LISTEN TO YOUR GUT - Dominics Story

Although my story isn't exactly terrifying, i hope it still inspires many mommas out there. I am a mother to a 14 month old boy, and I am only 21 so I have many challenges on people listening to me. After all we went through, I have become much more assertive and make sure people listen to me now! My son, Dominic, has always had a healthy life, and after numerous attempts at getting his first cold out of the way, he never got sick. I thought it was a blessing in disguise, but little did I know I was about to have my world turned upside down.

At 8 months, we noticed Dominic was having abnormal bowel movements and some were actually burning his skin (as well as lack of sleep and food). After numerous calls and pleas to his doctor to check him over, and her always refusing to look, we went to our local hospital. We took him in to find out he was constipated but also had a neutrophil count of 0. Neutrophils are the white blood cells that fight infections - so they are important. We had to stop his 1 year vaccines and his doctor was very upset with us, as she wanted to do them anyway even if his immune system was compromised. She didn't believe this was a concern. After weeks of blood tests (all done by hospitals because his doctor was still refusing to help us!), scans, x-rays and numerous hospital trips, we found ourselves meeting with Hematologists and Oncologists at CHEO. This is when Dominic was diagnosed with Primary Autoimmune Neutropenia.

This is a (rare) condition that some children get where their body cannot maintain a normal count, and there is no known cause for his Neutropenia. Although it seems scary, and there aren't any treatments besides blood transfusions, it can go away on its own as he matures. Since he has yet to be sick, we were told to keep him away from anyone who is ill, or places where he could pick up something unless closely monitored. If he showed any signs of a sickness - fever for example - but there was no reason for it, we had to go back to Emergency. So no daycares for Dom. We were cleared to get one live vaccine for his 1 year check-up, just to watch his reaction.

Fast forward to 14 months, we noticed he started getting some teeth in. It wasn't pleasant but still content. At 5AM at the beginning of July, he woke up screaming and burning hot. Running a fever close to 103. This wasn't long after his vaccine was given, so we tried to pin the fever to that and aid it ourselves. We immediately gave him medicine and a cool bath to help break it. With no luck, we landed ourselves back at the hospital. He was immediately put on an IV drip, given numerous antibiotics and placed in an isolation room for safety. We waited 8 hours, to find out his neutrophils were at a normal range!! 2.6, which is the highest it's ever been! A very sleep deprived and dehydrated me welled up with tears. I thought it was over, all of the scary thoughts and nightmares were over.

We still have one more trip to CHEO, just to ensure that it has been officially cleared, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed. We are praying hard that it truly is gone! We have learned that, not only are we in need of a new pediatrician because ours was clearly incompetent, but to trust our gut! If I didn't keep fighting and listening to my instincts, I don't know what would have happened to my little man. To all you Momma's out there who have a feeling but no one is listening, keep trying! Someone will hear you!

This is a picture of my son, happy and getting healthier again ❤️