Post 175 and 75,000 Hits

Yes, it seems as if the number 75 has some significance today. I had been watching statcounter as I posted a new article each day and I could see the two numbers converging on each other. Not only is this the 175th article that I have written for this website, it comes on the day that we had our 75,000 hit to the website. I am very pleased that we have had so many visitors to this site and that is the reason that I write each day and have been able to accumulate so many articles on Parker and his battle with ADA Deficient Severe Combined Immunodeficiency.

Now that I have gotten all of the back-patting out of the way I will now begin today's article. We had quite the day at Sick Kid's today. We of course go for Parker's PEG-ADA injection every Tuesday and Friday, but in addition to that Parker had to get a set of full body x-rays. The procedure took about 45 minutes and consisted of about 20 separate x-rays covering every square inch of his body. The reason for the x-rays of his skeletal system is because skeletal abnormalities are a common side effect of ADA deficiency. The average height of a male ADA deficient SCID is less than five feet six inches and closer to only five feet for females. As a result, the doctors wanted to make sure that there were no major skeletal problems.

I knew when I heard that it was going to take about 40 minutes that Parker was not going to be enjoying himself. He absolutely hates being restrained and we all know that you have to be perfectly still when you are getting an x-ray. As a result, I along with two nurses held Parker in 20 different positions as he was x-rayed from everything to his foot to his skull. Sometimes they wrapped his legs together so that it would be easier to restrain him as he tried to get out of every position that we had to hold him. Other times his head was placed in a clamp so that he would be unable to move it. I felt absolutely terrible for him. He screamed and yelled for the whole duration of the procedure. The tears streamed down his face as he struggled. Of course, the technicians were amazed at the strength of my nine month old son. When it was all over, my little boy was back to his old self. He laughed and smiled at the technicians and was just happy to have daddy hold him and give him kisses on his cheek again.

We will not know the results of the x-rays probably until Tuesday when we next go to Sick Kids. But to be honest, although I want everything to be perfect I would be very surprised if they found that he didn't have a least a small abnormality in his skeletal system. Regardless, my son is strong and no matter what is thrown his way, he will persevere.

While we waited for one in the afternoon to arrive so that Parker could get his x-rays done, we met with the Health Reporter from the Toronto Star. She was extremely pleasant and very professional. Parker's story is slated for Tuesday's edition of the Toronto Star in the GTA section. So either check it out online at thestar.ca or grab a local copy of the paper.

Lastly, I figured I would mention something a little more on the jovial side. My wife and I still use the baby monitor to listen in on Parker while he sleeps. Of course, we are trained now to wake anytime we hear anything come through the monitor that rests on the floor beside our bed. Well, last night, we heard Parker talking through the monitor at around 3:30am. We figured he was rolling over or had maybe shifted positions and the noise would subside shortly. However, this was not the case. Twenty minutes later, the talking and shuffling was as prevalent as it was when we had first heard it. With that, my wife decided to get up and check in on him. What did she see? Parker sitting in the middle of his bed, holding his Winnie the Pooh blanket, rocking back and forth. Just after she spotted him, he turned his head, looked at her and smiled. I know this because I heard the giggling from him through the monitor. Who would have thought that my son was a night owl? It is now, just after 7pm and my wife should be coming down shortly after giving him his bottle and putting him to bed. We think that after all the yelling, crying and fighting that went on throughout the x-ray he should sleep through the night without getting up at 3am to get a little play time in. Oh well, if my son wants to get a little play time in tonight, so be it. He deserves it after the day he had.