2 out of 3

Hayden's neutrophils are still not high enough to continue with the regular treatment path but he did get 2 out of 3 chemo drugs during his Friday clinic visit. We were surprised because we were told that the thigh injections would be done on Saturday and only if his blood counts were good...and when I say surprise, I don't mean the happy-birthday-here's-a-present kind of surprise.

H was upset about the thigh injections. He can get pretty worked up about these ones but the anticipation is much worse than the needle. However, Nurse Wanda is very patient and she gave him plenty of time to 'get the feeling'. This is part of Hayden's poke routine - he asks them to get everything ready, then Mom or Dad covers his eyes, and he gets the feeling by concentrating on better thoughts. Basically, he goes to a happy place and the needle goes in with no problems (a topical anesthetic freezes the skin). This has served him well during needle pokes and tests (i.e., bone scans, MRIs, x-rays) and the routine gives him comfort...especially when he was getting needles from unfamiliar home care nurses.

So now what? Well, we're not sure yet. Dr. Cham is seeing Hayden while Dr. Stoffman is on vacation. She says the low counts may not be related to the chemo (maybe fighting an infection?) or it may be that he's already reached the maximum methotrexate dosage (in the capizzi method he gets escalating doses until his neturophils go down).

We're back at the hospital on Friday...