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

Things That Go Bump in the Night

Our daughter and 3 small children moved from Illinois and in with us a few weeks ago. Those of you who know me can understand how crowded this small 2 bedroom home is already. Adding 4 more people is like shoving an extra bag of trash in the garbage can and having to stand on the back jumping up and down to make room for the lid! Aside from the coziness of the situation, we are thrilled to have them here with us. Laura, our daughter, is a nurse waiting for her Oregon licensing to go through so she can take her pick from all the job offers she's received. In the meantime, the poor girl is getting a bit stir crazy I'm sure. She and the kids use the living room as their bedroom which is probably driving her insane at this point, especially tonite. Her nine month old daughter Baileigh has decided that she doesn't need to sleep tonite. It is 5 AM and Laura has been cuddled on the couch watching movies to keep herself occupied as Baileigh works off some of her energy playing on the floor. YO and I had been asleep for a few hours when I awoke to a loud BANG! coming from the living room followed by the wails of Baileigh. She seems to think she is much older than she is, and has been trying walk a bit while holding on to furniture. Not a great thing on a hardwood floor in the middle of the night! I'm not quite sure how a toothless child can bleed so much from her mouth ... but boy did she ever! After the shock of the fall she took, she was perfectly fine and content to suck on a cold washcloth and be cooed over. In my sleepy mind, it seemed like a good idea to get on here and share. And now, may sleep find each of us in this home, and may the short amount we receive find us fully rested in the morning. Thanks for reading!