Sweet Carter

This last week has probably been the hardest week I've been through as a parent so far. Last year, Jackson fell and cut his lip open while we were shopping at La Cantera. The amount of blood and crying is something I'll never forget. When something awful like that happens, it's like a permanent vision is embedded in your brain. I can still picture Jackson's face hitting the stone step and how it seemed to "bounce" off of it. He immediately grabbed his mouth and blood just started pouring. I had so many worries like did he knock out any teeth? How many stitches would he need? What kind of damage was done? After a trip to the ER, they said they don't put stitches in the mouth since it heals very easily. He got to eat lots of popcicles and got lots of TLC. You can still see a small scar on his lip but only if you get really close and know to look for it. Sorry to get so graphic on the details :-) Thinking about it just brought it all back!

On to Carter and the happenings of the last week. Last Wednesday he woke up with a fever. So, with his history of ear infections, I decided to go ahead and take him in to get a head start on the infection and catch it before it was full-blown. Luckily, he didn't have an infection. I also asked the doctor about a black stripe that runs down the middle of his right index finger. he has had it for about 3 months and we initially thought it was a result of some kind of trauma to his finger. But when it didn't grow out we figured it had to be something else. Our pediatrician gave us the name of a dermatologist to see and explained that it is a mole underneath his fingernail that gives off a pigment down the fingernail. Then she mentioned melanoma...that it is very rare in kids this age..."but you just never know with these kinds of things since you can't see it." So, we made an appt. for Monday the 4th.

Meanwhile, on Saturday, Carter still has a fever, was extremely fussy (screaming and couldn't be consoled) and I noticed a little pink spot in his diaper when I was changing him. So, I thought ok, he must have a UTI. I took him to the after hours pediatrician down the street and got in immediately (probably because he was literally screaming at the top of his lungs.) They get us in a room and they want to take a urine sample so they put a little baggy around his "part" and we waited for him to pee. Well, since he hasn't been eating or drinking very much at all, we waited and waited and waited. He finally fell asleep and I just kept checking him to see if he had gone. The nurse finally came in and said that the other option was a catheter (sp?) and I told her that we'd wait a while longer :-) After about 30 more minutes and no pee, we decided on the catheter. Meanwhile, I call Dave and he is on his way so I don't have to do this by myself. By the time he got there they had just finished (good timing, huh?) After all of that, they weren't able to get any urine and they figured he was dehydrated and we would need to go to the ER for further testing. Did I mention that the doctor also mentioned a possibility of meningitis???

So, off we go to the ER where they inserted an IV and drew blood, did another catheter, and took an Xray of his stomach. All the tests were completely normal and they found a large mass in the Xray and found that he was extremely constipated. So, after all of that, my poor baby had to have an enema to top off the evening. We waited for him to poop and they finally sent us home with the diagnosis of a virus and constipation. They ruled out meningitis because his white blood count level was low which means that there is a viral infection.

He finally pooped the next day, and on Tuesday was still very fussy and just acting very lethargic and just not his happy cheery and very active self. He had also developed a rash on his stomach, back and a little on his cheeks. So, I took him back to his pediatrician for a follow up and asked why he was still not 100%. She looked him over and said that the virus he had was roseola and the rash was a sign that the virus had run its course and he would be better by the next day. She was right and we have our little man back to normal now, thank goodness!!!

So, back to the dermatologist appt. on Monday the 4th. We walk in and of course Carter freaks out - he is so not fond of doctors these days. She takes a look at his finger and says that there is a mole underneath the fingernail that we can't see. We would need a biopsy to determine if it was melanoma. She has never seen cancer of this type on a baby but it's better to be safe than sorry. She told us that it's usually an outpatient procedure for adults and they remain awake while it's going on, but they would have to put Carter to sleep becuase there us no way they could keep him still for that long. So, she sent us to a hand surgeon. We met with her on Wednesday the 6th and she took some Xrays which showed that there was nothing on the bone. If it was malignant then it would've probably already have spread to the bone since it's right under the nail. Anyways, she explained everything and I made an appt. for the biopsy on Thursday, Aug. 14. We went home trying to decide if this was the best choice since he's already been through so much lately. We were trying to decide whether to watch it and wait a while or just go ahead and do it so as not to worry about it constantly (which is totally what I would've done.) In the end, we decided to go ahead with the surgery and get it over with. So, we will go in the morning of the 14th and they will put him under anesthesia and then remove the fingernail, remove the mole and the pigmented line, and then close it all back up. He will have to wear a cast on 3 fingers just so he can't mess with it. They will send the mole off to be evaluated and then at our follow up appt. to remove his cast one week later, we will discuss the results.

Our sweet baby Carter has been through some pretty rough stuff this last week and it was definitely hard on David and me. I know there will be things that happen down the road, but this was definitely the worst thus far. Hearing melanoma and meningitis in one week is pretty hard to top.

Please pray that C's biopsy goes well and that is is benign. Like I said, and they keep reinforcing, it is very very very rare for this to be melanoma in someone as young as Carter, but of course, you can't ever be too cautious. I can't wait until next Thursday has come and gone!

On another note, I feel like I've left Jackson out of the last 2 posts so I'll try and post a little on him too. He had his last day of school on Thursday (his Mother's Day Out offers 2 summer sessions). He absolutely loves school and I'm so glad we found the church that he goes to. He goes to chapel, plays, does art, eats, and just has a blast. It's so cute when he comes home singing a new song that he learned in school. His current favorite is "Jesus Loves The Little Children" and sings it constantly. He will be in Mother's Day Out this year and then pre-school next year. He won't start kindergarten until 2010 since he is a summer baby and we decided to wait one year before starting him. That way he'll be one of the oldest in the class instead of one of the youngest. More important for a boy than a girl, I suppose. Luckily, his Mother's Day Out and pre-school are at the same place so he won't have to switch schools until kinder. He is such a little boy now. No more toddler. This past year has really been remarkable in how much he has changed. He understands so much more now and communicates so well. I love taking him to the grocery store when it's just the two of us becuase we just chit chat while I'm shopping. He thinks it's really cool, too, because he gets to sit in the front seat of the basket where Carter usually sits. He is pretty wonderful :-)

Here's a couple of pics. I'll throw in one of Carter's finger in case you're wondering what it looks like.