This is a blog post about Nathan’s condition.

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The cute little boy in the picture above is my oldest nephew, Nathan. Nathan is 2 years and 11 months old currently. When Nathan was around 8 months old, he was admitted to the pediatric emergency room. He was very sick and his immune system was not fighting off the virus he had. Multiple tests later, we found out that Nathan had Severe Chronic Neutropenia. Severe Chronic Neutropenia occurs when the body has extremely low white blood cells/ neutrophils. The average white blood cell count/neutrophil count is between 5,000 to 10,000. Nathan’s cell count has consistently been around 200. Neutrophils play an important role in fighting off bacterial infections in the body. What this means for Nathan is that he has to live a different lifestyle than many other toddlers. He is limited to only open areas, like the backyard or an outside patio of a restaurant. Nathan can of course be around other children, as long as those other children have absolutely no symptoms of being sick. Even if another child has something as minor as a runny nose, Nathan can not be around that child. A lot of people think it’s silly that things are taken to this amount of an extreme, but Nathan is prone to get sick a thousand more times than the average child. Something as little as the typical cold could land Nathan in the hospital. Nathan’s body does not have the appropriate amount of neutrophils/white blood cells to fight off infections. It has been difficult having to seclude Nathan, especially for my sister and her family. Many families enjoy taking their little ones out to eat or to an arcade; however, that is too much of a risk for Nathan. Nathan’s condition has been manageable for the most part. My family has adapted well to Nathan’s condition and the different kind of lifestyle that he has been living. My family and I have always hoped that Nathan would grow out of Neutropenia. The other day Nathan went for his routine check-up and CBC (complete blood count) blood work, Nathan’s neutrophil count was over 2,000! This is such incredible news! My sister and my family are beyond excited, and we are hoping he is starting to grow out of his Severe Chronic Neutropenia. After my sister received the good news, she took Nathan into the grocery store for the first time at almost 3 years old. The picture above is a picture of Nathan’s first trip to Walmart. Nathan was impressed to say the least. My sister, my family, and I are hoping and praying that Nathan’s neutrophil count continues to increases.