Something I've been wondering

Okay, so it's been a week since I brought CJ to the doctor to have his iron levels rechecked. Back in November his hemoglobin was 10.9 which was a little low. Not alarmingly low, but still a little low. His lead levels were over 5 then too. I had done some research on lead and found out that high levels of lead can cause anemia, slow growth, and other delays which we have experienced with CJ. So I was getting worried and we ended up deciding to move. Now mind you according to the CT lead program they don't start getting concerned until it's at a 10. They wouldn't step in with our landlord based on our children's lead levels. I mean ideally there would be no lead, but this wasn't bad in their minds.

Here are my thoughts about the mark of 10 in lead in a child's blood. At one point in time they thought 30 was an acceptable number. Come to find out that's very dangerous. So perhaps lead in a child's system can start effecting people at much lower numbers than they are saying. And perhaps this can be proven by CJ's blood results.

Last week when we went to have his iron rechecked he did remarkably well. It was up higher than I think it has ever been. He was at 13.8. Then I had them test his lead. That is down to less than 3. Just a month and a half of living in a new environment and my son's lead levels are much lower, but his iron levels are much higher. Now let me be clear about something with his iron. We were not on an iron supplement for him. When he tested at 10.9 in November he was still drinking pediasure. The doctor took him off of that. A huge source of iron he was no longer getting. To top things off last week when he was tested he had been sick for almost a week and hadn't been eating well at all. I honestly didn't really change his diet. A little more whole wheat bread and some raisins, but there's no way that iron could possibly have been more than what was in his Pediasure. So how in 3 months did his iron go up so much given all of these things if there is no corralation between iron levels and lead levels?

So this leads me to think that even at levels that are considered low for lead in a child's system that they were in fact dangerously high for my son. I begin to wonder about other things too. Like Kaitlyn's difficulty in reading. Like my lost pregnancy last year. Could we have been all breathing in way too much lead in our old apartment for way too many years? Would things be different for us if we had never lived in that house?

But we can't live in what ifs and would a could a should a's. We are out of that environment. CJ is thriving. Not only is his hemoglobin up almost 3 points, but he also gained nearly 2 pounds. Can you imagine what all of these numbers would have been if he hadn't been under the weather and not really eating for so long? Now I just keep waiting and hoping that the reading will finally click with Kaitlyn. Wouldn't that be something with her? It sure will be interesting to find out in the future if they lower the lead in a child's blood from 10 to say 5 for action taken by the lead program. I'm glad we were in a position to move out of that environment, but I'm sure there are many other people who wouldn't be able to move. Sure would be nice for those people to have the backing of the government to help resolve the problem and make a landlord do the work that needs to be done, or to help a family financially fix the problem.