CBC - 08/29/2007

This can be so draining at times. We knew that there was a chance that Max's counts would be down because he had been sick. Plus, he has had a lot of petikia, so I knew his platelets have been fluxuating. But, it is still hard seeing the numbers, and his white count was much lower than I expected, though his doctor didn't seem surprised at all, and was actually happy to see how good he looked. His red cells keep doign well, though. They are still in the normal range. He really does look great, with lovely red cheeks and lips. Because his white count was so low (and his ANC), they are going to retest next Thursday. Hopefully there will be a recovery by then. If not, they will think about doing a bone marrow biopsy, but hopefully it will not come to that.

I have always expected Max to wait until Oct to start school, but his doctor had been talking about letting him start in September. However, because of the drop, he wants to wait and see, so it will not be until October at the earliest.

The good news is that his doctor could see no reason to curtail his activities (except for preschool), so despite the ANC, we can still do things.

I have included a goofy picture of Max from the 4H Fair because this is kind of a downer post and so I thought a lighthearted picture was in order. He wanted to have his face painted like a green goldfish with a black eye. Don't ask us. :)

WBC: 2.8

HCT: 34.1

HGB: 12.2

PLT: 86

ANC: 510

Amazing Boy

For a child with a suppressed immune system, something must be working in there, because Max had a great day. I kept expecting for the fever to come back, for him to slow down, something, but he just played and ran around most of the day, which was really amazing seeing as it was almost 100 degrees out (hotter with the humidity factored in). He had some weepy moments, but other than that, seemed like himself. What a nice surprise that was.

Max's Health - Update

Max slept for almost 12 hours last night and woke up feeling much better. I am pretty sure he still has a low fever, but I didn't bother to check it. He has been running around and has eaten everything he can get his hands on (which really isn't unusual for our kids who tend to eat for about the first three hours of the day every day, but having skipped dinner last night, he woke up very hungry). I would guess that his fever will probably go up by the end of the day again, but maybe we will get lucky.

Max is Sick. :(

Wednesday night, I came down with a cold with fever. It is a low grade fever, but I have been worried about Max getting it. This morning, he seemed off, having a complete meltdown because his banana broke, among other things. We had a nice day anyway, going to the 4H fair for several hours (me on Tylenol) but after Max took a short nap, he woke up very clingy and didn't eat his dinner. I checked and sure enough, he was running a temperature of 100.0F. If it goes up much higher (101.5) we will have to call the doctor and it will probably mean a hospital stay. I am really hoping he will wake up feeling better. He was really looking forward to going to the fair again tomorrow.

Simple Joys

Sometimes, I need to learn from Max. He and Lauren take such joy from little things. He can be very demanding at times, but more often than not, it doesn't take much to make him happy. Last week, we had storms off and on through out the week. Max just wanted to run and play in the rain. I remember a day when I was in college, walking home from a festival in a terrible thunderstorm. We were running around, getting soaking wet, and just enjoying it. These days, when Max wanted to do the same type of thing, I wouldn't let him because I didn't think it was safe. But, I did let him stand on the porch and dance as the rain poured down on him. I, on the other hand, sat on the bench and stayed dry. And smiled the whole time.

Snorkling, anyone?

Max has been preparing for his Make a Wish trip to the Carribean. He can't wait to go play in the big pool again, and has been loving every moment that we have spent at the beach this summer. Josh got him a new mask (Cisco ate the old one) and snorkel and he has been practicing in the little pool in the backyard. The first day he had it, he wanted to get in the bathtub and try it. He is too funny sometimes.

A Wonderful Week

We just returned from a week at "The Lake." It was so nice. We spent so much time there last year, as there were so few places we could go and things we could do. It was nice to be there this year just because we wanted to be there. The kids had a great time. Max loves it up there. We fished and swam and boated and played on the rocks. He got to go flying with Grampa Rich. It is so nice to watch him play on the rocks and not worry about him falling. Of course, at this time last year, I hadn't really learned to fear the falling yet. But, it is so nice to watch him play and not worry too much. His color is great, too. I love seeing the red cheeks and lips. He has had a cough for a couple of weeks, which has worried us, but it seems to be getting better. He has no fever or other signs of illness, so we are just watching it.

I can't believe how tall he has gotten. He is muscular, too. He can run and run again. What a difference from a few month ago when he got winded fairly easily. I had never seen a child out of shape before. I just always imagined that they would run and run and never really get tired. He can do that again. We pretty much have to drag him away from activities. We had to drag him shivering out of the lake a couple of times. He is just like his Uncle Greg. :)

Speaking of Uncle Greg, we got to see him on this trip. The visit was short, but Max loved it. He adores Uncle Greg. I wish we lived closer to him.

I will post a few pictures soon.

No planned blood draws until the end of the month, unless I get worried about something. I need to learn to trust his health and not rely on CBCs to know how he is doing.