Day +7
First the important news: Max has a white blood count. It is 0.2 which means I think 200 white blood cells. This is pretty good. He has to make all of his white blood cells from the tiny amount of stem cells he got in transplant. He can get transfusions of red blood cells and platelets (the other two things stem cells can make) but white blood cells (WBCs) he has to make himself. We've been told to ignore the number because for the next week to two weeks it could fluctuate or stagnate before it starts to increase. That's just part of the process. Still, knowing the chemo took him down to 0, it' s nice to be at 0.2.
As for the day, it was spent with some worry regarding his breathing and wheezing. Different doctors and respiratory people use different terms to describe his wheezing, and this morning we heard that Max's lungs sounded "wet" which frightened us to say the least. We do not want Max's lungs to get too wet, or to develop into more complicated things like RSV or pneumonia which would be very difficult to beat with his immune system so reduced. So it's being monitored and treated with a slightly different regimen of breathing treatments. As usual it sounds worse to us than it seems to make the doctors.
He had a very good time during occupational therapy today, full of belly laughs with a See-and-Say toy. He fell asleep during speech therapy but the therapist took the time to remind me that it's not too early to begin working with Max with sign language because he may be able to use basic sign language before his speech can catch up.
Grace got shut out in BINGO tonight but apparently she took it in stride.
Our webmistress Chris is home from her surgery and doing well.
Grace is now calling the Ronald McDonald House "Ronnie McD's"
There is a very sneaky staircase that heads down from the road behind the hospital directly to the Mississippi River and Grace and I found our way there and dipped one finger each in the water. It was warm. The 12 flights back up seemed to effect Dad more than Grace. Go figure.
Max is now capable of blowing raspberries with his lips. The bald little motorboat is so cute.
One week post-transplant,
Mike
As for the day, it was spent with some worry regarding his breathing and wheezing. Different doctors and respiratory people use different terms to describe his wheezing, and this morning we heard that Max's lungs sounded "wet" which frightened us to say the least. We do not want Max's lungs to get too wet, or to develop into more complicated things like RSV or pneumonia which would be very difficult to beat with his immune system so reduced. So it's being monitored and treated with a slightly different regimen of breathing treatments. As usual it sounds worse to us than it seems to make the doctors.
He had a very good time during occupational therapy today, full of belly laughs with a See-and-Say toy. He fell asleep during speech therapy but the therapist took the time to remind me that it's not too early to begin working with Max with sign language because he may be able to use basic sign language before his speech can catch up.
Grace got shut out in BINGO tonight but apparently she took it in stride.
Our webmistress Chris is home from her surgery and doing well.
Grace is now calling the Ronald McDonald House "Ronnie McD's"
There is a very sneaky staircase that heads down from the road behind the hospital directly to the Mississippi River and Grace and I found our way there and dipped one finger each in the water. It was warm. The 12 flights back up seemed to effect Dad more than Grace. Go figure.
Max is now capable of blowing raspberries with his lips. The bald little motorboat is so cute.
One week post-transplant,
Mike
posted by Mike Ciacciarelli
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