Mystery...

On Friday, Ben had to get his platelet count checked (as we do at least every month now.) We got the bad news that his count had dropped down to 14000. (Normal range is 150000-400000) The doctor at the U of Iowa Hospital called us right away to let us know and see if there was anything else going on with Ben that could explain such a low count. It took us all by surprise because his last count was 137000! We all were hoping that somehow it was a mistake and that maybe the blood sample had clumped. We had a quiet weekend at home since Ben can't have much physical activity. We had to go back on Monday and repeat the testing. That one came back at 16000, so there was no mistake.... his platelet count had mysteriously dropped significantly. We were able to go to see Ben's hematologist at the U of I today to discuss. The doctor was frustrated just like the Hedlunds! (Ben is helping me write this post!) Ben will not be able to play baseball for at least this week. He will take a steroid course and we hope that will bump his count back up. He is still taking the medicine for his bone marrow as well. This was definitely disappointing news, but we are doing our best to stay optimistic. It is hard especially when there is no reason for his count to drop right now. This is hard on Ben because he doesn't understand what is happening and we have few answers to offer him! Conner is also very worried about his brother! We are taking every opportunity to enjoy the little things... extra movies, macaroni and cheese brats, board games on the deck in the sunshine, and Ben even called the girl he likes yesterday!