Hannah & Hematology

 Children with Down syndrome get regular blood work to keep up on their health and any hidden illnesses. 

The labs cover; celiac disease, thyroid, red and white blood cells, and iron levels. We have friends who have celiac, low iron, and various autoimmune disorders. 

In 2018, Hannah’s white blood cell count was about 5.3. Normal range is about 5.5-15.5. 
In 2019, Hannah was at 6.45. 
In early October, her WBC was 2.93 which prompted a call from our pediatrician. However, the rest of Hannah’s labwork was in normal range, so it’s not as critical as, say, other wonky numbers that point to leukemia. God forbid. 

We had a 2nd draw last Friday and her WBC was still hovering around 2.87. 

Our pediatrician is stumped and therefore referring us to Hematology... which sounds daunting and I am slightly nervous just because *something* could be slowly causing her WBC to drop over the years. Those of us who have kids with DS know that low WBC is very common. 

We’re headed into Children’s this Friday morning and will keep everyone posted - keep fingers crossed and prayers up. 

Chris Nikic - Ironman

 Many in the DS community have been following Chris Nikic - a man who is training for the Ironman on Nov 7th in the Gulf Coast - and happens to have Down syndrome. 

He is shattering assumptions of what people with Down syndrome “won’t” be able to do. He didn’t walk until age 4 or eat solids until age 5. 

I appreciated this blurb:

“Though Chris will swim and run while tethered to his Special Olympics partner and receive help transitioning between sports, he will be tasked with following the rest of the Ironman rules. “We don't make any accommodations for anyone around the core elements of racing,” explains Andrew Messick, CEO of Ironman Group. All athletes must complete the same distances and meet the same cutoff times. That means if Chris crosses the finish line in less than 17 hours, “it'll be the same accomplishment as everybody else,” Messick says. “And that’s awesome.” It’s also damn impressive.”

GO CHRIS!!