Enterprise, Alabama Photographer | My Precious Boy is Almost Five!!

My little angel is almost five!! I couldn't ask for a more precious, sweet, caring, funny, giving, and silly boy to call my own. God has blessed our family beyond measure and he is the light of my life. :) Every year when his birthday comes around we are reminded with how fortunate we are to have a healthy and happy boy.

A week before his third birthday, we were busy planning his "Cars" birthday party. He was so excited and so were we. It was a Thursday evening and I was getting him ready for his bath when I noticed he had little purple "freckles" all over his body. I grabbed him from the bath and saw that blood was coming from his mouth! I opened his mouth to see blood pouring from his gums. He was bleeding heavily!

I quickly dressed him and we rushed to the ER. The nurses rushed him back and I could see panic on their faces. His blood was drawn and when the results were back, his platelet count was extremely low. A normal count is over 100,000 and his was 2,000! His pediatrician sent him by ambulance to the Children's Hospital in Birmingham. We were all worried sick and sleep deprived. His doctors were unsure of his diagnosis, but had narrowed down the possibilities, one of them being Leukemia. We prayed, cried, and lost many nights of sleep. More tests were run and Tucker was moved from the intensive care unit to the Oncology and Hematology unit.

We were surrounded by precious little children without any hair and fighting for their lives. It all seemed unreal! We were just planning his birthday party and living a normal life when it now felt like our world was crashing down around us. The doctors said that he might have a blood disorder called, ITP and they would know more after giving him a blood treatment that would keep his body from destroying its own platelets. If this didn't help, they would try once more. If there still wasn't any success, then Leukemia was more likely what we were facing. After the first treatment, his platelet count didn't change. We were devastated. I will never forget hearing the doctor share that news with us. We felt defeated.

Our precious angel had been through so much, more than most adults have ever experienced. He had to be connected to an IV and blood was drawn every few hours. The medication he was given made him very sick and he threw up a lot. He had been bleeding internally and freely bleeding from his gums. We couldn't even brush his teeth or he would bleed profusely from his mouth. So, he had to have one more treatment to help his body stop attacking its own platelets. Then the nurse came to draw blood one more time to check to see if the treatment had worked. I held that blood in my hands, while tears flowed like a river, I prayed that God would heal my little angel. The nurse began to cry and pray with me.

I still to this day can't think about it without crying. The next day, the doctor came to his room with results in hand. He said Tucker's platelet count was on the rise and that ITP was the condition he had! He shared with us that 95% of young patients never have another issue with it in their lives. We all jumped up and down, cried tears of joy, and hugged each other. I was so happy, but I felt heartbroken for the parents whose children weren't so lucky. For the moms who had been in the hospital for months with their babies. We were there for 5 days, but it felt like an eternity. When Tucker was released from the hospital, I cried like a baby leaving the Oncology, Hematology unit. I will never forget the feelings I felt. I thanked the good Lord for healing my baby!

We came home on his birthday and had a small party at our house with family. His birthday meant more than just cake and presents. We were blessed to have a healthy little boy and to be at home sleeping in our own bed. His third birthday changed our lives forever. This is why every single birthday with my boy means so much to me. I'm so thankful for each day I am blessed with him. He brings joy and light to everyone he meets. He is so smart, outgoing, and caring. Here is to a hundred more birthdays for my precious boy! This fourth year has been amazing! I love you! :)