Thursday, February 11, 2010

WBC, ANC, Hematocrit, and Platelet counts

Talitha's blood counts shot up since Monday. She's well above the baseline required to start chemo round #2 so, ready or not, Talitha get's to go check in tomorrow for some extended stay at her second home up north.

White Blood Cells (WBC) = 9,700 (this was down at 900 on Monday)
Absolute Neutrophil Count (ANC) = 5,000 (this was only 100 on Monday and needed to get to 1,000)
Hematocrit (red blood cell measurement)=25.6 (this is still relatively low, barely above the 25 minimum required to resume chemo treatment)
Platelets=265 (more than 2.5 times higher than the 100 minimum required to resume treatment)

I don't remember the last time I heard such great news that made me feel such a tinge of disappointment. Talitha is as close to being herself again as we remember since her emergency operation on Christmas Eve. Kind of makes me swallow hard to think we have to go in with the wrecking ball again so soon. Getting the head and the heart onto the same page can be a hard deal.

We're so grateful to have had a full week with Talitha at home. She has filled our home with love and inspired us to do a little better and reach a little higher. I've even noticed a bit more patience between family members. It's been a joyful last few days. (It's been harder to take days for granted lately.)

Thank you for your tremendous support through round #1 and recovery.

Please send a huge thank you up to heaven. Your prayers on behalf of Talitha were most definitely and graciously answered in so many favorable, tender ways. Oh if we could all find the words now to say "thank you!".

No comments:

Post a Comment