When Your Child Bleeds Too Much

Before Rachel reads the title of this post and says "Mommy! Take it away!" I want to let you fine folks know that I'll not be grossing you out and going into really personal details.

Our family, the womenfolk anyway, don't seem to like to be held to the constraints of time and science. When we began to blossom into women, the shut off switch seemed to be out of order. Most girls are lucky... they begin to menstruate close to the same date every month, and they are free from that inconvenience within a few days to a week. Life goes on. Not for the Groves girls. When the bleeding starts.... it hates to stop. So much so that Rachel has had 2 blood transfusions to replace what her body had shed over months of nonstop menstrual cycle.

In an adult female a hemoglobin count should be 12-16 gm/dl (grams per deciliter, a deciliter being 100 mililiters.) This last week we discovered that Rachel's was at 7 gm/dl. Hence, another transfusion.

There are a lot of things that go through a young woman's head when she is getting a blood transfusion.... "Who did the blood belong to?" "Will I feel differently with someone else's blood in me?" "Will my body accept the blood?"

Rachel was a bit distraught that she had to go through the procedure again after having had a transfusion a few years ago. But, she hung in there, dealt with the needles and the 5 hours of dripping, swap of bags, flushing, temperature taking, blood pressure cuff squeezing and oxygen levels being checked. She did a fabulous job. Hopefully that will be the last time she ever has to go through something like that ever again.

My purpose in writing this is twofold.... first, just to let friends and family know that she made it through just fine, and they are doing what they can to keep her from having to go through it again. Secondly.... if you have a young lady in your life that has started to look pale... seems to be out of breath or feels dizzy when she stands up.... don't be afraid to ask her how her period is going. Our doctor told us that if a normal person lost that much blood in one day, they would be unconscious. The fact that the blood loss is gradual doesn't take away from the danger.... however, the young woman may not even realize that her body is in danger. She may feel "just fine." That is because her body has slowly gotten used to living without the full amount of blood pumping through her heart and veins. Take the time to communicate with your kids/cousins/nieces/sisters.... we girls need to watch out for each other.

Thanks for reading! ~ Dawn

When We Can't Sleep

I've settled back into my habits of insomnia of old... that time of night when the grankids, husband and daughter are all tucked into their beds and I lie awake at night relishing the quiet. My first husband hated that I loved to stay up late to read, write, craft or play a game in the calm silence of the night. Now my husband tells me to "try to get some sleep" but never nags at me for my nighttime forays. I love the gentle snores coming from the kids room... I love that I can move throughout the house without stumbling in to anyone and I love that when I finally DO fall asleep... I wake up to laughter and activity. It's a real home here now with Laura and the kids living with us. During my sleep failure, I have found that I love to draw... learn to draw and paint... maybe watch an old show on netflix. And... I think about my kids. I don't just think about them, I lift them up in prayer.

Tonite I picked up on old friend and favorite - Stephen King's INSOMNIA. It's been a few years since I have read that amazing book and I'm ready to go through Ralph's wretched loss of his wife who will be taken from him in the form of a brain tumor as he sits awake, listening to her lifewatch tick tick ticking away. Ralph will be slipping off the deep end soon even before his beloved Carolyn succumbs to her cancer. Neighbors will begin to act differently. People he has trusted will mumble the words "The Crimson King" and he will begin to feel as if reality is a slippery slope that he may not be able to manage. As for me.... I shall use my insomnia to read through Ralph's adventures. Even though this book starts with death it is really about the wacko crazy stuff that goes on in our world that we don't even glimpse..... and Ralph's ability to move forward and take part in life even after the love of his is gone and in the midst of all this craziness.

Because I AM sleepy, I can feel my mind wandering down that slippery slope, if you see me sliding by and notice a very short doctor with some very big scissors.... keep him away from me. I'm not ready for my lifeline to be cut yet. ~ Thanks for reading! ~ Dawn