For those of you that have read all of my posts…(I’m sure that is a small number ) you will know that I have RA, my husband has CAD (Coronary artery disease) and my daughter had ITP (idiopathic thrombocytopenia purpura) earlier this year. Until today, my son was the only one of us without a label. Today, he got a label.  He was diagnosed with an osteochondroma (benign bone tumor). For almost a week, I have been praying, worrying, denying, crying, stressing, and researching. The doctors originally thought that it was benign, but changed their mind and thought that it could be malignant. After a MRI, bone scan, x-rays, and CT scan, they decided that it was the lesser of two evils and gave me the call with the good news that I was waiting for. Thank you Lord!

My children are my greatest blessings.  I would easily trade places with them when they are sick or hurting.  As I was giving the hospital business office my insurance card, and then my unreimbursed medical expense card to cover the deductible, I looked over at my husband and told him that I may have to re-think my thoughts about universal healthcare.  I cannot imagine what it would be like to not have insurance that would pay for appropriate medical testing  for your child or your spouse.   There has to be a way to provide affordable healthcare for everyone.  I don’t think it needs to be “free”, but affordable.  I hope that very soon…somebody, somewhere can figure out how to do it.

So, for today I am counting my blessings.  I’m one of the fortunate ones that has insurance and a job that enables me to help provide for my family.  I’m thankful for a husband that loves me and our children.  I’m blessed that I don’t work for an employer that might fire me for missing a staff meeting because I was on the phone with the doctor.  I’m thankful that on most days, I walk without a limp, can still wear high heels occasionally, and that my medication is doing its job and keeps my RA under control.   And…..I’ve lost three pounds on the Rapid Weight Loss Worried About Your Kids Diet.  There are so many things to be thankful for.  What are you thankful for today?

The idea about doing a blog came from my daughter…my beautiful 24 year old daughter. On February 12, she called me to tell me about a really strange rash on her legs, a red area on her arm that looked like a “hickey”, black dots in her mouth, and a really heavy period. I did what I always do when I’m not sure about something, and got on the internet. I quickly discovered that she needed to get to the doctor. The rash on her arm and legs was called petechiae. Blood was collecting close to the surface of the skin. My online search revealed that it could be caused by a few things, but the one that scared me the most was leukemia. I called her back and told her that I wanted her to go to her physician. She was busy at work and didn’t think she could leave early that day. I went ahead and called her physician and got her in at 3:00 that afternoon. We talked back and forth a few times and she decided that it could wait until the next day. Thankfully, a co-worker encouraged her to keep the appointment. She saw the doctor and he ordered blood work.

The next morning while at work, the doctor’s office called her and told her that she needed to get to the hospital. Her blood platelet count was at 2,000. Normal count begins at 150,000.

Our cell phone service is horrible from her office, so she couldn’t get in touch with me, but was able to get her Dad. He called me to tell me that she was going to the hospital. There was only one seat available on the next flight, so we decided that I would take the first one. He would follow in a few hours.

I could continue to tell this story, but she tells it so much better. I encouraged her to do a blog in the hopes that it would help her and possibly help someone else newly diagnosed with ITP (Ideopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura) . Read about it at: http://www.hemadrama.wordpress.com/

During this eight month long process, we both learned that the best information and comfort comes from other people that share your experience. So, I decided that I could share my experience with RA, hormone issues, and my husband’s experience with heart disease. If it helps one person..it’s good.