Todd went into his local oncologist's office to have lab work done to check his blood counts. He went in at 11:00 a.m. but didn't get home until after 4:30 p.m.! His counts were down today: Hemoglobin was 8.9; whites 1.9 (1,900) and platelets at 9,000. These were the preliminary results and they wanted to verify them, which took a bit longer, but the count was accurate. Since his platelets were under 10,000, he needed a transfusion of platelets. Sounds straightforward...right?
Well, unfortunately, his local oncologist's office/cancer treatment center does not have a blood bank, so he was going to have to go to a local hospital to get them. Since it was the day after Christmas, the cancer center was short-handed with only one doctor and a handful of nurses available. He waited and waited for a doctor to sign an order for the transfusion and to get an appointment at a hospital that had platelets. By 1:00 p.m. he was still waiting and hadn't had anything to eat, so he finally had to leave to get something to eat and returned with no appointment or orders ready. After waiting until about 4:00 p.m., the doctor had finally signed the order, but there were no open appointments for a transfusion today, so they scheduled it for 7:00 a.m. tomorrow morning at Miami Valley Hospital.
While I expected his numbers to drop some after the Vidaza chemotherapy, I wasn't expecting so much difficulty in arranging the transfusion. So, I called his nurse coordinator, but she too was on vacation. Instead, I got to talk to another nurse who was filling in for her. I was concerned that since his next treatment appointment to draw blood work and get blood products wouldn't be until next Wednesday, December 31, 2014, (5 days) that he was going to need a transfusion before then (especially with his hemoglobin hoovering right above the threshold of 8.5, and because of the fatigue he has been experiencing the last two days). She said that she could secure us an appointment in the Taussig Cancer Center at the Cleveland Clinic on Monday, December 29, but we would have to be there at 8:15 a.m. Todd, although he was tired of the long wait today, he still wasn't ready to go back to Cleveland Monday. We would have to go up the night before or leave that morning around 4:30 a.m. to get there! It was her opinion that if he got platelets today, (well, tomorrow now) he would likely be able to wait until Wednesday, but he would very likely need transfusions then. In the worse case scenario, we would have to be prepared to take him to the emergency room if he becomes symptomatic of falling counts: such as extreme fatigue (where he really doesn't feel like getting out of bed), shortness of breath, and/or confusion. These signs would indicate a severe need for a regular blood transfusion. Of course, if he would start bleeding anywhere, he would have to go to the emergency room for a platelet transfusion.
I hate the idea of taking him to an emergency room which takes so long, and with people who can be contagious and put Todd at risk of catching something. At least at the Cancer Center at the Cleveland Clinic, everyone else there is in the same fragile situation as Todd and the patients and family members are educated about germ control and how important it is.
With the stomach/intestinal virus and the influenza circulating, we are trying to be extra careful to protect Todd from catching these. Please do not visit if you or any member of your household has been sick. We still have to be very vigilant in protecting him from catching something that may seem minor to us, but detrimental for him. Although he is excited to see a few new movies that have been released, I have talked him out of going at this busy time of the year with so many sicknesses circulating.
Todd was quick to point out that his white count had actually gone up slightly from 1.54 on Monday, December 22 to 1.9 today. This is likely from a positive response to the Vidaza chemotherapy. Usually, the counts drop and then get a bounce up for a few weeks. His ANCs (Absolute Neutrophils) of 1.4 were almost within the normal range of 1.5-7.8. I love that he is so positive and looks for things to be grateful for!
This is a good opportunity to shameless plug blood donation and platelet donation. Many may recall our experience with the platelet shortage right after his transplant. This shortage still exists. If you are healthy and able to donate, please contact your local blood donation center or the Red Cross. Your donation can save lives and bring strength and help to Todd and others like him who rely on transfusions. Please note: you CANNOT donate specifically for Todd only; this is too complicated, but it does help keep the blood products in supply.
I hoping to post some Christmas photos and a few other tidbits later this week. Thanks for your support! Please keep praying: that he would develop a mild case of Graft versus Host Disease to fight off his diseased bone marrow; that he would feel well and keep his energy level up; that the transfusion scheduled for tomorrow goes well and that he won't need to go to the emergency room for more transfusions until his next appointment; that our family would have peace and harmony; that if the timing is right, that God would open or close doors for a job opportunity for me. I have an appointment to take a skills test for one job opening in January and I've put in an application at a local university who needs a library information specialist that I'm actually qualified for. I still haven't made a decision whether to return to school or not either.
My mantra today: God can do the impossible!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment