Tayler got out of the shower yesterday and came in my room wrapped in a towel, hair dripping on the floor to show me some purple-ish spots on her chest. I did the usual sick child spot check. No fever. No runny nose. No cough. No aches or pains. So, I sent her off to school with instructions to keep her eye on them and call me if they started multiplying. Around noon, I get a phone call from her saying she had 7 spots this morning, and now there are 11. I picked her up from school, did another spot check. No symptoms of any kind. I called the doctor and they told me to bring her in.
All of her vitals were perfect as usual and she was cheery and happy. The doctor came in and took a look at the spots, checked her legs, listened to her lungs, checked the spots again, and made that god awful perplexed "hmmmm", you know, the one with the furrowed brow that makes your stomach turn. She then told me the spots are purpura. Pur..whaaaaa?? Purpura is essentially bleeding under the skin and can be caused by a multitude of things ranging from meningitis to simple trauma to the area.
"I'll be right back" the doctor says and steps out of the room. My concern grows as I just know she's going to find another doctor for another opinion, and of course moments later in walks the doctor with her colleague. He looks at the spots more "hmmmmmms". He has her lie down and lifts her head, moves it around in circles, asks some questions, and rules out meningitis..whewwwwwww!!! The options we were left with were a: Trauma or B: low platelets...shiiiiiiiit!!! He recommends some blood tests and leaves.
This of course throws Tayler into a near panic. The last time a needle had to enter Tayler about 6 years ago, it took 6 grown nurses to hold her down. I gave the typical reassurances..."You're a young adult now" "You can handle this" "It's not as bad as a shot" "Mommy will be right here, holding your hand." "I'll buy you ice cream if you're brave"... When the nurse came in to draw the blood, she manned up..shut her eyes really tight, winced a little, squeezed the shit out of my hand, and only said "ow" once. I was very proud of her!!
The doctor came back in and let me know she was sending the blood to the labs to be tested STAT, not because she thought it was anything serious, but because she was curious...seriously?!?!?! This is what you say to reassure a parent you have just told their child could potentially have leukemia?!?!? I'm curious?!?! WTF...she sent me home with purpura written on a piece of paper and explicit instructions NOT TO GOOGLE IT when I got home.
We went home. Picked up a frozen pizza and the promised ice cream at the store. I had promised Tayler we would watch My Sister's Keeper when Ross was out of town this week. As much as I was sure I did NOT want to sit with my daughter and watch a dramatic sob story about a girl with..you guessed it..Leukemia, I felt like what I needed to do with Tayler right now was act normal. She did not need her mom in total freak-out mode...freaking her out.
So we watched the movie, while I choked back tears. I literally forced myself NOT to cry..and that was a SAD movie!! And I waited...and waited...and waited. We left the doctor's office at 5.. at 7 there was still no call...at 8 there was still no call. I continued to reassure myself that there couldn't possibly be anything wrong with her..she was healthy and active...but when you're in these situations, you can't help but think about all of the movies and blogs you read from parents with seriously sick children..how their kid was fine, then one day some strange something or other appears, and the next thing they know their fighting some epic battle with a life-threatening disease. I wasn't in a full blown panic, but it was definitely lingering at the back of my head.
Around 9, I got the call. I knew immediately by the chipper way the doctor said "Hi!" that everything was fine, a total rush of relief when she said Tayler's blood is perfect.
I was beyond grateful and relieved that it was NOT one of those calls that turn your world upside down, and in that moment, my heart went out to all of those parents who have answered that phone call and heard a somber doctor on the other end of the line.
