February 16 – “Diagnosis”

 

 

Happy birthday, Son Josh.

 

No, that's not the diagnosis.  But we did get one for what has been causing April's problems.  She had an appointment with the Infectious Disease doctor yesterday, and he unloaded one of those multi-letter syndrome names on them.  Nathan wrote it down, of course, and the doctor was very patient with him so he could get it all spelled right.  Then he proceeded to say, "Now don't look that up on the internet."  Wait.  Why would he say that?  Is there something that he was not revealing?  Well, not exactly.  He followed up with, "If you look it up on the internet, it will just tell you that you only have a few days to live.  That's not the case with April."  Wait.  What?  A few days? 

 

He didn't leave it at that, thank goodness.  He went on to explain pretty much what we had already been told.  Her immune system is really messed up.  It does weird stuff.  Sometimes it's fine.  Sometimes it goes overboard.  Sometimes it doesn't do anything at all.  And sometimes it turns on itself, as it was doing when April's white blood cells were at war with her red cells.  He also told them that her spleen had apparently been bleeding for some time.  It wasn't just a result of the trauma she experienced during her hospital stay.  The plan was for her to touch base with the highly renowned hematology doctor in Houston (that would be Aunt Sue to them).  She would then push them in the direction of the world's leading geneticist, who just happens to be on staff right now at Texas Children's Hospital.  April's biggest concern has always been for Cailyn, and what effects might have been passed on to her.  I guess a geneticist is just the person to see for those kinds of answers. 

 

And so once again we wait.  And … yes, I did it, too … look up that syndrome on the internet.  The symptoms April was having are pretty much all there.  Fever that doesn't necessarily spike.  Low counts on everything in the blood.  Even blood clots, which would mean she has had evidence of this since she was eighteen at least.  It does mention the whole death thing, but I think that part is behind us.  She already went pretty close to that point and made it out on the other side with the help of lots of antibiotics, six days in ICU, a great trauma surgeon, and of course lots of prayer (which, as far as I'm concerned, made possible everything the doctors did). 

 

Isaiah 64:6 says, "All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away."

 

Father, Thank you for one more step toward clarity for April.  Keep them coming.  Amen.