When It All Started
Kevin Jr was born with Heriditary Spherocytosis, Hemolytic Anemia, enlarged spleen. The doctors didnt know right away what he had, as all my other children are healthy. We do NOT carry that trait. He is the only one. Its an abnormality in his red blood cells' membranes that make them stiff, as they go through circulation, they burst. This disorder causes fatigue and anemia. Serious cases require blood transfusions, which Kevin Jr has endured 28 blood transfusions. He had his spleen removed Sept 2001. He now takes penicillian 2 times a day for the rest of his life to prevent blood infection. Any sign of a fever he must be rushed to the hospital. Things were rough when we had to make frequent trips to the hospital to stay overnight to have a blood transfusion. I did alot of crying. My husband stayed home with our other 5 children. It was an emotional roller coaster. Not knowing what was going to happen next is what was scary. He was in the ICU for a week prior to his spleen removal. We almost lost him. His oxygen level dropped, and his hemoglobin was life threatening.
Since his spleen removal, he is doing much better and does take penicillian twice a day for the rest of his life. We just went to the doctors Monday and I was told there is a little bit of a concern with his platelet counts at this time. For some reason his platelet counts are higher then what they should be. She said there is a possibility that the bone marrow didnt get the signal that the spleen was removed. But she said that it should have went down by now. Kevin Jr sees Dr Travis (who diagnosed his condition) from Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia Specialty Center in Voorhes, NJ.[Top of Page]