Appointments went well

Email to friends and family on 2-10-09:
Our appointments went well yesterday. Our regular dentist would not fill Brooke’s cavity due to the neutropenia, which I figured might happen. We appreciated her caution and concern. At some point and time – we still have two teeth (other than the wisdom tooth) that need attention, but these will have to wait until the blood issues are under control.

We saw the new oral surgeon and liked him very much. He was kind to Brooke, and helpful to our needs. Our prayers appear to be answered finding him! He said he is more than willing to extract the wisdom tooth once Brooke’s blood issues get resolved. He told us there is no need to put her in an OR and under anesthesia when he feels he could extract it in our normal dental office across town. Works for us! We have a real challenge ahead of us in keeping the mouth super clean and infection-free while the blood issues get worked out.

Our final piece of good luck was with UNM. They were kind enough to work us in to see Dr. Ed Libby, Hematologist. He was incredible! We sat waiting for the appointment for 4 hours and during this time we watched various interactions between doctors and their patients. Unknown to us, Dr. Libby was the person who most caught our attention. He was kind and gentle with his patients and very compassionate. Mike and I both mentioned that we hoped he was our doctor. Praise God he is!! He did a very thorough examination of Brooke and spoke “to” her and not “at” her. He was great. He ordered lots of detail blood tests to try to get a direction for which to go with this. We stayed another hour just to get the blood tests ran there instead of having to come back to Clovis to do them. The visit was 5 hours from start to finish and we were exhausted. Dr. Libby told us that blood tells a story and it’s up to him to figure it out. He was also an answer to my prayers! I will call him next Tuesday for blood results and to discuss our next steps. He mentioned wanting to have a CT scan done of Brooke here in Clovis if he could get it arranged with PRMC. That would save us a trip to Albuquerque. We really feel blessed to have him caring for Brooke.

Today was a hard day because I pretty much put my baby in a bubble for the first time in her life. No school, no therapy, no church, and very cautious interaction with people in general. We kicked up the germ safeguards within our house in order to cut down on infection risks. I’m hoping all of this is temporary and just until we get her back on her feet. The odd thing is…she doesn’t really have any symptoms (out of the ordinary) - just a lot more risks! Please continue to pray for Brooke’s healing and for guidance for Dr. Libby to find the answers to the problem. Pray for strength for Mike and I as we wait on the results. We ask God for the courage to help us keep a positive outlook. We know he is on our side and what a relief that is!!

I’ll send out another update next Tuesday after I talk to the doctor. Thank you all so much for the kind words and prayers. Please keep them coming our way!

Love you all,
Gena