ITP

ITP - have you heard of it? it stands for immune thrombocytopenic purpura. anyways, it is a blood disease that the cause is unknown. well, keegan was diagnosed with it in april. within a 24 hour period she was covered with unexplained dark, large bruises all over her body. we did our due dilligence on the internet & realized that it was either ITP or lukemia as their symptoms are very similar. we took her to the hospital & was relieved that it was ITP & not the other. her body sees her platelets as a virus & attacks them - she should have about 500,000 platelets & she had 6000. with a low platelet count if she bleeds, it will not clot = big problem. we can not risk her skinning her knee, or getting cut with scissors, or hitting her head (brain hemorage). so, i want to just wrap her in bubble wrap & put a helment on her & have her sit on the couch until her counts are up.

she was referred to primary children's hosptial oncology - so sad. it just tore my heart into pieces taking her down there & sitting in the waiting room with all these innocent children with cancer & lukemia on their last attempt to live. there i sat with keegan, as happy a a child could be, full of life but covered with bruises. brusies that appeared overnight. brusies that could change our lives forever. brusies that we are now so thankful for as they indicated a serious problem before it was too late. she has been going through treatment for the past 6 weeks & this is her last week. she has been a trooper. she has gotten her blood taken so many times that now when they put that needle in her vein in her arm, she doesn't even skip a beat. she has been on high dosages of steriods which has made her gain weight (which has been the hardest thing for her). she is SO self conscious about her clothes & how she looks. we have had meltdowns almost everyday even after buying her a new closet full of clothes. the steroids also makes her angry inside & she often explodes. it is just a side effect of the medication & are looking forward to her getting back to her normal happy self.

over 70% of ITP cases after treatment are cured & never seen again. the rest are chronic. we will not know until july where she falls. we have hope that she will not have to deal with it again. we are looking forward to seeing her body keep her blood counts where they should be on its own & without medication. keep her in your prayers!