Our first appointment on Weds was with a GI specialist. He said the reason for the bleeding could be 3 things. The easiest and most common thing is a dairy or soy intolerance. So, I am cutting dairy and soy from my diet and we are calling back in a week if the bleeding doesn’t stop. I am skeptical, as my diet has been just 1-2 servings/day. I hope this is the cause, because the other two problems are big problems. He ordered an ultrasound of Noah’s abdomen and they saw his spleen is enlarged just a little bit, and everything else is normal (good news)!
The Hematologist/Oncologist saw him next and his bloodwork came back with his platelets and red blood cells staying about the same, which is fantastic considering he was bleeding!! The percentage of blasts in his blood had over doubled in 1 week. More tests next week, and if that blast percentage increases at the same rate, his doctor said we would discuss a bone marrow biopsy.
After talking with the doctor yesterday, and reading some studies on my own, I am understanding TMD more. From my understanding, babies who still have TMD after 36 days of life and are premature have a higher chance of having leukemia that would need treatment- AML. BUT he does not have other things working against him like an enlarged liver or super elevated white blood count. So, even though I know more, we still wait.
Dave and I were joking that he is definitely my mother’s grandchild as he has chosen the most alarming and dramatic path to getting better:)
I was told this week by someone wise that they were praying for his temporary healing because forever healing doesn’t occur until we get to heaven. Trusting and waiting on healer God.
Praying for you all … wouldn’t a nice simple out-growable dairy intolerance be a delightful thing? We shall see what God has planned.
Waiting. Always such a hard thing to do. Noah does have a flair for drama and a quirky sense of timing. That’s just who he is. Prayers for you as I think of Isaiah 30:18
“And therefore will the LORD wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the LORD is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him.”
Blessings on you as you do this difficult act of obedience called waiting.
Carol
I agree that Noah is definitely our mom’s grandbaby. Auntie Shar talked about our mom this morning. Mom had been through all those difficult times with 3 of us as babies. In the result… 3 of us are doing good today! Love you sister!
Courtney, thank you and the Lord bless you for your posts. They have been deeply moving to me and the lot. They have swelled my eyes with tears for the love and dedication you have for Noah, the rest of your family, and especially God. Though this Psalm be a prayer of David in the midst of his enemies and Saul, I pray it just the same for you and Dave in the midst of those warring thoughts and stresses that tempt one to despair:
I love you, O Lord, my strength.
2 The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
3 I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,
and I am saved from my enemies.
4 The cords of death encompassed me;
the torrents of destruction assailed me;[a]
5 the cords of Sheol entangled me;
the snares of death confronted me.
6 In my distress I called upon the Lord;
to my God I cried for help.
From his temple he heard my voice,
and my cry to him reached his ears.
May the Lord keep you, and bless you and shine His face upon you, Noah, Dave,
and the rest of your family in these times of trouble.
With God, all things are possible,
Michael