But not really.
They decided last week not to transfuse Jacob during his stay for chemo. And vitamins and B12 supplements apparently couldn't make enough of a difference. His hematocrit on Monday was 21 (the low end of normal is 35).
So here we are in clinic, waiting for the blood bank to send up packed red blood cells for transfusion.
It's only Jake's second transfusion in 38 weeks, so we have nothing to complain about. They even let us go out to lunch between drawing the blood for type and crossmatch and waiting to begin. We went down to KFC/A&W on 4th South to eat, which perked Jake up considerably. And he didn't think it the worst thing in the world to miss school :)
Hopefully, this transfusion will be enough to get him through the next (and final) round of chemo. The doctor told us what to expect after chemo on October 6-7: Jake will have the normal two weeks of blood draws to check counts and then he'll come back in for MRI and CT scans. Once we get the clearance from those, we can schedule surgery to have his port removed. (The great benefit of removing the port is that it removes the number one fear of infections so we no longer have to visit the ER with every fever.) The doctor expects all that will be done by Halloween.
Which might move it up on my list from second favorite to first favorite holiday.
Still no blood yet.
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2 comments:
Halloween isn't very far away...hope you're planning some good costumes to celebrate!
WOW! Is it possible that this thing comes to an end? I'm so impressed that he's only needed blood twice. I'm waiting for counts today for our Jacob. I'm nervous about transfusions. Best wishes to you & Jacob.
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