The Luckiest No Matter What!

Dear Sparrow Pediatric Inpatient Unit, A few weeks ago, my son Carter was admitted to your unit for a little over 24 hours with extremely low platelets, which was later diagnosed as Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura.  From the second we arrived, we were overwhelmed with the level of care and kindness shown throughout our stay. We were greeted and welcomed and as we checked into our room, I noticed right away the fleece blanket on the bed. What a nice touch for kids to feel a bit more snuggly in their hospital bed! Then, we were shocked to see a tub of toys in the room. My son had a coloring book, Legos, transformers, and several cars to be able to play with. Carter, of course, got busy with those right away.  Our family was able to plan and pack to come to you- we knew several hours in advance that a hospital stay was imminent so we were able to bring Carter's blanket, stuffed animal, and some games and toys to be able to keep him busy. I can imagine a lot of families don&

Each January, I decide to focus my New Year's Resolutions (or intentions) through one word. This helps me to keep it simple. 2019's #oneword was WILL. Will has two meanings. One is about action- saying you will  do something. This past year, my intentions for action were laid out with these goals: I WILL take my vitamins every day I WILL make time to read/write  I WILL make time for prayer and spiritual growth I WILL put my phone down During 2019, I took vitamins more than I have in a long time. I researched all different things my body should have to keep me healthy. Researching for me, also meant researching about what Josh needs and the boys need. I learned about ingredients and how to get good things into my body as natural as possible.  I read a lot and wrote a lot. Taking time to read or write has morphed tremendously when I began my educational content writing for Project Explorer. I've technically wrote more than I ever have and that feels great. I also

Friday we took Carter to see our pediatrician. He was covered in bruises.  If you know my son, you'd think that bruises were very much a part of his daily life and you'd be absolutely right. There is no one else I know that runs into more things, falls down, and just generally plays with more gusto than he does. Some of his first and most often-used words are: "I'm okay!" as he gets up from yet another wipe out.  Needless to say, it took us a bit of time to realize that this current bruising might be abnormal. It happened slowly... Carter was unable to articulate how bruises had gotten on parts of his body. We would touch the bruises and they didn't hurt at all, which struck me as strange. He was also bruising in situations where I thought most people wouldn't.  Cater leg bruising- these were also all over his arms The last straw that had me making an appointment with our pediatrician was when my mom, the nurse, said, "hmmmmmmmm" when sh