Neutropenic....yikes!

Well we're there... in the dreaded land of neutropenia.  It was expected after the last round of chemo. Luis' blood counts are dropping. Every week, we get a copy of his numbers. Here's how he did this week. (Against the better judgment of the engineering community, I don't know what units these are measured in...sorry).

• Total white blood cells: Normal is 3.0-8.0 ; Luis was 1.1
• Hemoglobin: Normal is 110-140; Luis was 82
• Platelets: Normal is 150-450; Luis was 204 (we're ok here!)
• Neutrophils: Normal is greater than 1.0; Luis was 0.3

Essentially, the low neutrophil level prevents his body from being able to fight off infections. Hang nails, chapped lips, paper cuts all need to be taken seriously and prevented as much as possible. A fever could land us in the hospital for up to two weeks. His blood counts will continue to drop during chemo over the next few weeks. There will be a pause in the treatment after day 28 of consolidation if his platelets and neutrophils aren't at a healthy level in order to allow his body to bounce back.

His low hemoglobin should make him feel tired, but he is still really active. With the continued chemo, hemoglobin will continue to drop and he will likely need a blood transfusion. If you want to help, you can donate blood on Luis' behalf through Canadian Blood Services. We were told that the hospital doesn't take family and friends' blood directly.

I've gotta feeling....

Now we're back to daily shots in the thigh with a chemo drug, cytarabine. It is still scary for him, but I think he's getting a little better with it.  Gotta go...the nurse just pulled up!