1-2-3, a Picnic at the Park, and the Lenten Rosary Winner

I'll start off by saying that Sarah O. won the Lenten rosary! (Converts unite ;)) I've mailed it out and hope she receives it soon! Thank you all for entering the giveaway!

Blood draw day was today. It was the draw before my hematology appointment that I have on Wednesday. I had been nervous for a few days prior to this, because I'd been feeling drained of energy and had experienced a couple bloody noses. I was praying that the platelets had at least stayed above 70, with the previous draw being 74 two weeks ago. (Thanks to everyone on Twitter who prayed for me while I went in and had my blood drawn, and then the waiting that happened until I received the results.)

There was a bit of a wait because I went in later than normal. Thankfully the time passed quickly and my name was called to have my blood drawn. Typical every-other-week activities...sitting in the chair, initialing that the information was correct, flashing my vein, and in goes the needle. The bleeding didn't stop immediately, so I was worried that my platelets had plummeted. The phlebotomist told me to apply more pressure and it finally stopped enough so she could put the bandage on my arm.

I gathered my things and my daughters and headed back to the car. We then headed to the grocery store to purchase items for our picnic! Food items were chosen, we paid, headed back to the car, and drove to the park. Goodness it was such a gorgeous day!

Hannah's friends Sofi and Lily were there with us, along with River, Oliver, and Noah. Great time in the sun and having the littles run around and burn off some energy!

Photo of Hannah and her BFF Sofi holding hands <3

We came home for a bit before heading to the store to get things to make dinner (we had the always-delectable Sesame Beef with Broccoli). During the time spent at home before heading there, the results to my blood draw came. Every time I get that email, I say a Hail Mary then open up the results. What I saw in there, I didn't expect. It started like this: "Wow, your platelets rebounded. Are you still taking Prednisone 5 mg daily?" I scrolled down and saw the number: 123. I immediately started to cry and thank God for His wonderful mercies. I called Chris, then my mom, then my dad. They were all very surprised and extremely happy. My levels haven't been over 100 since the beginning of October, and that was only 101. They were 118 in mid-September. I am hoping and praying that my immune system is healing itself and won't be killing off my platelets anymore. Autoimmune diseases are no fun, especially ones, like ITP, where doctors have no idea why the immune system is attacking itself. If you see this blog post, please pray that they continue to rise into normal range (145-400), even though I'd be perfectly happy if they remain where they are. 123 is a phenomenal number, and my midwife informed me that anything above 120 is fine in her practice. This makes me VERY happy!

My crazy-wacky chart of my platelet levels since my hospitalization. Can you say roller coaster?

Anyway, the girls are now in bed (hopefully for the night) and it's time to relax and pop some bubbly with the husband in celebration of the great news received today! Good night and God bless you all!