Thursday, April 30, 2009

The first leg...

Wow, where do we start? First, we just want to thank everyone for the overwhelming show of support and all of your prayers. We can feel the presence of God always!



I guess this story begins last Monday (4/20/09). Grant had 3 "unexplainable" fainting spells. He seemed to be very clumsy and very sensitive to pain. We took him to his pediatrician on Wed. and he acted completely normal. Then on Friday (4/24/09) he started running a temperature. We began a Tylenol regimen trying to get him well enough for his birthday party on Sat. He was so excited about it. He did go and did very well, especially considering what we know now. He played for about 2 hours and then he crashed. He never really recovered from that point. He ran fever and became very achy all weekend. By Sunday evening, he was very miserable. I took him to the pediatrician first thing Monday morning. They immediately commented on his breathing and how pale he looked. The took a blood sample and then another. The pediatrician then came in and referred us to Cook Children's hospital. His white and red blood cell counts were very low. Rudy came and got us (b/c most of you know how well I handle medical situations) and we went straight to the hospital. We checked in there about 10:30 a.m. and they ran some more tests and took a chest x-ray. The ER doctor came and told us that Grant would be admitted to the hospital for further testing. Once we were moved to the hematology/oncology unit around 3:30, we were able to speak to the oncologist. At that time, we learned that we were most likely dealing with leukemia. They gave Grant 2 blood transfusions that night. The next morning, they did a procedure to extract a bone marrow sample for more testing. After that, the doctor was able to confirm the leukemia diagnosis and tell us that it was the ALL strain of leukemia. We got a plan of action and began right away. He had surgery yesterday to place a port in his chest to be used for future chemo treatments. They also took another bone marrow sample and did a spinal tap to test for leukemia and administer the first chemo treatment. He did very well, but took a long time waking up from the anesthesia. He got two more treatments of chemo last night and has had another one this morning. He is doing well and has been sitting up and talking this morning. He asked for Trent and wanted to go outside. He is going to take a nap now.

2 comments:

  1. Amy, Rudy, and Grant: I am excited to be the first to comment on your blog. This is a great way for you to keep us informed. We are lifting you up in prayer as you go through this "big adventure." We are praying for strength, needed rest and TOTAL healing! Love you all, David and Suzette

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  2. "But as for me, I shall sing of Your strength;
    Yes, I shall joyfully sing of Your lovingkindness in the morning, for You have been my stronghold and a refuge in the day of my distress. O my strength, I will sing priases to You; For God is my stronghold, the God who shows me lovingkindness." Ps 59:16-17
    Love from your very own personal chaplain.

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