Matt was tired this morning, so he didn't go to school. Otherwise, today was wonderful. He seemed so great when the home health nurses came to draw his labs. He even felt up to going grocery shopping at Sam's Club with me this afternoon.
That's why, I was so surprised when I arrived home and heard a message on my home phone from Hem/Onc. The nurse said they had received his 'counts' from his blood draw and his platelets were really low. Platelets help the blood to clot, so low platelets mean a small cut or bloody nose might not stop easily, and Matt might bruise too easily. Anyhow, he has to go into the clinic first thing tomorrow morning for a platelet transfusion! This is something very normal for a person having chemo, I just didn't expect it to happen so soon. It seems like lots of reports I get are people saying their children handled chemo well, weren't terribly sick, never needed transfusions, were able to go to school, etc... I suppose I just expected we would be in that group. Apparently,we won't be. Matt's ANC (remember, his total white blood cell count) is also getting quite low. He started at 8500, last week was 4500, and this week was 1200. Anything under 1000 is a 'gray area' in which we really need to be careful of germs and illness. Anything under 500 is critical and Matt is housebound with no visitors allowed. When Matt was 8500 I just felt optimistic that he wouldn't get to 500 very quickly. Now, though, at 1200, that 500 number seems WAY too close!
Today was just a dose of reality. I can't pretend my boy isn't terribly sick when we're going for a transfusion in the morning!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
Allison, Matthew and family,
Oh my gosh the things you guys are going through - it is hard to believe that Matthew is so sick. Travis misses him quite a bit and always talks about riding with him on the bus. Is there anything we can do for your family? We think of you guys every day and pray that Matthew will beat this thing in no time. Your postings are awesome and you are such a strong person for keeping everyone up to date! Please let me know if we can do anything at all for you guys!
Take care
Kelly Vetter
Alli,
Keep hanging in there. We love you and we always have you and Matt in our prayers. HUGS!
Jenny (Agren)
Allison,
Just wanted you to know that we are all still thinking about you guys. Thanks for always keeping us updated! I'm sure this must be incredibly difficult for you (understatement) but know you're all still in our prayers! Hang in there!
Post a Comment