Well, it has happened again. The Dimelers have had another Adventure, charting new territory. About a year ago, we had a big adventure when we had Charlie in the hospital. Strangely, our New Adventure brought us to... another hospital!
But let me back up... On Monday, I found myself sitting in a courtroom among some 30 or so other prospective jurors prepared to accept my fate, give up a week of my life and a small bundle of cash to a babysitter, when our gracious Heavenly Father miraculously freed me from my patriotic duty and I was "excused." The next day, I was able to take Charlie in for his one-year well-child checkup. I'm so glad I was able to do that! Our wise doctor noted that he looked a little pale, too pale, and suggested we do a blood test to see if he was anemic. So, I went straight to Gritman and Charlie got a poke (he didn't even cry!). The next day, our doctor called to tell me that Charlie was definitely anemic, in fact, he needed a blood transfusion and that he was referring me to a pediatric hematologist/oncologist in Spokane. Um... what? I thought anemia just meant low iron? Well, no. In fact, anemia is caused by about 100 factors; 90 of which are no big deal and 10 of which are, well, a big deal. Well, all right then. I packed a bag in a hurry and whisked Charlie up to Spokane, about an hour and a half away. Keith was able to come up the next day, and brought a lot of good cheer (along with some shampoo) and took over chats with the nurses and doctors, much to my relief. He also had fun playing Wii and chasing around other children in the ward. Let us hope they recover (from Keith AND their illness).
So, after a couple very long nights of pokes and prods and countless sleep interruptions, Charlie's levels are back up to normal and we are home again. His cheeks are rosy and his disposition matches. But we still don't know what caused his anemic state, so we are now playing the waiting game. At this point, the hematologist is leaning toward some of the less serious possibilites, and the scary ones (cancer-related) are off the radar screen (for now). Once a week we'll do a blood test (at our local hospital) to keep an eye on his levels as we pray and wait for test results. Praise God for good doctors who follow their hunches, for release from jury duty, for good traffic and weather for driving, for kind and attentive nurses, for coffee, for a son who was able to bounce back from a lot of invasive and uncomfortable procedures, and for being able to come home so quickly. We are grateful for our Father's profound and pervasive care of us and for our sweet Charlie.
Charlie has this "thing" about getting into stuff.
As I'm sure most babies his age do.
Now there's a handsome fella!
Now there's a handsome fella!
Did you know that Safeway sells little green plant things that could pass for very small Christmas trees that come with their own little set of twinkle lights and lightweight ornaments? Well, they do and there's nary a pine needle in sight that little Master Charles could gum down. Yup.
