Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Information Overload

When Papa got back to the hospital today, he didn't know how much information he was going to learn today. First of all, the CT results from her upper chest and abdomen were all negative. They started a temporary PICC line in her right arm to inject the contrast. Today, she got a second CT scan of the lower portion of her chest. Let's hope for the same results.

Next, he learned that a possible reason for the recent fever is because of her low white blood count. She may always have something in her body that is being fought off by her white blood cells. The chemotherapy obviously kills off these cells, making her susceptible to infection/fever. Once the white blood cells begin to climb, the fever goes away, and you may never know what the source was. Pretty interesting!

Papa then inquired about trying to become a bone marrow donor. This is something he had always wanted to do, but regretfully never did. Unfortunately, he is not a candidate because the age range is 18 to 60. I am sure some of you might be disappointed to learn this, but now the rest of us have no excuse. We can make a difference!

Lastly, Nonnie's counts are continuing to climb! Her white blood cells and platelets have doubled in the last 24 hours. As long as she continues at this pace, it may be real soon that she is able to go home. For this to happen, we need her to keep getting stronger and avoid a fever. Most importantly, we need to pray that this treatment has put her into remission! That test will be performed prior to her going home next time. 

4 comments:

  1. Holey Moley! Thank God for the genious minds behind all this scientific stuff. It's so exciting to begin hearing about the signs leading to remission. I'm just so sure of it. We have all remained diligent with our prayers and strong in our faith. Folks...we are sure to witness a miracle!!
    Press on, Nonnie!
    Love, Kathi xoxoxo

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  2. If anyone is interested in bone marrow donation, I would be happy to talk to them (or email). I was an unrelated donor way back in 1994! I was inspired to be tested by our dear T&C friend, Michele Gayton. (No, she did not need bone marrow herself but her illness and the need for organ transplant influenced me nonetheless).
    In my case I was able to help an 11 year old little boy who went on to make a full recovery and is now a robust 26 year old man! There is no clear way to express how meaningful that experience was to me...I encourage anyone considering testing to go for it! Again, I will be happy to provide first hand info. Leila (Leilakand@aol.com)

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  3. Dusty! I LOVE your haircut. How awesome to do that for Nonnie. You are the absolute best! I love you with all my heart.
    Grandma Boo xoxoxo

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  4. Dear David and Linda,

    Words cannot express how appreciative we are that you remembered Ashley for her graduation. Thank you so much for the card and gift. The extra special touch to it was you, Linda, writing in it yourself - how meaningful to us. Today was Ashley's last day of school and Monday is the actual ceremony - can you believe it? Ashley is going to send you a note to the house but I wanted to personally thank you myself for this generous and thoughtful gesture. With what you are going through daily, I can't believe you thought of her, thank you so much! I think about you each and everyday hoping you get better and stronger each day. You are truly wonderful people. Thank you again,
    Love, Diane

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