Day 32 - MRD is 0%, we are officially in Remission!

We got the results today from the bone marrow test that we got last Friday.  The official terminology is:  No abnormal immature T cell population identified.  In layman's terms, there is 0% minimal residual disease and we are officially in remission.

Wow.

Part of us has been so positive throughout the last 45 days... We know Ryan will beat this and we know it will all work out.  But underneath, there is always the reminder that 'working out' might take longer than we hoped and he might have a hard time.  We are just amazed at the power of prayer and good thoughts, as even the doctors are surprised how well Ryan has done.  (of course, I never doubted it for a second 😇)

That all being said, it doesn't mean that we are done.  We still have a long way to go to get through the next phases.  There are at least 3 more phases.  The next phases will be around 8 weeks long (about 2 months).  That is, of course, depending on how his counts go.  Sometimes, he won't be able to get his treatment because his counts will be low, which will extend the phase as necessary.  The second and third phases should be around 12 weeks (3 months) each.  So, we still have a solid 8 - 10 months to go.

The good news is that he can deal with those phases from the apartment, not from the hospital room. And, if his numbers are good, he can go out, and play and live his life.  The doctors have said that we should be able to go to the apartment once his numbers are 'good'.  That means a platelet count of at least 75, an ANC of at least 750 and nothing else that makes us worried... like a fever (which he still has).

While we are celebrating, we are still dealing with other little bumps in the road.  His blood cultures are still negative, but we have pretty much determined that he has a small infection in his abdomen (either in his intestines or somewhere in that region).  He has a red, swollen area on the left side of his mid-section.  The doctors have changed antibiotics (dropped ampicillin and ceftaz, and moved on to the 'big guns':  meropenum and vanco).  The new drugs are designed to get into the tissue and hopefully get at wherever the bugs are hiding.  (these are usually our 'drug of choice' for Ryan, so he shouldn't have any negative effects)

We also got our Interventional Radiology Spinal Tap today, with no problems!  And, our 'teacher' from home health care said that we knew how to change a dressing, so one more training checked off our list!  We aren't asking to go home until he feels better.  Hopefully, the new antibiotics will kick this infection.   Once he's up and moving, and ready to start on 'Day 1' of the new phase, we'll finally leave the hospital and head to the apartment.

Staying strong and positive and so impressed with his ability to fight anything that comes his way...

Thank you all for your prayers and good thoughts!!

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(So, I forgot to get a copy of the labs today, so I'll fill these in tomorrow.. I just remember the ANC and platelets...)
Blasts - (not checking this every day anymore)
ANC - 620
Hematocrit -
Hemoglobin -
RBC -
WBC -
Lyphocytes -
Creatine -
Glucose -
Platelets - 70

Description of lab numbers, in layman's terms:

Blasts - roughly the number of leukemia cells found in the sample.  We want this to be 0.
ANC -  This tells us how well his body can fight off normal infections... We want this to be greater than 500..  Normal would be greater than 1500.
Hematocrit/Hemoglobin (H&H)  - This is a number of how much blood is in his system.  His normal range is 28-32/9-11.  The numbers are linked, so they are usually referenced together.  We will transfuse him more Red Blood Cells if he gets below 21/7.0.  (this is the blood you donate at blood drives, and we expect to use lots of it)
RBC (Red Blood Cells) - The number of Red Blood Cells in his body.  Normal is 4 - 5.5.  He has always been low, so we are happy with numbers around 2.5.  This number will go down with chemo.
WBC (White Blood Cells) - This tells us how many white blood cells he has (in thousands).  Normal is between 4.5 and 10.  We expect this to remain low, between 1.5 and 2.5 for a while.
Creatine - This is a good number to make sure the kidneys are working.  Normal range is between .5 and 1.2... If this gets higher, it means his kidneys are struggling.
Glucose - This number tells us that the pancreas is working.  Some kids struggle with diabetes as a result of the meds.  We want to see this number remain above 60 and below 150.
Lymphocytes - Non-cancerous T-Cells and B-Cells.  Normal would be around 1000, so we expect this number to be low.  This is the number of cells that will kill off bad cells like viruses.
Platelets - This is the number of platelets in the blood, which helps with clotting.  Normal is greater than 150.  We will transfuse more platelets if he gets lower than 30.
Co-Ags (PT,APTT) - These numbers tell us how fast he clots.
Bilirubin (Direct/Indirect/Total) - Bilirubin tells us how well the liver is working.  Normally, these numbers are less than 1, which is good.  However, when the liver starts to be under stress, they may go up.  Total Bilirubin is the Conjugated (Direct) + Unconjugated (Indirect).  The doctors said these numbers might come up, as his liver is trying to process all the meds we are giving him.
ALT/AST - these are liver numbers, letting us know how much stress the liver is under.  Normal range is between 10-50.