Leukemia

Monday, Jace awoke with a fever. We were in the mountains camping, so I thought maybe he was just worn out. He’s also cutting a tooth so, I thought it wasn’t a big deal. We gave him Ibuprofen and he acted great. That night when we returned home, he was too tired to help unpack. I even gave him the fun job of washing the four-wheeler, and I found him sitting on the side of it, leaning against the seat.
Tuesday morning he acted great, so I sent him to school. That afternoon when he returned home, he had a fever again. Ibuprofen again. No big deal. Normal when you are getting teeth.
Wednesday morning I had an early morning meeting. Mom came over and fed the kids and put them on the bus. I called her at 8:30, and she said, “Jace didn’t look very well…you better check on him.” I drove to the school and picked him up. On the way to the doctor, I looked over and realized he was very pale. They checked for the flu and took blood. No flu- no infection. But, “The Red Blood Cells are too low.” They told us to go home: they would run more tests and call us. At 4 PM they called and said it was Mononucleosis. “Make sure he gets plenty of rest and fluids.”
Thursday morning, the doctor called. He said, “I’m worried about that little guy. Let’s check his blood again and see what it’s doing this morning.” The results were the same as the day before. Apparently there were two tests that had been sent to a Boise lab, but we wouldn’t get results until Friday. Matt took the day off, and I went to work. Matt and Jace rented movies and Wii games and had a good boys’ day home. Jace was pretty mellow with a raging fever though. Tylenol and Motrin didn’t touch it.
Friday morning (9-11-09) Matt went to work, and I stayed home with Jace. Around 10 he decided he wanted to bath. Normally he spends an hour in the bath if I let him, and after three songs on his Primary CD, he was ready to get out. He was shaky and he had to sit down, wrapped in his blanket, on the toilet. He said, I’m so dizzy mom. I helped him comb his hair and brush his teeth, and I had to carry him back to the couch. He said he heard a hissing in his ears. He even said, “I don’t want to die, mom.” Kneeling in front of him I assured him he wasn’t going to die.
Friday afternoon Matt came home for lunch to check on things. While he was there, I called the doctor again. Dr. Speakman said, “I’m just looking at his file right now. I think you better bring him in again.” When we arrived they drew more blood. They also did a chest x-ray and a urine test. Both looked fine. We also learned that while we were on our way to the office, the pathologist from the Boise lab called and was concerned. He said the red and white blood cells were too low, and the platelets were also abnormal. This alarmed Dr. Speakman, and he referred us to Dr. Hancock, an Oncologist in Rexburg. Dr. Hancock was off for the afternoon and still asked if we could come in. We met him at his closed office at 3:15 PM.
“Ratios bad…proportions aren’t right…virus causes one to be out of whack…leukemia causes all to be low…Primary Childrens …calling to see if they have a bed…get him on an IV tonight..draw blood to see if you can transport him...Jace has Leukemia.”
4:30 PM we go home… to Randal, Hayden, Wayne, Vicki, Emily B, Laura, Dayton, Carson, Skyelar, Daisy, and Gabriella. After hugging my dad, I went straight to the shower so I could cry. Matt went outside to talk to Randal and Wayne. Vicki, Em, and Laura packed our bags. Matt, Randal, and Wayne gave Jace a blessing, and we were out the door.
We are driving now. It is 8:03 PM. Matt and I take turns crying. Everyone is calling. Hayden has a scared look in his eyes, and Jace is finally asleep. He’s had blood drawn 5 times in the last 60 hours. He cried worse every time. The last time at 4:15, Matt and I were both crying with him.