TheDexterians
Blood is our Gold
Patient Diaries
My seven-year-old daughter is being treated with chronic transfusion therapy. Her name is Polly and she is diagnosed with Sickle Cell. As a nurse, I know that a symptom of Sickle Cell is anemia. Anemia also follows in suit with many symptoms like Ben's, Polly’s cousin. Polly also goes to the pediatric doctor and then goes to the hematologist to get officially diagnosed and to get her blood tests. The reason I sent her to the doctor in the first place, is because of all the signs of Sickle Cell she was displaying. Polly isn't very althetic at all so it doesn't affect her as much, but she still does need to go to her physical education class (however she has gotten a note to get out of it). She's been complaining about tiredness more and more and her eyes have been yellowing. She also cannot breathe well at all (it takes the life out of her!). It was obvious I needed to get her checked like Ben, to get a conformation.
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My four year old son has been treated with antibiotics and folic acid supplements. His name is Ben. Folic acid supplements are used for deficiences which can cause anemia, I am told. Anemia happens when there is too little hemoglobin in the blood. Ben is constantly feeling fatigue for his age, has a rapid heart beat, shortness of breath, dizziness, headaches, and everlasting chest pains. Because of these symptoms, Ben is not able to run around and play with the other kids his age. The activity proves too much for him to deal with (which is incredible since Ben is a pretty tough kid!). The treatment for his illness include the supplements and antibiotics. First Ben went to the pedriatric doctor, Dr. Miller, who checked to see if everything was alright (the doctor initially diagnosed Ben with anemia). He then went to the hematologist to get his blood checked because of the symptoms he was displaying. The doctors gave him his treatment from there on.
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My fifteen-year-old son is having a bone marrow transplant. Tylar is getting this treatment to potentially fight the Sickle Cell. Stem cells are in this bone marrow that rise the blood cell count, as I am told by his doctor. He has anemia like Polly and has went to the same doctors as both Polly and Ben diagnose the blood disorder/their vital signs. Tylar does well in sports, but the symptoms he has now are really affecting this. He plays on a soccer team but has recently quit which broke him up. Tylar can't breathe very well which is why I was concerned. Naturally, I just assumed that these symptoms were being caused by a sports injury, like his football games, but his constant complaining and nagging about the dizziness made me think twice. The doctors have really helped us through this. Without them I never would've suspected a thing.
