Avery's health

If you've asked, "How's Avery?" at any one point over the past 5 months, our response has probably been, "She's sick. Again." I can't even recall the number of ear infections this child has had or the countless doctor visits we've made. I'd say on average, Avery probably has an ear infection every 2-3 weeks. Needless to say, she loves the bubblegum flavored Amoxicillan. A few weeks back, Avery came down with a double ear infection plus double pinkeye. And the thing is, she rarely complains or whines. You have to catch her pulling on her ears to realize there might be a problem or wait for the cough, runny nose, and watery eyes to arrive before putting two and two together.

Rewind about a month ago- Avery began complaining on a daily basis that "Arm hurts." or "Leg hurts." or "Head hurts." You name it and it would hurt. At first we thought that Avery had learned the word "hurt" and what it meant and that she would get attention when she said it, so we weren't concerned. But then she started waking in the middle of night in tears, screaming that her leg or arm hurt. That's when my mind started going to scary places. We got Avery an appt with her doctor for this past Thursday morning. After explaining to the doctor all of our concerns and Avery's behavior, her reply was: "I don't mean to alarm you, but the the last time I had a patient of Avery's age present with the same symptoms, she had leukemia." She went on to say that she is aggressive of her testing as not to waste any time. Avery had a full physical exam of which she came through with high marks. The doctor reminded us that her suspicion of leukemia was low, that it could be many things, but then sent us to the hospital for Avery's bloodwork. That poor girl had 3 vials taken from her arm while all wrapped up in a sling to limit her movement. As parents, our hearts broke that day at the thoughts of Avery being sick with such a terrible disease at such a young age, and to watch her wiggle in pain from the needle. As a parent, I'm sure I've said, as many of you have, "I'd take the pain so that they don't have to" or "I wish it were me and not them." But in that hour, I got it. And I think Aaron did too. Without hesitation or question, we would have traded spots with her in a heartbeat. We were actually put to that test. I begged God to let it be me and not her.

After the lab work, we went home to wait for the call. We were fortunate to only have to wait about 2 hours for the initial blood work numbers to come back. Those were a long two hours though of tears and prayers. The phone rang and Aaron and I just stared at it. I finally answered on the 3rd ring. It was the nurse and she had good news. No leukemia!! Avery's blood counts were perfect! I cried, Aaron smiled, and we both cheered and gave Avery high-fives! She was giddy just to see us so happy! What a beautiful moment. All of Avery's tests came back just fine. They are still waiting on one test for Mono which could take another week, but I'm far less concerned about that. We still don't know the cause of Avery's "hurts" but it is possibly some growing pains, but most likely that her body is simply worn out from being sick so much.

Despite the fact that Avery was just seen on Thursday and received a clean bill of health, she awoke the next morning with glassy eyes, runny nose, cough, temp, and most likely another ear infection. How, I don't know. But I sit on my couch tonight and listen to the monitor of Avery's congested breathing and smile. Is she sick again? Yes. Is it frustrating for us and her? Of course. Will we survive another ear infection and a possible surgery for tubes? You betcha. You see, we're fortunate to have all of that. Many families are forced to face the scariness of the other. Thank you, God, for Avery's health. Thank you for the reminder of how fragile this life is and just how quickly it can change.

Avery a few weeks back after her double ear infection, double pinkeye diagnosis