Bruises for a 6 yr old boy.....Well my two son used to be covered in bruises.  We would go to the grocery store and they would come home looking like they got in a fight.(no cancer then) It didn't matter where they were or what we did they got dirty and bruised.  I can't imagine how it would have been if I was dealing with cancer too.  My oldest would get bruised in the wierdest places, on his cheek, elbow....and he was totally healthy.

About the what-ifs I have them all the time with my CK.  Is he limping, do his eyes look strange, is he too tired???? I am learning to let go and trust but it is really difficult.

Hang in there.

Nana

Hey!  Just wanted to add my support on the worry issue.  It is there...no way around it.  I think we try and manage it just like we manage their treatment.  When you said Calgon take me away....I think that is literally a good idea.  We need to do things that help us stay calm and relax....walks/baths/reading/playing board games...whatever it is that helps us relax we should do it.....and find time to do it.  We need to take care of ourselves through this.  For those of us with boys....it is 3.5 years of this.  That is a long, long time to live with this kind of stress.  I have done exactly the same thing as you have described.  My son's only symptom at diagnosis was that he was extremely tired....now when he is tired it runs through my mind...oh no!  Of course then I think....well he did just play 2 hours of basketball and OF COURSE he is tired! Ha!  It is like our minds automatically start gearing up for something bad to happen to them.....when actually they are just having normal things happen to them.  I feel for you today....been there.  It does help a little to know we are not the only ones that feel that way.  Please dont be angry with yourself....I think what you are feeling is normal under these circumstances.  I think of it as a learning curve for myself....I have learned how to manage my son's cancer treatment.....now I am learning to manage all the stress that goes along with it.  Take Care!

Oh bruises, bruises, bruises - I have lots to say about those!!!  My son was diagnosed because of bruises.  He had petechiae and the day of diagnosis developed a dark bruise on his abdomen with a lump under it.  This occurred while he was sleeping on his back in his crib!  He didn't have it before his nap either - yikes!  That was one scary moment.  Needless to say, that was diagnosis day and platelets were at 15,000. 

Now, after being on treatment for 3.5 years and being off for 4.5 months, I've really become a self-proclaimed bruise expert.  I have watched every single bruise he's had in the past 4 years and watched it close.  I've come to realize that, yes, children (especially boys) get bruises and lots of them.  The neurotic side of me does track a bruise from time to time.  After he falls or injures himself, I check the site right away.  If it bruises really ugly really fast, then something may be wrong, but if it bruises quite normally with the dark purple and then by the next day or so, you can see it going to the black/brown colour and then yellow/green, etc. over the course of a few days, then that is totally normal and okay.  I've really come to learn that its not the fact that they GET bruises its how the bruises look and heal that can be an issue.  If they look like a typical bruise and heal like one - no problem.  If they are more dark dark purple and blackish and nasty looking, it may mean they are on the lower side - but again, that's not the rule.

I'd say the best factor would be the healing.  A child with low platelets aren't going to heal their bruises, they will stay that way.  If you see them fading, the body is doing what its supposed to. 

Hang in there!

Scott looks like he's been beaten up right now, its horrible and very scary. Next week is his 6month O/T bloodwork and Im nervous as hell. Scott has always been a very easy bruiser and after monitoring his bloodwork weekly for the last 2 and a half years and knowing that his platelets linger around 200/250 (lower end of normal) I guess I can see why. Yet he does have more than his normal splattering.

Oh my gosh... you have two chidren with ALL??!!!  Bless your heart!  How in the world have you dealt with it X 2?  I have one with ALL and I've turned in to a paranoid wreck.  Again, bless you and your kids.