Tuesday, October 14, 2008
The Big One!
It's taken me a few weeks to get these pictures up, but a fun time was had by all at Emma's first birthday party. We had the event in Bowling Green with close family and friends, and of course, I scheduled it right in the middle of Emma's afternoon nap. She kept it together pretty well considering how tired she was. The only meltdown of the day came when it was time for cake. The kid doesn't like cake! She certainly doesn't take after me in that department! I feel I should end this post by making some statement like "I can't believe she's already one!" or "She's growing up so fast!" but the truth is it's been a long, hard, wonderful year, and I'm so excited to see what the next ones will bring!
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Mullet no more!
As you may know, our daughter Emma was born with a true Kentucky mullet--spiky on top and flowing down her back. She was the only newborn we had ever seen with hair that touched her shoulders. At first it was cute, and then as the rest of her hair grew it wasn't as noticeable. People just thought she had long hair. A few weeks ago, however, it started looking like a couple of rat tails again, so in honor of her first birthday, we decided it was time for the mullet to go. Here is Emma at her very first haircut--and judging by her face, it was serious business ( . . . and no longer a "party in the back").
We are pleased to report that Emma now has an oh-so-chic bob that would make Victoria Beckham jealous.
We are pleased to report that Emma now has an oh-so-chic bob that would make Victoria Beckham jealous.
Friday, August 29, 2008
Joe Dan has been after me for about a week to get this video posted . . . so here is Emma making her dancing debut. Keep in mind that we did not teach her this--as first time parents we were shocked to find that Emma instinctively knew to start bouncing around to the music. Maybe all kids do this, but it's still amazing that when she hears music, she's just gotta move!
And Kim Jones, if you are reading this, I think we found Tyler a dance partner!
Saturday, August 23, 2008
No neutrophils? No problem!
By now, most people in the upper 48 (and a few in Hawaii) know that our daughter has an autoimmune disorder called Chronic Benign Neutropenia, but in case you've been on the mission field for the last few months, I'll give as short an explanation as possible without sounding like a hematology textbook. Basically, Emma is producing antibodies that attack her white blood cells, specifically the types of cells called neutrophils. Neutrophils are the "attack" cells that go after infections. A normal person will have 1500 to 7000 neutrophils at any given time (they go down when you are fighting an infection). Emma's have been as low as 84 and are staying consistently under 800.
Each week we take her for a blood test with either her pediatrician or hematologist. In a week, her ANC (absolute neutrophil count) can drop or rise by a few hundred cells. For the past few weeks, it has been slowly rising, all the way up to 754. We dared to think that she might be growing out of the condition already (almost all children with CBN outgrow it by age three). At her appointment yesterday, however, her ANC had dropped back down to 168.
But what does all this mean? Well, we've been struggling to answer that question for over two months now. Supposedly, Emma is highly susceptible to infection--actually, not more likely to get sick, but in greater danger if she does get sick than a child with a normal ANC would be--because she doesn't have the resources to fight the infection. I say supposedly because, unbelievably, Emma has never been sick. Not even a fever. This either means she's incredibly blessed or we've been doing something right (probably the first!)
The doctors have told us to keep Emma out of childcare situations and away from friends or family who are obviously sick (physically, that is. I don't know about mentally . . .) We are allowed to take her out on errands and basically to places that we feel she won't be exposed to illness.
I feel that our friends and family have probably been confused about her condition. This is understandable considering how unsure we have been ourselves when explaining it. People either think it's no big deal or walk away thinking it is more serious than it actually is. This truly began as a terrifying time for us, but now that we know that she will be okay, we have focused on making her life as normal as possible, including limited exposure to other children. She's such a social butterfly already! If this doesn't clear up soon, keeping her out of the action will be no small task!
Well, I've come to the end of this post. Whew! Thanks for hanging in there, and thanks to those of you who have been praying for Emma through all of this. I have many more feelings and thoughts to share, but I have tried your patience long enough. Besides, what words could ever accurately describe how you feel when your child is sick and there is nothing you can do but wait it out? The only thing left to say is "Thank you, Jesus, that this is something that we can wait out! Be with those that deal with something they cannot."
Each week we take her for a blood test with either her pediatrician or hematologist. In a week, her ANC (absolute neutrophil count) can drop or rise by a few hundred cells. For the past few weeks, it has been slowly rising, all the way up to 754. We dared to think that she might be growing out of the condition already (almost all children with CBN outgrow it by age three). At her appointment yesterday, however, her ANC had dropped back down to 168.
But what does all this mean? Well, we've been struggling to answer that question for over two months now. Supposedly, Emma is highly susceptible to infection--actually, not more likely to get sick, but in greater danger if she does get sick than a child with a normal ANC would be--because she doesn't have the resources to fight the infection. I say supposedly because, unbelievably, Emma has never been sick. Not even a fever. This either means she's incredibly blessed or we've been doing something right (probably the first!)
The doctors have told us to keep Emma out of childcare situations and away from friends or family who are obviously sick (physically, that is. I don't know about mentally . . .) We are allowed to take her out on errands and basically to places that we feel she won't be exposed to illness.
I feel that our friends and family have probably been confused about her condition. This is understandable considering how unsure we have been ourselves when explaining it. People either think it's no big deal or walk away thinking it is more serious than it actually is. This truly began as a terrifying time for us, but now that we know that she will be okay, we have focused on making her life as normal as possible, including limited exposure to other children. She's such a social butterfly already! If this doesn't clear up soon, keeping her out of the action will be no small task!
Well, I've come to the end of this post. Whew! Thanks for hanging in there, and thanks to those of you who have been praying for Emma through all of this. I have many more feelings and thoughts to share, but I have tried your patience long enough. Besides, what words could ever accurately describe how you feel when your child is sick and there is nothing you can do but wait it out? The only thing left to say is "Thank you, Jesus, that this is something that we can wait out! Be with those that deal with something they cannot."
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