I have enjoyed having Emily home. She seems so relaxed and at ease. It is the first break that she really seems to be sitting back and enjoying. I will hate to see her go back; though it is a good thing.

I mentioned that Elizabeth was going to be seeing a hematologist on Friday because of thalassemia. We saw the doctor who explained, once again, the disorder. It is a blood disorder. Her hemoglobin values are a little low and she is anemic; indicating that the disorder is truly beta minor rather then intermediate or major. The other two become problems; beta minor truly is not something to be concerned about. She just needs genetic counseling when she is ready to start a family. As for thalassemia and a tonsilectomory, the doctor saw no problems and was willing to approve it after we had blood drawn to make sure that her hemoglobin had not dropped. If the hemoglobin is below 10, the anesthesiologist is uncomfortable. I believe that is why we had to see a hematologist. Elizabeth is just slightly below 10 so the doctor did not feel it would be a problem. She ordered the blood work. Elizabeth does experience nosebleeds frequently enough that I mentioned it to the doctor. Upon hearing that, she decided it would be wise to have a Von Willy Bronz test ran. We did and it came back normal. The problem is this, though: one of the tests that was ran indicated a problem with her platelets. I don't really understand it all, but we have to go tomorrow and have more bloodwork drawn. Poor thing! She had 3 shots today (Kindergarten preparation). She had blood drawn last week and blood drawn a month ago (twice because the lab made an error and it had to be repeated). She is being a trooper, but when I told her today (after those shots) that she would have to have more blood drawn ... she said "awwoohhhh... today? " It was such a sad and sweet question. It broke my heart. She was a little panicked. But when I told her tomorrow, she said ok. Tonight, we talked about it again. SHe is very hesitant and becoming kind of concerned. Her face showed quite a bit of fear, though she didn't fight me. It breaks my heart.

I am not sure what exactly they are looking for. I did get cancer ruled out. That is not what they are looking for with her platelets. Evidentally they are not producing enough to clot in the appropriate amoutn of time. That could be an issue with surgery. I am glad they caught it and want to look into it. The doctor sounded a bit confused as to what is causing this weird formation of platelets. She wanted us to come tomorrow so they can do some special test to evaluate the platelets closer. So, we face a possible new problem with my little girl. GOd is in control. Whatever it is, He will see us through. I am praying it is nothing or at least something only minor. I figure it must be simply because we have never had too much problem getting bleeding to stop. Nosebleeds take a little while, but they do eventually stop.

So, pray for her, if you wouldn't mind. I will fill you in whenever I get the results of this test. It will take a few days.