Day 4 - Second dose of chemo

Ryan had his first dose of PEG, which is one of the chemo drugs.  He is doing fine, for the moment.  He should be feeling worse with each consecutive dose, so that doesn't mean much, except that he doesn't feel bad.

He got a visit from the hospital Chaplin, who gave him his own rosary.  He also got communion and a special blessing, which made him very happy.  (We are Catholic, and Ryan just loves going to church!)

He saw a dentist today, to make sure there was nothing wrong with his teeth.  The dentist said no cavities or other issues, but the lemons he eats are ruining the enamel on his molars (which we already knew).  We tried to explain that he really likes his lemons, but the dentist was not impressed...

In addition, he got a new Lego set from Aunt Mandi, and managed to complete the helicopter, in a few hours.  I think he still has to work on the volcano.   Thank you Aunt Mandi!!  :)

He is staying busy and still feels good.  Patrick stayed with him today, since the PEG drug could cause some side effects, and they wanted someone at the bedside all day, just in case.  No problems all day, so we are just grateful for that!

I got to give blood today at the blood drive in Raynesford, which was offered in honor of Ryan.  Oh how I love this community!  Patrick will be getting a car tomorrow, and starting to set up the apartment with trips to IKEA... I feel I should give him a dollar limit, since that place is dangerous... :)

I also got to chat with a new friend tonight about her daughter's journey with cancer.  What an amazing woman.  Thank you, Steph, for reaching out and lending an ear and advice! 

I'm going to be adding labs at the bottom of my post, just so I can go back and check numbers without asking Patrick or the nurses.  Sometimes trends in these numbers can be important, and sometimes they can help prepare us for what the doctors are going to say.  For instance, his H&H are low right now, so he'll probably end up with a transfusion tomorrow (aren't I glad I donated today!!)

Thank you all for your prayers and good thoughts!!  :)

ANC:  914  (pretty good)

Blasts: 12 (still good)

WBC:  1.2 (low, but expectedly so)

Creatine:  .7 (this is good)

Platelets : 33 (low, probably need more of these)

Hematocrit: 21.8 (this is low, so we'll probably get blood tomorrow)

Bili:  1.0  (liver number, pretty good)

ALT: 62  (another liver number, this is high, but I expect it is related to the drugs they are giving him)