negative for anything but we were still waiting on the CBC results. So they admitted him to the hospital.
The doctors think it’s ITP but they’re a little thrown off because his white blood cell count is low. And that’s not normal with ITP. They started treating him for ITP this morning with an iv ig and when he goes through 3 bottles of the medication, they’ll wait a few hours and then do another CBC. If his platelet count has gone up then he should be able to go home.
So right now we’re just waiting on that. Bryan is doing a lot better today than he was yesterday and he was happy the whole time we were there visiting him this morning. I really hope that the medicine works and he gets to come home soon! I will post again when I know more.
On Monday after dinner, Bryan told me he had little red spots on his skin. I told him it was probably just eczema and told him to take a shower and then I would look at it and he could put lotion on. He had the spots all over his feet, legs, stomach and back. He also had a whole lot more bruises that I hadn’t seen before. So I asked him if he had been play fighting at school lately. He said no.
After he went to bed, I looked up bruising and red spots online and decided that he needed to go to the doctor. I made an appointment Tuesday for him to be seen on Friday. On Tuesday night I saw a few more bruises on Bryan so I took some pictures and emailed them to Rachelle to show Lew, my father in law once removed(he he). He’s some kind of doctor so I asked him if those red spots were petechiae which was something I read about online. He emailed me back and told me that that it did look like petechiae to him and he thought that Bryan probably has ITP(Immune Thrombocytopenic Purpura). He explained it a little bit to me and told me he should get a CBC and be started on treatment as soon as possible.
On Wednesday morning, Derek saw more bruises on Bryan so I called the doctor and asked if they could see him that day. Derek took him in and the doctor agreed that he probably has ITP and sent him to get a CBC. We got the results back about 3 hours later and the doctor called and said he needs to go to the hospital right away for a platelet transfusion. His platelet count was at 2,000. The normal range is 150,000-450,000. So that’s why he was bruising everywhere.
While Derek and Bryan were on their way to the hospital, the doctor called again and said that he just talked to a blood specialist in Oakland and she didn’t want him to have the platelet transfusion so he told him to just come to the office instead.
He told Derek that he thought it was ITP but because they weren’t certain, the blood specialist didn’t want him to have the transfusion and she would fly out here by next Tuesday to see Bryan.
The doctor told Derek that Bryan would need another CBC on Monday. He said that Bryan needs to take it easy and be very careful so he doesn’t keep bruising. He pretty much gets bruises or red spots from anything touching him. The doctor stressed that anything on his head or stomach is cause for concern and to call him right away if he bumps his head or anything happens to either of those places.
Bryan ended up getting a bruise on his forehead that evening and then a little while later, we noticed that it had started swelling. He started getting ready for bed and then his nose started bleeding. It stopped after 10-15 minutes and then about 15 minutes later, it started again. Derek called the doctor because of the nose bleeds and the bump on his forehead and the doctor said he needs to go to the emergency room
When we got there, the on-call doctor had already talked to our doctor and they wanted to do another CBC and a cat scan. Poor Bryan had to get poked 3 times to get his blood!! The CAT scan came back negative for anything but we were still waiting on the CBC results. So they admitted him to the hospital.
The doctors think it’s ITP but they’re a little thrown off because his white blood cell count is low. And that’s not normal with ITP. They started treating him for ITP this morning with an iv ig and when he goes through 3 bottles of the medication, they’ll wait a few hours and then do another CBC. If his platelet count has gone up then he should be able to go home.
So right now we’re just waiting on that. Bryan is doing a lot better today than he was yesterday and he was happy the whole time we were there visiting him this morning. I really hope that the medicine works and he gets to come home soon! I will post again when I know more.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Family picture
We went over to Dad's house tonight and tried to take another picture together. This one is cute and it's the best out of all of them.
Friday, October 14, 2011
Bryan funny
I tried a new recipe for dinner tonight. Chicken Puffs. Don’t ever make them! They’re terrible! They reminded me of the braid thing that Mom used to make and force us to eat. Except chicken puffs aren’t as bad as the braid thing! I hope you don’t make that anymore, Mom! Do you remember how much we all complained when you forced us to eat it!?
Anyways, here’s the Bryan funny…
Bryan: What’s for dinner, Mom?
Mom: We’re having something new, they’re called chicken puffs.
Bryan: oh is that the kind of food that gives you those bump things
Mom: what bump things?
Bryan: you know those things that you get from eating chicken that are like bumps all over.
Mom: Chicken pox?
Bryan: yeah! Is that what we’re eating? I’ve never had them!
Mom: lol for like 5 minutes
Bryan: What? Why are you laughing?
Mom: No we’re not eating chicken pox. We’re eating chicken PUFFS. And they won’t give you bumps. You got a shot for that when you were a baby so you’ll never have them.
Bryan: so I can’t get them from eating this?
And then we had a discussion about how you get chicken pox.
Anyways, here’s the Bryan funny…
Bryan: What’s for dinner, Mom?
Mom: We’re having something new, they’re called chicken puffs.
Bryan: oh is that the kind of food that gives you those bump things
Mom: what bump things?
Bryan: you know those things that you get from eating chicken that are like bumps all over.
Mom: Chicken pox?
Bryan: yeah! Is that what we’re eating? I’ve never had them!
Mom: lol for like 5 minutes
Bryan: What? Why are you laughing?
Mom: No we’re not eating chicken pox. We’re eating chicken PUFFS. And they won’t give you bumps. You got a shot for that when you were a baby so you’ll never have them.
Bryan: so I can’t get them from eating this?
And then we had a discussion about how you get chicken pox.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Is this one better, Megan?
Monday, October 3, 2011
Picture Fail!
Remember when I said it’s hard to get a good picture of all 3 kids together? And I didn’t know how I would ever get a good picture when I would have to get 4 kids together? Well, this is kind of what I was talking about. We tried to get a family picture tonight, but it was difficult. Bryan and Jesse know exactly what to do, look at the camera and smile, but Malaya not so much. Here’s what we ended up with.
Sunday, October 2, 2011
New look
Instead of sleeping right now, I’m up redesigning my blog. What do you think? I wish I had a family picture with Tyler in it. We’re going over to Dad’s for dinner tomorrow so hopefully I’ll remember to bring my camera and he can take our picture. Ok I’m going to bed now.
Saturday, October 1, 2011
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