All about counts

A month ago Colin received his monthly IV chemo and we were very surprised when his blood results came back with an ANC of 3400 which is well over the 500-1500 range. At that point we began his oral chemo at 50%. This week we were back at Yale for a routine blood check and we're happy to report Colin's counts are coming down nicely ... his ANC is 1900 so he's nearing the range. Our next visit to Yale will be right before Christmas when he'll receive his next LP, chemo and you guessed it, the start of steroid week!

We hope everyone had a wonderful thanksgiving! As we celebrated this year, we reflected on all the things we're thankful for and the list is endless but most of all we're thankful for life and all the little moments we cherish.

Counts are coming up!

Colin had his checkup today and his counts are still on the low side but they are coming up. His ANC is 500 just enough for him to go back to school! As we talked about going to back to school tomorrow he got very excited and we're reminded that it's been close to four weeks since he's been there. He misses his new friends and the routine.

We will continue to hold his meds for another week and re-evaluate at our next visit. Hopefully his counts will be high enough to start back on track with his medication.

We hope to get a few full nights of sleep before the start of steroid next week :)

ANC 200

Today Colin went in for a blood check and his counts have dropped, ANC is 200. The range he should be in is 500-1500. This means we're home-bound until they come up. We'll go back in a week for another blood check. Colin continues to say just one more bad day ... awww, priceless.

Miss Maddie has not skipped a beat through all this. She's our social bug and continues to bounce around without hesitation.

As for Mommy and Daddy ... we're exhausted and could not do this without all of you by our side. Thank you!

Up and down

Last Wednesday Colin's counts increased to 1100 and he began to perk up over the weekend. He is eating better and has enjoyed a few outdoor activities. Today we were back at Yale for an immune boost transfusion (IGG) which should help him fight the fall/winter colds and get him over this hump. The results of the IGG test showed he was low, coming in at 322. A transfusion is recommended below 400. Since this is a blood transfusion we started with a dose of Tylenol followed by IV Benadryl. The transfusion ran over a three hour period of which Colin slept for most of it. We were disappointed to hear his counts have dropped again, ANC 600, however it was somewhat expected since he started his oral chemo at 50% the dose last Wednesday. We'll check back in on Wed for a CBC before deciding on a possible return to school date.

Thank you to all who joined us and Colin's Crew for a fun night at Beer & Hope. The money raised will assist families with childhood cancer.