I'm not a patient person. It's just not my thing...but I feel that I've been pretty good during almost 14 months of neutropenia. OK, not good, but not horrible. Well, that's over. I'm sick of it. I WANT SOME DAMN NEUTROPHILS!!!!
Seriously! What does it take to get some white blood cells around here?! UGHHHH!
Ya know...I knew this would happen. Hayden smiled yesterday and I noticed his gums were bright pink and inflamed. Yep, that's a sure sign of neutropenia on him. So I wasn't surprised when today's blood test revealed that he's at 0.55. Why? Why? Why? Because he's fighting a cold or something? Who knows....so done.
mreh.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Friday, January 15, 2010
I'm thinking of a #...
...between 1 and 1.5.
That's the ideal neutrophil range for Hayden. He's at 1.4. Yay! Awesome because: 1) he has an immune system; 2) we don't have to adjust his chemo doses; and 3) we don't have to go to clinic next week.
Hayden went to tae-kwon-do class on Monday. It must be a day to hit the restart button because it was exactly a year ago that he returned to grade 2. I know that because I went back and read old blogs - yikes. People used to say, 'I don't know how you do it' and I remember thinking how the complete lack of choice rendered the remark absolutely pointless. But, looking back...I don't know how we did it. It was a nightmare for all of us - many of you readers and certainly all of Hayden's family. I'm not going to say that we're out of the woods yet, but there's no denying that things are immeasurably better than a year ago.
And now the young lad wants to play hockey. Maybe his buddy Dane can can give him some pointers. Dane was diagnosed with leukemia shortly after Hayden and he's playing 8A1 hockey...most impressive. So, we got Hayden new skates and we've been out at St. Vital arena with Jesse and family once so far (also friends through CancerCare) and we're hitting the rink again this Sunday. Hayden didn't skate at all last year so he's got some catching up to do. But I'd say his mobility is at about 90% so the rest will likely come with a little work. And he's still in archery.
As the archer dudes (and Grandpa) say...until next time, tight lines and straight shooting.
PS: my sincerest apologies to all of the snowmobilers (which now includes my son) for wishing for warm weather...who knew? Even deeper apologies for loving this heat wave.
That's the ideal neutrophil range for Hayden. He's at 1.4. Yay! Awesome because: 1) he has an immune system; 2) we don't have to adjust his chemo doses; and 3) we don't have to go to clinic next week.
Hayden went to tae-kwon-do class on Monday. It must be a day to hit the restart button because it was exactly a year ago that he returned to grade 2. I know that because I went back and read old blogs - yikes. People used to say, 'I don't know how you do it' and I remember thinking how the complete lack of choice rendered the remark absolutely pointless. But, looking back...I don't know how we did it. It was a nightmare for all of us - many of you readers and certainly all of Hayden's family. I'm not going to say that we're out of the woods yet, but there's no denying that things are immeasurably better than a year ago.
And now the young lad wants to play hockey. Maybe his buddy Dane can can give him some pointers. Dane was diagnosed with leukemia shortly after Hayden and he's playing 8A1 hockey...most impressive. So, we got Hayden new skates and we've been out at St. Vital arena with Jesse and family once so far (also friends through CancerCare) and we're hitting the rink again this Sunday. Hayden didn't skate at all last year so he's got some catching up to do. But I'd say his mobility is at about 90% so the rest will likely come with a little work. And he's still in archery.
As the archer dudes (and Grandpa) say...until next time, tight lines and straight shooting.
PS: my sincerest apologies to all of the snowmobilers (which now includes my son) for wishing for warm weather...who knew? Even deeper apologies for loving this heat wave.
Friday, January 8, 2010
New Moon
Just got back from seeing New Moon - loved it! Hayden and I have been reading the Twilight series books (OK, I'm reading, he's listening) so I surprised him with a movie date. As you might have guessed, his blood counts are up so public outings are finally allowed.
You might find it odd that I would read these books to an 8-year-old...it's kind of shocking to me too. When the first movie came out on DVD, I thought it was inappropriate and didn't allow him to see it but, of course, that only made it more desirable to Hayden. He, along with the support of most of his cousins, eventually wore me down and he became a big fan. Then I bought the book as a way to pass time in the hospital, and it worked exceptionally well. The reading seemed to soothe him when he was feeling crappy and the story took him away from whatever was going on at the time. He begged for more pages and I read aloud until my voice cracked. Plus, I censored as I read so we tore through the first 3 books. The movies present a censorship challenge but I must say, I couldn't have enjoyed it more. Being in the theater with him, watching him see the familiar story unfold, putting a visual to months of reading...it was great. I suspect, though, that these books will always conjur bittersweet memories for me.
We'll be back at the clinic on Tuesday for another blood test. Dr. Stoffman wants to see if last week's steroid pulse pushed up his counts or if he's really making neutrophils on his own free will. Hopefully his ANC is between 1 and 1.5 so we can stop adjusting the chemo doses and get on with life with an immune system and without weekly clinic visits.
If the weather warms up, Hayden will be snowmobiling around the yard this weekend. Did I mention he got a Snow Scoot for Christmas? He loves it. I'm sure we're all hoping the weatherman is right.
You might find it odd that I would read these books to an 8-year-old...it's kind of shocking to me too. When the first movie came out on DVD, I thought it was inappropriate and didn't allow him to see it but, of course, that only made it more desirable to Hayden. He, along with the support of most of his cousins, eventually wore me down and he became a big fan. Then I bought the book as a way to pass time in the hospital, and it worked exceptionally well. The reading seemed to soothe him when he was feeling crappy and the story took him away from whatever was going on at the time. He begged for more pages and I read aloud until my voice cracked. Plus, I censored as I read so we tore through the first 3 books. The movies present a censorship challenge but I must say, I couldn't have enjoyed it more. Being in the theater with him, watching him see the familiar story unfold, putting a visual to months of reading...it was great. I suspect, though, that these books will always conjur bittersweet memories for me.
We'll be back at the clinic on Tuesday for another blood test. Dr. Stoffman wants to see if last week's steroid pulse pushed up his counts or if he's really making neutrophils on his own free will. Hopefully his ANC is between 1 and 1.5 so we can stop adjusting the chemo doses and get on with life with an immune system and without weekly clinic visits.
If the weather warms up, Hayden will be snowmobiling around the yard this weekend. Did I mention he got a Snow Scoot for Christmas? He loves it. I'm sure we're all hoping the weatherman is right.
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