The Waiting Game

Here is where we wait.  There's not much else we can do.  We are doing what our doctors call "the counts dance" where we wait for Fionn's ANC to climb to an acceptable level to begin Phase 3 of treatment.

Today was not our day.  Fionn's counts are very, very low.  His ANC is a very skinny 30.  His hemoglobin is 6.6 which means we are waiting for yet another blood transfusion to be delivered to the clinic so Fionny can receive it.  His energy has been really lacking, so it should help. 

This past week was probably one of our worst just in terms of how Fionn was feeling.  Lots of lying around, not a whole lot of eating.  Also, this whole past week he flirted with fever.  It was never high enough to warrant a hospital visit, but it hovered in the 99-100 range.  Just enough to make us hyper vigilant and a bit anxious. 

The fever came at a pretty terrible time too (doesn't it always though?) because this past weekend my Dad and Julie were visiting.  They came to see the boys and give us a little break on Saturday night so Conor and I could get away just the two of us.  We felt nervous leaving Fionny, but we ultimately decided to go.  Our B&B was only 70 miles away, and we knew we could hightail it back if necessary.  We left a TON of instructions with Dad and Julie, crossed our fingers, and drove away. 

We made the right call.  Although Fionn continued to have a slightly elevated fever all weekend, it never reached the level of "low-grade" which is 100.4 according to our clinic.  And boy...it was nice to have a break.  We are so very, very appreciative to Dad and Julie for taking care of the boys so we could have a relaxing 24 hours. 

Where did we go, you ask?  We traveled to White Post, Virginia where we enjoyed some country views, good wine and food, and some antique shopping.  Here is a picture of the sunrise Conor enjoyed yesterday (I decided to enjoy sleeping in!).

Meanwhile, the boys had a great time with Jim and JuJu.  They set up shop at the National Harbour since our house is a complete disaster area right now as we prepare to move.  Fionn and Dex loved riding the carousel, the ferris wheel, and the water taxi.  And, of course, more than anything, they loved spending time with their wonderful grandparents.

Dad and Fionn on the Ferris wheel.

Well, there's not much else to report right now, so I'll sign off here.  Fingers crossed for a fever-free, more energetic week!