As much as Ethan hated it, I sent the pictures I took to the doctor Monday afternoon. I explained what was going on. I also told them I wasn't overly worried and just didn't want to be an irresponsible parent by not reporting it. So of course they had me come right in. Do not pass go. Do NOT collect $200. I had to leave work right away, I picked Avery up at school (because it is literally across the street and the timing was perfect) and away we went. Poor Avery waited patiently and I had no idea it was going to take as long as it did.
The doctor traced his red mark on his arm with a pen. We were to report if it went outside that mark. While there, I mentioned I saw some petechiae on Ethan's neck. Petechia are tiny round brownish-purple spots that form under the skin, may be in a small area due to minor trauma or widespread due to a bleeding disorder. I thought it was due to Ethan itching at his neck.
As I was showing the doctor the spot on his neck, I saw another spot on the back of his neck. I looked under his collar and there was more. Then we lifted up his shirt and he had it all over his back. My eyeballs fell out of my head, rolled across the floor and my brain exploded. Petechiae are not good. This isn’t good. As the words came out of the doctors mouth, swirling around my head like a choking tornado, I knew this meant blood work.
The doctor ordered a CBC, clotting profile and another clotting test. This is to rule out a clotting disorder. We went right to the lab. It was across the waiting room so it wasn’t a long way to travel.
Ethan was pissed. He had stuff he wanted to do and this had taken far longer than we both expected. The lady came out and called Ethan’s name. She didn’t crack a smile. Oh boy. Was she having a bad day? She asked if he had a preference for what arm she used. I explained probably the left as the right was having a terrible reaction and was sore. I then told her that he has some pretty decent veins in his left arm. I also told her he is pretty brave. She lightened up a little. She then shared that she usually teenage boys are the worst for passing out and warned him to stay sitting or let her know if he felt faint.
He said to her “I unfortunately have been through this a lot and I am fine with it.” Then he flashed his smile. As mad as he was, he still managed to be charming. He ended up being a bright spot in her day. She was smiling and chatting. Who knows what her day was like. It may have been terrible. It may have been fine. Maybe Ethan was her bright spot? His day wasn’t great, but at least he was smiling too. It’s important to share a smile. I went back to work and stayed 2 hours late to make up for my time away. I am thankful that I have this flexibility. But I was tired when I got home.
The doctor called at 10:30 pm Monday night. She left a message to let me know there was an issue at the lab. Of course there was. She would touch base in the morning.
When she called mid morning, she explained that there were some values that were off and we should really go to a hematologist. There was one test that couldn’t be performed. They did submit some blood for a culture to make sure he didn’t develop some weird blood infection. I doubt this is the case.
The values aren’t terrible, but just need some investigating to be thorough. We went over multiple possibilities of causes for these numbers. I asked about different scenario’s in which we would see this in animals. Is it the same for humans? I have no idea. They aren’t my species of choice to work on.
Luckily, we don’t need to rush this appointment at all. It can be done after we get back from NYC. So we wait as the referral is generated and sent to the hematologist. They will reach out when they get it.
The bright side is that by the end of Tuesday, he is slowly feeling better and his redness is fading. The other bright side is his doctor cares about him. She leaves no stone in turned.
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