No chemo today.
The nurse called yesterday to let us know that Davis' chemo and spinal was cancelled for today because his counts are too low. His platelets have to be over 75; they were 71, and his ANC (immune system) had to be over 750; his ANC was 213. Not even close. His hemoglobin had dropped too, so I was reminded to watch for symptoms (excessive sleepiness, drop in energy, headaches). suggesting he may need a transfusion in the next few days.
If a transfusion doesn't seem necessary, Davis will have another CBC blood test on Wednesday, which will determine if his counts are high enough for chemo on Friday. If not, we wait another week.
In the meantime, we will just keep on keeping on. Despite having a next-to-nothing immune system, Davis is still attending school. We have noticed a bit more sickness (Fifth's, stomach flu, and sore throats) creep into his fifth grade wing and into his classroom, so I am not sure how long Davis will be attending. It is definitely a balancing act. We continue to take precautions against the spreading of germs and pray for the health of the students and teachers who attend school with Davis.
Davis has developed a bit of a skin rash on his hands. I immediately recognized it as eczema. Davis had eczema as an infant and toddler, and my little sister had it on her hands growing up. It looks identical to what I remember her having. My guess is that the cold weather and low immune system has triggered it. We are treating it now, but his little hands are so raw.
Despite being injected with a great deal of chemo that causes hair loss, Davis' hair continues to grow. I am not sure how long it will stay, but I am surprised he has kept his new growth this long. His hair looks odd up-close. He has his dark new growth, and he still has his sporadic light, longer hair that has never fallen out. I keep suggesting that we buzz off the longer locks to make his hair look more uniform, but he refuses. Although his hair is sticking around, other rapid growth cells are not. He was rubbing his eyes a couple of days ago, and a significant chunk of eyelashes fell out. His eyelashes are incredibly long, so it is very noticeable. His eyebrows are still falling out and his taste buds continue to change.
We are looking forward to a peaceful weekend. We will continue to watch Davis for fevers. A fever would indicate an infection, and Davis would be transported to Children's. We would love to avoid that at all costs, so we just keep praying for his health.
We ask that you help us in doing the same. We always appreciate your positive thoughts and prayers, and we know that Davis and our family wouldn't be doing as well as we are without the grace of God and your support and encouragement.
Your present circumstances don't determine where you can go,; they merely determine where you start. -Nido Qubien
We will keep you posted.
No comments:
Post a Comment