Hank Update #2

We just met with Hank's new doctor, a renal specialist and he gave us a definite confirmation that Hank does indeed have HUS. He told us that based on his labs from last night, had he gone one more day without treatment he would have been on dialysis. He has come a long way since then and things are improving. He said HUS is a very serious disease but they have a very high recovery rate with few lasting side effects. He never wishes this disease on anyone but when the alternate diagnosis is Leukemia he would take it.

Hank had a second blood transfusion this afternoon with additional red blood cells infused and his coloring has become more normal. They just got his hematocrit levels back and he is back up to 29 which is great news and means he won't need more blood for now. They just took a stool sample and they are going to test it for e.coli but won't know if it has it for a few days. Most often people get HUS from eating food contaminated with e-coli however some get it for other reasons. They are monitoring his blood pressure very closely and it was quite high a few hours ago so they gave him some meds and it is regular now. They will continue to check that and make sure he stays hydrated. All his lab results keep coming back better than the last round they took. He is doing so well, he is so strong. The doctor was very reassuring and very sorry for the confusion yesterday with the diagnosis. I'm not sure why we were told the wrong thing but I don't even care at this point because my baby doesn't have cancer and he is going to beat this.

I'm not sure how many days we will be here. It's up to Hank and how quickly his body beats this. As for now he is enjoying room service and non-stop playstation with Randy. We have had lots of visits from friends and family which we all love, especially Hank. The outpouring of love and support continues to amaze me. Thank you all for your prayers. Love to you all.