Sunday, April 19, 2009

Prayer Request

Meet sweet, beautiful, and smart beyond her years Caroline. She is the beautiful daughter of my dear friend Alicia at Murry Mayhem. Alicia is one of the sweetest people I have ever met and I couldn't be more honored that God brought us together through the world of blog.



Caroline was diagnosed with Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura:

The exact cause of ITP isn't known. For that reason it's referred to as idiopathic — meaning "of unknown cause." It is known, however, that in people with idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, the immune system malfunctions and begins attacking platelets as if they were foreign substances.

Antibodies produced by your immune system attach themselves to the platelets, marking the platelets for destruction. The spleen, which helps your body fight infection, recognizes the antibodies and removes the platelets from your system. The result of this case of mistaken identity is a lower number of platelets than normal.

A common cause of petechiae is a low platelet count (thrombocytopenia). Platelets are blood cells that play an important role in blood clotting. Causes of a low platelet count include:

§ Autoimmune disorders, such as lupus or rheumatoid arthritis
§ Viral infections, such as mononucleosis and measles (rubella)
§ Side effect of certain medications, such as chemotherapy drugs
§ Bone marrow disorders, such as leukemia
§ Infection of your bloodstream (septicemia, or "blood poisoning")

Caroline can have NO activity. NONE. She is not allowed to play outside. Period. She can't swing, ride a scooter or bike, she is only allowed to stay inside and color. She isn't allowed to just be a kid like the rest of her friends.

The petechiea is worse, a lot worse. And she has bruises all over her little body. If this keeps up, or she has any more nosebleeds that are hard to stop, then they will test for more serious diseases. And make no mistake she has a severe blood disease, that may or may not go away. If all goes well, she will get the all clear in about 8 months. But every time she gets any viral infection, she will be back to square 1.



So I am asking all of the Prayer Soldiers to keep this precious little girl and her family in your prayers. This is a very serious disease, however I have seen God heal things that were worse with the right amount of prayer. I will be praying non stop for my dear friend Alicia and her beautiful daughter Caroline.

Will you please pray with me?

Love and Prayers,


27 Soldier's saluted this post:

Anonymous said...

That is so sad. She will be in my thoughts.

~ Lisa @ AbidingThere~ said...

Thank you for letting us know about her, Tim. I will definitely pray.

Hope you are having a nice weekend!

Unknown said...

Thanks for letting us know about her. I'll put her on the prayer chain at my church and my school.

April said...

What a beautiful little girl! You know you can always count on me to pray...I'm off to do so now!

Elyse said...

Already praying and will continue to pray for Miss Caroline!
~Elyse~

Christy said...

One of my dearest friends has ITP. She was dx just a couple months after she got married and everyone thought her precious husband was abusing her. Her dad actually came down to take her (thinking her dh was abusing her) and she insisted he wasn't, so he told her "either go to the hospital and find out, or you're coming home with me". That was over 15 years ago, she went through a great deal of treatment, had her speel removed, more treatment, and is now stable. She's even had a baby, who's almost 5 now! I met her after she was dx, but once she was in stable condition. I learned a great deal about the disease from her and just knowing that certain foods will lower the plateletts was a good lesson for me when cooking meals for her and her husband.

I will pray for this sweet girl.

Jo said...

Prayers are going up rapid fire! On my way to church so I will pass this on to other warriors!!

Denise @ Sunflowers, Chocolate and Little Boys said...

Prayers being said for this beautiful girl.

Always a Southern Girl said...

I'll be praying for her! Our Niko had this when he was about 3. He stayed in the hospital and received platlets and other treatments and he hasn't had any trouble with it since, Thank God.

Have a Wonderful Sunday! Renee

Courtney and the Boys said...

Wow...I just read about her story not 3 days ago! I've been praying for her nonstop since then, and will certainly continue. She's a doll baby and Alicia is about the sweetest thing ever, too. I saw that she made a plaque for you just to pay it forward. :)

Praying...

Carebear said...

Isn't she just the cutest thing?! Breaks my heart that she has to miss out on all the activities other kids are doing. I will definitely add her to my prayer list this second! Thanks for the head's up.

Maria@Conversations with Moms said...

What a terrible diagnosis. I will be praying for her and her family.

Heatherlyn said...

Yes, we will pray for her and continue to pray for her.

Laurie said...

I will continue to pray for this dear sweet family!

Esther said...

Poor sweet girl! I will indeed pray for her, along with thanking God for my healthy children. Thank you for alerting us to this!

Lee said...

I will be praying for her.
I can relate to her family. My half sister had a disease where she would bruise with just a touch. She was miserable all of the time.

Robynn's Ravings said...

YES!! We will pray. Almost anything can come to us but when it comes to our kids it is desperately hard to watch them suffer.

I have an idiopathic nerve disease and know the mind numbing frustration of endless doctors and medical centers. It is NOT as immediately life-altering and threatening as this little angel's but I have often thanked God it was me, and not my kids. I'm sure her parents would gladly take it one themselves if they could.

They will ALL be in my prayers!

angie {the arthur clan} said...

I can't even imagine seeing my child go through something like this. I'll be praying for her and her parents!

Erin said...

What a sweetheart! Of course I will be praying for her.

He & Me + 3 said...

She will be in my prayers. How very very sad for her and her family.

I am Harriet said...

Oh Tim.
You are such a sweetie for doing this.

Amy B said...

Well you know I will be praying for her. I just hate when our children hurt.

Jenni said...

Prayers absolutely on the way!!!!!

Unknown said...

She is in our prayers. No child should go without the ability to be a kid! Thanks for sharing her story.

Tiffany said...

Thanks for sharing this, Tim. What an awful thing for a family to face.....for a precious girl to face...anyone to face for that matter! I'll be praying for her as well. I'm looking forward to hearing of her trapesing around outdoors like a healthy young girl!!
Tiff

April said...

Prayers for Caroline!

Pam said...

Praying for Caroline!