Day 253 - Things never go as planned, do they?

We planned on giving Ryan his next dose of Chemo today, but, as luck would have it, his ANC counts tanked yesterday, going from over 1200 down to about 500.  Anything less than 750 will keep us from giving the next dose, so we get delayed.  The doctors were pretty surprised that the numbers went down, even going so far as to suggest that if we re-checked his numbers this afternoon, they might be back up.  But, we decided to be safe, and wait until tomorrow.  If his numbers are back up, then we know it was a little fluke.  If they remain down, we need to go looking to figure out why... We'll see tomorrow morning.

I spent a good half hour chatting with our current pediatric oncologist.  He had read Ryan's chart, but wanted to get a better understanding of his situation.  He also heard that I had pictures, which really helped to understand the visual of his swelling when we were admitted.  He said that I needed to create a slide show of all these pictures when we are done... I can't even begin to imagine what that would look like! 

In the mean time, I got to spend some more good quality time with Ryan before Kathryn and I head back to Montana tomorrow.  Ryan is not thrilled that I'm leaving, but I think he'll be okay.  We finally decided today to get him his own cell phone... perhaps more because he wants to play 'Plants vs. Zombies'.  But, this way, if he needs Patrick (or me or Grandma or Allen...) he doesn't have to ask the nurses to call us, he can do it himself.  I like knowing that he has a little better connection to us all now, and I only hope that he doesn't get into the habit of calling at 3 am or in the middle of my Geometry class.  :)

It seems as though the cold front freezing Montana right now might be a little less than anticipated, so we are going ahead with our plans to take the train out to Shelby tomorrow (Saturday) to arrive around noon on Sunday.  I really, really hope that the roads are clear enough and we can get home. 

Thank you all for the continued prayers and good thoughts!

Comments

  1. Lois HillDecember 30, 2017 at 7:27 AM

    Darn, I was hoping everything would stay on schedule--but Ryan's schedule can be different than "normal"! Praying that the numbers come back up soon so everything is "go ahead" That is an awesome picture of you and Ryan, his smile is contagious :) Oh yes and I can just see him calling in the middle of the night--that is his awake time isn't it? wow, hadn't thought of different doctors not knowing what Ryan looked like at different times--that would be an interesting slide show for all of you.
    Praying for a safe trip home for you two girls. LUV U all

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