Day 78 - Clinic and Chemo
We got chemo today, and will get it again on Sunday, Tuesday and Friday of next week. It's kinda nice to not have it every day, and I'm sure his body will appreciate that! Also, this chemo is a little milder than what he had a few weeks ago, so hopefully he won't have any negative side effects. They gave him an IV dose of Zofran to keep the nausea at bay, and it must have worked since he didn't complain about his tummy all day.
Patrick worked most the afternoon, so Ryan and I just hung out and played games. I'm trying to get him back into doing school work, which is a challenge to say the least. He has been 'off' school for so long, I'm afraid he really doesn't want to go back. I hope that I can get him into a routine BEFORE school starts, since I'll be back in Montana and Patrick will have to keep it going come mid-August.
We decided to try the movie tomorrow, since we don't have anything scheduled. Otherwise, all is going well!!
Thank you all for the continued prayers and good thoughts!
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ANC - 1943
Hematocrit - 30.2
Hemoglobin - 9.9
RBC - 3.42
WBC - 2.9
Lymphocytes - 580
Platelets - 295
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.
Hematocrit - 30.2
Hemoglobin - 9.9
RBC - 3.42
WBC - 2.9
Lymphocytes - 580
Platelets - 295
Description of lab numbers, in layman's terms:
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.
That is amazing -- continued good health for that guy!!! sounds like things are on track for a uneventful chemo session :) Hope he doesn't sunburn that beautiful (handsome) bald head!! he he
ReplyDeletewe will continue to pray for all of you tonight at mass. LUV U all