Hiccup

Well, as it turns out, I shouldn't have gotten so comfortable with our full-steam ahead pace.  Today at clinic, we experienced for the first time the sheer disappointment of "not making counts."  

What are they counting, you ask?  Well, lots of things.  But the main things we care about are hemoglobin, platelets and that little diva, the ANC.  Today all three were on the low side.  His hemoglobin was 4.6.  Anything below 7 requires a blood transfusion.  His platelets were 24 which is also low, but not terribly unusual for a chemo patient.  And his ANC was 360 -- way down from his ANC last week which was in the 3000s. 

Our oncologist, Dr. Angiolillo, suspected that his numbers were down as soon as she saw him.  "He looks pretty pale," she said as she checked his heart and pressed on his abdomen.  

I stood back and looked at him.  He did look pale.  Come to think of it, I had even noticed that he looked particularly fair the day before at the pool.  But I assumed it was just the juxtaposition of his white skin next to the tanned skin of his peers who have spent their summers outside instead of inside a hospital. 

Sure enough, the numbers came back low.  We would need blood and a platelet transfusions which meant we were grounded for the day.  No lumbar puncture and spinal infusion.  No chemo.  

Dr. A assured me that the low numbers were just a sign that the chemo was doing its job.  She also assured me that I wasn't a completely incompetent slug of a mother for not noticing that his complexion was beginning to favor Casper the Ghost. 

Here's why.  Our son, despite his low counts, was at full capacity in terms of his energy and personality this weekend.  And we had a pretty full dance card.  Check it out.

Rope swing at Poppy's birthday party

Teether ball at Evelyn's birthday party

Playing airplanes at the table at home

No headaches.  No lethargy.  No dizziness.  He was the same old mischievous Fionny.

Nevertheless, I will continue to beat myself up a bit about that one for awhile.  I honestly think I've gotten a little too comfortable over the past few weeks.  Fionny has been feeling so good, seeming so much like himself, and things have been going so swimmingly.  I needed this reminder.  Fionny is still sick.  His immune system is still highly compromised.  We need to be more vigilant, more careful.

The good news is that we don't have to wait long to get back on track in terms of our treatment.  After the blood and platelet transfusions today, we should be in good shape for the procedure and chemo to occur tomorrow.  The bad news, of course, is that we have to return tomorrow for another full day at Children's.  This meant that I had to do a whole lotta scrambling for childcare for Sir Deaglan since it wasn't lined up at ALL.  Thanks so much to Corey Thornblad, Nicole Wirth, Sarah Leffler, and Jen Jopling for their help in figuring this all out!  As a result, we have a trio of people coming tomorrow to help out with our little stud.  Dex, for his part, is pleased as punch to know that someone will be feeding him. 

And putting him down to nap.

Well, I'm pleased about that at least.  Thanks so much, guys.  Would seriously have been up a creek without you.

I'll update after tomorrow's procedure and chemo.  Hopefully, it will all go off without a hitch.