KLAYTON'S ITP JOURNEY

KalytonOn December 21, 2018, my son Klayton was diagnosed with ITP. After a scary day of wondering what the marks and bruises were all over his body, we decided to take a late-night drive to the emergency room in Des Moines. I will never forget that drive, staring at my husband wondering what the outcome was going to be. After waiting multiple hours and getting the ITP diagnosis, we were sent home with levels at 1,000. These low levels mean he was at a high risk of bleeding that could be hard to stop even with medical intervention. I immediately began thinking about how I would be able to keep Klayton calm and wondering how long this was going to last. We were sent home and back to reality where waking up the next day I was reminded of how our life had changed. I began making multiple phone calls trying to understand the diagnosis. I, as well as many others, haven’t heard about ITP so it was up to me to do my research. This research led us to Children’s in Omaha. On December 23, 2018, we were admitted to Children's for IVIG treatments. Lying next to him in the hospital bed and covering him with multiple blankets while he shivered during the treatment was yet another reminder of how our life will never be the same. We remained very positive as the IVIG treatment raised his levels to 30,000. We were sent home on December 24, 2018 where Klayton was able to wake up to Santa. IVIG had successfully worked for Klayton raising his levels to 338,000 over the next few days. He was able to run wild, ride his bike and four-wheeler. There was nothing stopping him or me.

By now, I had gained a better understanding of what we were facing. On January 8, 2019, his levels dropped again to 18,000. He was put on steroids for a treatment plan. This started a new journey for us all. We spent a lot of time swimming at this point to burn off the energy that steroids brought out in him. We had created a support trio at this point. His best friend Kambry was always there for our adventures. She was there to hold his hand for every blood draw and needle poke that brought numerous tears. On January 15, 2019, his levels went up to 221,000! We were so relieved to get off of the steroids. We had to not only change his diet but his lifestyle. Try telling a three-year-old boy he can’t eat sugary snacks or run around. We were beyond relieved to live a normal life again.

We then went back every week for a while to get his levels tested and they were high enough to not have a treatment! By this point we were jumping up and down with excitement! Klayton has gone four months now with high levels! We are continuing to count our blessings each day knowing God has a plan for us and we will face whatever is thrown in our direction. We have been surrounded by some of the best people the past few months. We’ve learned so much about ourselves, as well as ITP.

Klayton is a warrior. Klayton will beat ITP. We don’t know when, but what we do know is it will not shape him or us as a family. With raising more awareness in our community, as well as worldwide, this will allow other families to become educated on ITP. It would have made our experience much easier if we had some education on what ITP was. Please join us in our second ITP awareness walk for Klayton. Participate virtually and help us celebrate all of the warriors who has been diagnosed with ITP!

 

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