Monday, March 24, 2014


An Update on our Little Princess
We have been sparse with sharing our information on what is going on with Hannah mainly because we just do not know exactly what is going on with Hannah. We started running a myriad of tests on her in October but we still do not have any concrete answers. We ran a bunch of tests here at Diospi last week and we are currently consulting with a German Pediatrician here to plan our next move. We have done blood tests, urine tests, stool tests, and ultrasounds. At this point I cannot tell you much but it looks like we are not dealing with Leukemia types of cancer, celiac, heart problems, or kidney problems. We will continue stool sampling this week and will go in for an x-ray and abdominal ultrasound as well.  Her stool samples both here and in Arequipa show she has white blood cells in her stool but no blood. Unfortunately, her blood tests are also consistently showing elevated platelets at 750 with normal being under 400 I believe. Hannah is ranking in at less than the 3rd percentile for weight and actually they cannot measure below the 3rd percentile so we really do not know where she fits on the charts. Charts are not all that important since John and I are small people but we noticed a huge dive in her weight after she started on solid foods. Her height has also started to drop off and her head circumference remains okay right now which we are grateful for as developmentally she seems fine. That girl is super smart, and quite frankly she has a hilarious little personality. More concerning than the lack of being on the “charts” is her night sweats. She consistently wakes up from naps and nights with her pillow soaked within a 10-15 inch radius. Having cancer on my side of the family, this symptom kinda makes my skin crawl. It’s also really hard to look at Hannah and then look at Hudson because right now they could be wearing the same clothes – that is if I really wanted to dress Hudson in pink. I am sure Hudson is passing her in weight but in all honesty I have not checked lately because I really do not want to know. She is still wearing the same clothes that we came to Peru in almost a year ago next month.
This is hard on the heart especially being so far away from home.  I think we both feel a little helpless. Especially John is he is the doctor – who can heal everything, right? – WRONG. This is a constant reminder to us that God is our healer and ultimately he is in charge. I have started asking myself questions that make me a little sick. What if this time next year Hannah is not with us (and I might be being incredibly rash here) but what if that is true? Would I be okay with it? Would I be bitter about being here in Peru and not being able to find the answers? Would I be angry with God that we have come all the way to Peru only to have God not show up in some miraculous way? Really, when I think about these things my heart aches, but my answer is no. No, I would not be bitter or angry because I know that my children were given to me. They are a gift, and they are not really mine. I am grateful for all three of my gifts, and I would miss them terribly if they were taken away from me. I also know that God’s heart would break to watch me go through such a terrible ordeal, but I know that in this world there is sin and therefore our bodies do not always work as they should. I am not bitter about it; it just is what it is. My eyes tear up even now writing this as I watch her dancing around the house knowing that things are so unpredictable in life be it disease, car accidents, whatever it may be we only have so much time here in this world – and in life, disease and death our God will be exalted.  In all honesty, I am at peace with everything, whatever it is. I do not even worry about it anymore, as I know ultimately my worrying will not change anything (except how many gray hairs I have J ).
Currently, we think the tests we need to run are not available here and we are trying to get an appointment at Children’s Hospital in Denver which has proven quite difficult. We were planning on returning in August to visit family for the annual fantasy football draft, but with things being the way they are we are hoping to return earlier sometime in May if we can get an appointment at Children’s. We will see what the results from this week are, try to get an appointment at Children’s and then we will make the decision on whether John goes back with just Hannah for a while or whether we all go back for a short time to try and figure out what is going on with our little Hannita.
All this being said we would really appreciate your prayers this week. We really need to get an appointment at Children’s Hospital ASAP, and we would love to find some economical tickets so that we can all go back together. Right now the prices are not bad but the longer we wait to figure things out the tougher the details get. Pray also that Hannah continues to eat well. We have had a terrible time getting her to eat, and she really cannot afford to lose any weight.  As always thank you so much for your prayers and support!

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