Day 109 - Another delay (low platelets)

Just chilling... waiting for clinic
So, we went to clinic today, to see if we are ready for the next round of chemo.  Although Ryan feels great and most of his numbers are still good, his platelet count is lower than last week (down to 31 from 55).  This means that his bone marrow is not producing enough platelets to keep up.  The doctors think that this might be a side effect of one of the chemo drugs they gave him 2 weeks ago... it can really hit the bone marrow and take a while for the platelets to come back up.  In addition, his ANC dropped (from about 2500 to 950).  They said this is also common, and it could bounce right back up tomorrow.

The good news is that they are not worried.  He looks great and is feeling really good.  They may consider changing the dosage of that chemo drug, to prevent this from happening next time.  But, they repeated, multiple times, that it is very common to have to delay to allow the body time to recover.  We are doing nothing wrong and we would much rather wait a few weeks than push him harder than his body can handle.

So, we get another week off, which is kinda cool since I'm only here for another week, so I get to see him at his best.  :)

We spent the rest of the day building his new Lego project... a remote controlled tank.  He had so much fun!!  I had to keep reminding Patrick to let Ryan build his own project, but it's fun to see them 'bonding' over Legos.  :)

The smoke around Seattle was a little less today, and the temperature was also a little cooler (in the high 80's but not too bad).  I'm hoping the air quality gets better, so we can venture out a little more, but I worry about his breathing when it's so ucky.  He had a little trouble with coughing today, but it seemed to resolve itself.  Otherwise, he still feels great!

Thank you all for the prayers and good thoughts!

Comments

  1. Lois HillAugust 8, 2017 at 6:50 AM

    well, like you have said before, this is on Ryan time :) But that he is feeling great sure helps. I can just see Patrick "helping" Ryan and getting a little "carried away" he he.
    It is cooler here yesterday and today also, sure is nice. we don't have too much smoke, but can sure tell it is in the air. I feel so sorry for all those folks in the fire areas, those living there and those fighting the fires, prayers for their safety
    Prayers also that Ryan's counts come back up and you can continue on this journey and you can ALL get back to Raynesford LUV U all

    ReplyDelete

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