I'm not sure how to start this post, so I'll just get to it. Can you guys join me in praying for Harrison?
We are awaiting some test results and should get them this week.
Allow me to back up a bit...
- Harrison has been short forever, and we've been tracking that with his doctor.
- He has some white spots on his head, chest, arm, and leg which do not bother him. However, they are multiplying, and some have a small brown spot in the center.
- This summer we had Harrison's thyroid levels checked. They came back normal.
- We were referred to a dermatologist in Grand Island to check the white spots...which we are fairly certain are Vitiligo. Vitiligo is a two-sided diagnosis. On one side it's good because it is pain-free and benign. On the other side, there is no cure for Vitiligo, the treatments are often ineffective, they can spread and multiply to over much of the skin and "bleach" the hair, and each individuals' condition is so personalized there is no way to know if it will continue to get worse or self-limit.
- We went to the dermatologist 2 weeks ago. The Vitiligo diagnosis was confirmed, at least on a visual basis.
- However, in the center of the white spot on his leg, the dark spot there concerned the doctor. She suggested we take a biopsy. We agreed, and Harrison has 2 stitches from where a sample was taken of both the white skin and the brown spot.
- The doctor told me if there hadn't been the spot on Harrison's leg, she wouldn't have bothered with a biopsy. She also was quick to assure me that the one of concern on his leg wasn't anything she thought was "urgent", just curious, and wanted to verify what we were dealing with. She gave me no possible "it might be's".
I handled all of this well. Until this weekend. And as the results day gets closer, I am getting more and more nervous about the results. A molecular diagnosis of Vitiligo is of no real consequence. But it's that other, unknown spot that is a crushing weight on my chest as we wait. I have no idea what we are facing...if we are facing anything at all.
Harrison is aware of his white spots, but they have never bothered him: neither physically or psychologically/emotionally. Since we have no idea what the suspicious dark spot might be, we have not told him anything other than that the doctor wants to know what it is.
I could cry. I have cried. It's a weird situation to find yourself in: waiting for something or nothing. Pray with me that it's nothing. But please also pray that if it IS something, God will strengthen us to deal with it and be with us as we help our sweet boy.
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