Landon Matthew: IronMan

Our 1 year appointment with Dr. Jantz went really well, his growth curve was okay for a little boy who refuses solids, he is developmentally on track and even a little ahead with fine motor skills. So they drew a little blood for the standard 1 year check-up and we were all done... The next morning I received a call from the doctor's office, Landon's lab had a critical value and I needed to bring him to the hospital lab right away for more tests and then bring him right over to the doctor's office for an appointment and to review the results... My mommy heart was racing and I was so afraid. On the way to the hospital I called the office back to get more information. His hemoglobin was extremely low. 5.4!! If one of the patients where I work had that number we would be doing blood transfusions. We were terrified it was leukemia or some such disease. We had to wait a little more than an hour to see the doctor, it takes about that long to complete some of the tests.

Dr. Jantz coming into that room was our scariest moment in Landon's life since his eventful birth... Happily Dr. Jantz looked over the lab-work and quickly ruled out leukemia and a few other lengthy worded medical conditions which I cannot remember. All signs pointed to severe iron deficiency anemia. Still scary but we can fix this... So Landon was prescribed and iron supplement, max dose, three times a day.

At first it was a great struggle and it caused vomiting and diarrhea.... luckily that only lasted a few days. It is still not an easy event to give it to him but he is getting better at our new routine...

A week later his hemoglobin was up to 6.6, which is a fantastic change considering Dr. Jantz said not to expect it to increase for a month. So we get it rechecked in 1 month (mid Nov.) and we'll go from there.

The happy side effect to this all is that Landon now eats!!! Not eating any solids contributed to his low hemoglobin and low hemoglobin can cause loss of appetite, so which came first the chicken or the egg? Who knows and I for one don't care! Ha! He is eating well, and his favorite is meat... Which is awesome!! Bring on the iron :)