His Counts Aren't in a Hurry

10/17/2011:  11:25 AM

A lot of the same here.  Yesterday, we had a few visitors, and that helped to break up the monotony.  Davis still sleeps a great deal of the time.

The doctor stopped in shortly after Davis awoke to take some morning medication. As she was talking to us, he became very quiet and reserved. I think it dawned on him that he wasn't going home today, and there is a good chance that he will be here on Tuesday as well. 

What the doctor had to share was promising. None of the cultures that were taken grew any bacteria or fungus. That rules out some of the most serious infection types. They have adjusted the super-antibiotic and he is now getting the proper levels. His metabolism was processing it too quickly initially.  His counts are beginning to climb. His white blood cells are up to 1.3 from .8, and his ANC is up to 65 from 30 something yesterday. His monocyte counts (monocytes are the little soldiers in your blood) are up to 35. This is a indicator that an ANC jump is coming.  The doctor seemed pretty sure that Davis would meet the requirements to start chemo on Thursday. That means that it is expected that his ANC will be over 750 and his platelets will be over 75. This is comforting since his chemo was postponed last week.

Davis did develop some blurred vision, dizziness, and a headache last night around midnight. The doctor on call was unsure as to why he developed these symptoms. The best guess is that the Benadryl given to pre-treat him before his super-antibiotic hadn't kicked in, and the combination of the two antibiotics running in his system at the same time was causing a bit of trouble, but that is a bit of a long shot. The important thing is that when he woke up this morning, the symptoms were gone.

From the medical point of view, the goal for Davis today is to count build and eat and drink.  It breaks my heart to think that a goal for a ten-year-old is to eat and drink. Just something I never thought of before cancer. From the mom point of view, the goal for Davis is to work on some homework.  His teachers are so kind and understanding; they are not requesting work at all. I just think if I can get him to do some, it may relieve some anxiety later on this week.  Essentially, he is going to miss two weeks of school and maybe more.  Anyone who has ever had to make up weeks of work and keep up with the new daily work knows that it can be overwhelming.

I wanted to let all of you know of a fundraiser being done on our behalf. Mandy Hanner, a friend and fellow teacher at Oakland High School, has organized a t-shirt sale. If you are interested in purchasing a shirt, you can print the attached order form, complete it, and mail it to her. The t-shirts are gray with orange writing and say "Team Davis" overlayed on an orange cancer ribbon. The reason for the orange is that it is the color for Leukemia awareness.  It also happens to be one of Davis's favorite colors and one of Oakland's school colors. So, I am learning to love orange. If you need more information or have questions, please email me at abcoffey77@gmail.com, and I will be sure to help. 

T-shirt order form:  Team Davis Shirt Order Form

We are so fortunate that Davis is making a quick recovery. Although the last few days have been draining and scary, the doctors assure us that Davis is responding to treatment appropriately. And while the stay has been longer than we have liked, we know that it could have been weeks. 

 We so love all of your prayers and positive thoughts.  We have the best support system imaginable. We are truly grateful.  We are praying that this is the last infection Davis encounters and that his treatment resumes. We never forget to pray for the requests that have become routine: no side effects, healing, and CURE.  We want nothing more than to have this illness behind us.  May God bless all of you who walking this journey with us.

We will keep you posted.