Sunday's counts

The #'s:

hemoglobin                            8.6 (up 5)

platelets:                                12 (down 3)

white blood cells:                 0.5 (up 0.1)

I talked with his nurse and she says this neutropenia and low counts are unfortunately very typical.  He won't be getting any more blood unless his platelets go below 10.  Basically 3-4 weeks after treatment the #'s are usually at their lowest.  It's been 2 weeks since his last round so his #'s could actually get lower.  She said that he looks and acts better than most patients with their numbers that low.  Most patients don't want to eat anything or get out of bed.  He's eating decently and walks to the nurses station when he's able.  They can't predict how long it will be until his #'s get up but a conservative estimate is a week.  She said it's best to just take it a day at a time.  His regular Dr. will be making rounds in the a.m. tomorrow so I'm going to try and get here extra early so I can be sure to talk to him and ask more questions.  

He's sleeping now, if he feels up to it later I'll walk the halls with him.  He's getting "hospitalitice" aka a bit stir crazy.  I get stir crazy being here so much, I can't imagine how he feels!  Hopefully some walking will make him feel better.  

Even tho this neutropenia is all very typical its been a bit of a rough adjustment for Chris and I to get used to it.  We were planning to eat Indian food for our anniversary(like we did last year) on Tuesday - I'll just have to bring it to him if he feels up to it instead!

Later today I'm planning on writing a more organized sheet with info on all his past/present counts with dates along with what are "normal" ranges.  It will be an easy reference for all of us.  I don't know if I can attach an excel spreadsheet here on facebook but I can try!  

Oh and I don't know the details but Gary Saldivar, who is tagged in this note, and a very good friend of Chris' (he bought the fun toys for Magnus!), had a fire at his apartment complex last night.  He got out safely and him and his girlfriend had to jump from the balcony.  From what I've heard everything burned down.  Chris plans to call him later today to see how he's doing.  We're thinking about you Gary!