Life of a Mom with a Child having a Bleeding Disorder

Did you ever wonder what life is like for a Mom who has a child with a bleeding disorder?

Probably not, because bleeding disorders are so not a popular topic of conversation.

My Donovan has a non-descript platelet function disorder that pretty much manifests itself in peculiar ways.  So I'm always a bit on edge, with a fear that one bad fall and bump to the head could result in a huge medical problem.

Going to parks with play equipment is a bit stressful for me.  I try to let him explore and be a "dare-devil" but within reason.  I hate the fact that there could be dire consequences for him acting like a normal crazy little boy running around and climbing on things.  I hate having to put boundaries on the things he can do.

Just when I get a little comfortable because he knows his limitations/boundaries and because he's getting older and stronger - he goes and falls on Friday afternoon while we were at the speech therapists.  We were walking from the classroom to an office down the hall and Donovan managed to trip over my right foot.  It happened so fast that there was nothing I could do to stop the fall from happening.  It caught him off guard too because he managed to smack his forehead on the tiled concrete floor and I saw his head bounce up after the initial hit and it slammed down a second time.  Oh, the scream!  It resonated down the school hall and the piercing deafening sound he made, confirmed that he hit his head on the floor quite hard.

The teachers in the office immediately got him an ice pack to help minimize any swelling/bumps.  He wanted nothing to do with the ice pack.  I mentioned to the speech pathologist that he had a bleeding disorder and I could see the panic in her face.  He was acting a bit stunned and the speech therapist said to me "he's not acting normal."  And then she proceeded to say that she wasn't liking the idea that he didn't have a goose-egg emerging.  She didn't want to worry me but she really felt that I needed to call his doctor.

When I got to the car, I called Jon to get the number and proceeded to call the office.  After a couple of attempts I managed to get the right person and they wanted him to be seen ASAP and that I was to bring him to the nearest ER and I was not to let him fall asleep in the car.  I called Jon and he left work immediately and met me at the hospital.

We get to the hospital and they take him back, they do the usual triage and put us in a room.  He was seen by an absolutely wonderful 3rd year Pediatric ER Resident.  Knew what Noonan Syndrome was, knew about platelet function disorders and asked us the right questions.  He did a great job entertaining Donovan to the point that Donovan would let this doctor examine him with no issues.  Based on what he saw he didn't think Donovan was hurt badly.  He didn't think it was necessary to do a CATscan because the clinical review statistically either confirms a diagnosis better or the same as if a person was scanned.  He felt it wasn't necessary to put Donovan through the traumatic experience, plus I'm sure they'd have to sedate him in order to scan him anyway.  So he said he wanted to have Donovan sit and relax for a bit for further observation and the Attending Doctor would confirm or adjust his diagnosis.  The Resident left him with a parting gift "a single latex surgical glove".

My little Proctologist!

He loved the glove and wore it all the way home!

We waited for a little bit and the Attending took a quick look at him and confirmed what the Resident had diagnosed and his course of treatment - which was for Donovan to take it easy for a while.  For Mom and Dad to wake him up at least once in the middle of the night to make sure he had some semblance of coherency.  The Pediatric ER Nurse came in to give us our discharge papers and explained that the doctors even contacted Donovan's Hematologist and she was comfortable with him being discharged and carefully watched by Mom and Dad.

I'm happy to report that Donovan is perfectly fine! Crazy little boy who needs to slow down a little bit!

This will be our standard protocol for all serious bumps to the noggin!  Sigh!