Tough Like Tessa

05 October

Yesterday was a hard day.

Tessa had her blood drawn on Friday and it was 6.7, so down a bit from her transfusion, which had her at 7.5. Her pediatrician wasn't too concerned about this, and said that other indicators in her blood showed that her body was working in the right direction.

We met with a hematologist at Mayo yesterday, who had the opposite reaction and was greatly concerned that her hemoglobin had dropped again. She feels strongly that something is wrong, causing Tessa to lose all of her iron.

One theory: that her blood is pooling somewhere. She is scheduled to receive an MRI on Tuesday, so they will be looking for any large amounts of blood in her body.

Second theory: that she has another vascular malformation somewhere in her GI tract. They did take stool samples to check for this after her transfusion, which came back negative, but the hematologist said these can sometimes miss blood if it's spotty.
The plan: We are scheduled for an appointment early Monday morning for a consult with a pediatric GI doctor. While Tessa is still under from the MRI on Tuesday, they will also do an upper gastrointestinal endoscopy.

Honestly, sometimes it all gets the best of me, and yesterday was just one of those days. For me, the hardest thing to deal with is the unknown, and this problem with her anemia has the doctors stumped, and grasping for answers.

This morning I was reading about Joshua, when he and the Israelites set up camp by the Jordan River. The promised land was just beyond it, but they needed to cross the river, and take a path that they had never traveled before. God told the officers to instruct the people to follow the ark of the covenant, and gave them specific instructions on how closely they should follow it. He wanted the ark to remain visible at all times, allowing the people to see His presence the entire time He was leading them through the unknown territory.
God's presence is also with us as we travel down this unknown road with Tessa. He understands our fears, and hears our prayers and cries for help and guidance. He offers us His peace, and His presence the entire time we are on this journey. And I am so thankful for that truth.
"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned, neither will the flame scorch you.
For I am the Lord your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Savior." Isaiah 43:2&3

Tessa is not a fan of medical buildings or medical personnel and cries for most of her visit. But big sister Gracie does her best at trying to cheer Tess up anyway.

Enjoying her latest toy from physical therapy. She hasn't figured out that she could make this move on her own, but she loves having us pull her around!