One of the Scariest days of My Life

Two days ago, we got the boys up and started getting them ready for school when we found bruises all over EJ. There was one on his cheek, one on his chin, three on his belly and chest, 3 or 4 on his back, a few on his bum, and too many to count all over his legs. They were all uniform in appearance, and appeared out of nowhere. Robert and I panicked. We called and got him an appointment at noon. Neither of us would say what we were thinking, but we were thinking the same thing: Leukemia. We know bruising is one of the first signs, and we are always on the lookout for signs in Gabe. Leukemia strikes kids with DS at a rate 20 times greater than the typical population, so we are mindful of what to look for and if we saw symptoms in Gabe, we'd be prepared to deal with it. But not Elijah. We were completely caught off guard to see those bruises on our little tough guy.

I took him in, and the pediatrician was concerned as well, though she suspected another culprit, a blood disorder called ITP, which is not very common. She sent him immediately for blood tests and told us we'd have an answer by the end of the day. I took him to the lab and held him while they took his blood. He was such a trooper! He whimpered a little, but no screaming or crying. He really is a tough little guy. Then we went home and waited. Robert had come home to pick up the other two from school, but he was too nervous to go back, so he stayed home and we passed the time researching things on the internet (bad idea), playing with the kids, and I personally consumed about two dozen chocolate chip cookies (worse idea). (I am so not going to weigh in at my WW meeting this week.) It was the longest afternoon I can remember. The pediatrician finally called around 4:30. The good news is it is not leukemia, it is not ITP, and it is not anemia. Thank you God! The minor bad news is that we have no answers. The doctor wants us to keep an eye on him, and if the bruises appear again, or he has any other symptoms, to bring him back in. For now, we'll chalk it up to a freak incident and be grateful for his health. In retrospect, I have to say . . . it's just like him to give us this kind of stress. You can see it in his smile, he's a trouble maker! I'm tellin' ya, this kid is going to give me more grief over the years, heaven help me when he hits the teens . . . of course, I'll just be thankful I have him around to complain about.