Day 124 - Well... it's been a few weeks...

So, yesterday, in clinic, Ryan's ANC was down to 0.  We weren't quite sure what that meant, but no one seemed that concerned, so we just went with it.

And, as Ryan tends to do, he decided to spike a fever and throw up last night.  So, Patrick brought him into the ER.  Not only was his ANC down to 0, but his blood numbers (hematocrit) was down to 17, which is really low.

They took blood cultures, and gave him a transfusion to get his numbers up.  And, they admitted him, as we expected.  Patrick had packed up his Xbox, his Surface and his new Lego sets before they headed over to the ER (smart man).   So, by 3am, they were all setup and Ryan was resting and getting his blood and antibiotics, and Patrick went back home to rest.

Today, Ryan was feeling much better.  No nausea and no fevers, and he was just sitting up, playing with his legos and hanging out with the nurses.  When Patrick came back over this afternoon, Ryan was like, "hey dad", with no worries and no concerns.  He is so comfortable there!

The doctors are planning on keeping him for another 24-36 hours on antibiotics, but if nothing grows (which we kinda expect), they will stop the antibiotics, and keep him another 24-48 hours until his ANC comes up.  In a way, it's safer for him to be admitted when his ANC is so low, since it means he pretty much has no immune system and he's in a sterile environment.  And, with all his toys, he's just fine.

So, in a weird way, he's fine.  A little stressful for mom and dad, but Ryan is feeling fine.

The family got home from Idaho safely today.  I get to take Allen to college tomorrow, and Kathryn and Connor get to start school back up.  The beginning of a new chapter in our house.

Thank you all for the prayers and good thoughts!


Comments

  1. Lois HillAugust 22, 2017 at 10:39 PM

    Glad Ryan is at the hospital where he is "safe" from any germs, geeze he likes to keep everyone on their toes!! It is so great that he is so comfortable in the hospital (s) and not being irritated by them as some folks are. We prayed for him today at mass in Belt, that his numbers come back up so he can continue with the treatment and get back to Raynesford!! Miss him singing and praying in church.
    well life is never dull in your family, told Allen best of luck at school when I saw him tonight, new adventures :) Praying for all the Simpsons LUV U all

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day 500 - wow...

Image
Today - Sept, 2018 So, this is day 500.  500 days since we found out Ryan had Leukemia.  It's been a very strange year and a half, and you all have no idea how much I appreciate your support and your prayers.  For the last 500 days, I have posted an update every evening. I have tried to keep my posts positive (sometimes more for me than for anyone reading them).  There are things that I have not talked about, perhaps because putting those things into writing will make them possible.  Mostly, I have avoided any writing that implies that there is any alternative to things working out.   When we were first diagnosed with Leukemia, our doctors came in to give us 'the talk'.  For anyone who has gone through this, you know about 'the talk'.   Since Ryan had a small bowel and liver transplant, odds were that Ryan would not survive.  We knew this.  However, Ryan is an amazing kid, always defying the odds. May, 2017  (first month...
Read more

Day 490 - A bit smoky

Image
We've mostly recovered from our emotional day yesterday, only to wake up to a very smoky day.  We decided that Ryan could plant his flowers another day, as he probably shouldn't be outside too much on days like today.  So, it was a video game inside kind of day (after our school work was finished, of course!) We got a call from our Great Falls oncologist, who spoke to the Seattle team about Ryan's low magnesium numbers.  They want us to get labs tomorrow, and probably a bolus of magnesium to get him through the weekend.  Depending on his numbers, we might come in next week as well until the TPN can get this right composition of mag (there is a shortage right now). Hopefully, these fires can get under control and the air quality can get back to our beautiful Montana weather, so we can enjoy the outside again... Thank you so much for your continued prayers and good thoughts!
Read more

Day 498 - Visit to Ft. Benton

Image
I spent the day in Fort Benton with my mom and her friend... It was nice to spend the day walking around the fort and the museums, and just enjoy the beautiful day. Ryan stayed home with Patrick, so it was kind of a break day for him as well!  He woke up late and didn't have to worry about his school work all day... But, he will make up for the missing work tomorrow... One of the side benefits of homeschooling! His belly has completely closed up, now that he's been without the IV chemo for 2 weeks or so.  It looks great and hopefully will stay that way for a while.  We don't have another spinal tap until October, and I don't think we have the week long IV chemo for another few weeks.  Just enjoying feeling good! Thank you all for the prayers and good thoughts!
Read more