Wednesday Jan 27, 2010 : Carl drove himself to and from work. It was very cold outside. And Happy Birthday to Nathan, who turned 12. With after school activities and religion that night, we decided to have Nathan's favorite meal on Thursday.
Thursday Jan 28, 2010 : Carl drove himself to and from work. It was very very cold outside. I basically think Carl is overdoing it, and he doesn't agree. He came home, and Carl found it very hard to warm up. We "celebrated" Nathan's birthday, and Carl collapsed into bed. At 9:50 PM, I called the Oncologist because Carl had a fever that was bouncing up and down every minute. The Oncologist said to come in the hospital for blood work, if the temperature didn't go down. So we tried all sorts of things (lots of hydration, no t-shirt, a bit of exercise, everything BUT Tylenol or Motrin. [Doc says not to take them, they would mask the symptoms]) Once the bouncing temperature displayed a lower number we quickly stopped measuring the temperature, went to bed, and postponed the middle of the night blood draw until the morning.
Friday Jan 29, 2010 : Carl slept in, and we visited the hospital in the morning. The first stop was the lab, where blood work was started. Carl's white blood cell count was 1.2. Anything below 4.0 is worrisome. Carl has reached his "nadir", a low point in white blood cell counts expected about 10 days after the 1st day of the Chemotherapy round. (Jan 18th chemo starts, 10 days later is Jan 18th.) This is the first time we hear the term nadir. Carl was advised to lay low, all weekend, and follow neutropenia guidelines for diet, etc. (Someday, a blog post on neutropenia. See all the new terminology we get to learn?). Carl's mature white blood cell count is 580. What do these numbers tell us? The heck if we know. These numbers mean much more to medical professionals then they mean to us. This will mean more to us someday, I get the feeling, but for now they are just numbers, points on a graph I could plot if I wanted to but do not know how to interpret. It means we will go home and have a nice lunch, and Carl will not drive himself to work today.
Saturday Jan 30, 2010 : While Carl "lays low", the children are a whirl of activity around us, with friend visits, birthday parties, sleep overs. Gifts and things need to be bought and wrapped. The children are "flying high", and the house seems out of balance.
Sunday Jan 31, 2010 : While Carl "lays low" some more, the children fly higher. I get children to church and back, friends help us with getting children places, and friends and relatives drop by.
Monday Feb 1, 2010 : Carl got up early, (at least sleep in, will ya?) and drove himself to work. He is feeling great. Tom stays home from school with a bad cold. Carl comes home somewhat late. I am feeling somewhat stressed. But I think I will leave my feelings for a later blog.
4 comments:
You and your family are amazing Jeanne and Carl. We're sending our love and prayers to all of you...may God lay His healing hands on all of you!
What a great photo! Sorry to hear about the rough days but glad to hear things seem to be getting a bit better for Carl's energy level. Jeanne don't be afraid to express your feelings. Sometimes sharing makes it feel less heavy on our shoulders than when we keep it all on us. You're dealing with a lot right now. Please know you all continue to be in my prayers daily. Love you guys.
Jeanne, keep writing, your sense of humor and frustration both come out and both are needed. Carl, listen to Jeanne and rest, this isn't a sprint...it's a marathon. Don't you wish you could bottle up the kid's energy for when you really need it. Like me...like now!!! Still praying and sending good wishes, positive thoughts your way!!!
Jeanne,
Great picture and post.
Love your sense of humor.
Carl, listen to Jeanne, rest, rest and more rest.
We are praying daily.
Take Care
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