At this point in the game, Fionn is no stranger to transfusions. He has had at least 5 transfusions of blood so far in this journey and even more transfusions of platelets. It should be old hat to me now, right? And in some ways it is, of course. I don't panic or cry or worry about it too much. I sign the paperwork that details all the slight-but-inherent risks of donated blood without even batting an eye.
That said, I have to admit that there is still a part of me that cringes as I watch someone else's blood trickle into my son's body. Someone else's platelets. God, I'm grateful to these wonderful individuals who made these donations, whoever and wherever they are. But...it's also just weird at the same time, no?
As it is, we have no choice. Fionny needs these products, and we are beyond thankful that they are available to us. In the past week alone, Fionn has needed transfusions of both platelets and blood. The platelets happened last Friday evening. You might remember that Fionn's platelets were scarily low at clinic last week, but not low enough to warrant a transfusion at that point. However, as the week progressed, he started to look more and more like a bruised banana. I called the clinic on Wednesday, and they weren't overly concerned about the bruising. Then, on Friday, Fionn started to sport petechiae behind his ears. Petechiae are small red dots on the skin which are caused by broken capillaries. They often occur with low platelets and can sometimes be a first indicator of leukemia before an official diagnosis has been made. When I told them about the petechiae, we were told to come in and get a CBC (Complete Blood Check). Unfortunately, the clinic was getting all set to close for the weekend, so we ended up in the ER. Even though Fionn's platelets were 15,000 (still over the 10,000 threshold for getting a platelet transfusion), they went ahead and gave him some platelets since they were surely only going to get worse before Monday. Getting a platelet transfusion is a much longer process in the ER, so thankfully Conor was able to meet me there and stay with Fionn so I could return home to Deaglan. And, wouldn't you know it, they ended up making it into a fun Daddy-and-Fionny activity and had a blast watching movies and eating ice cream. They even went to get tacos following discharge.
Then today, at oncology clinic, we learned that Fionn's hemoglobin was really low. It was at 6. Anything below 7 requires a transfusion. So suddenly what was supposed to be a short clinic day turned into a very, very long day. Here's why. It takes awhile (2 hours) to get the blood product and then 3 hours for the blood to transfuse into Fionn's body. We will likely be here until 5 pm today at least. But, as always, Fionn is happy to be here. Perfectly content. We even got to hit the cafeteria together while we waited for his blood to arrive. And, while at the cafeteria, we ran into these crazy fellas.
Although once skeptical of these clowns, we are now both big fans. First of all, Fionn thinks they are hilarious. The jury is still out for me. But it doesn't even matter. Hearing Fionn giggle over their antics is more than enough. Second, and most importantly, they are so sweet to Fionn. Anytime we see them (which seems to be EVERYWHERE!), they make a special point of acknowledging him and talking to him. Even today at the cafeteria...You know the poor dudes just wanted to get their club sandwich and soda or whatever. But no...they took special time to come by our table, talk to Fionn, make him laugh. Fionn was in heaven. He continued to watch them like a hawk after they left our table. "They're getting ketchup now! Ooh! Now they're paying for their food! Why they gotta pay for their food, Mama? Ooh! They're eating their food now! One of them is getting more napkins!"
Outside of his need for transfusions this past week, it was a good week overall. Fionn felt great. Good energy, good attitude. He got a little tired by the end of the day since he now refuses to nap, but I'm pretty sure most 4-year-olds are in the same boat. We did decide to send Fionn to school last week, and it was a good decision. He had a good 3 days there with his friends which is nice since he will likely miss the next 2 weeks due to radiation. Yep, radiation starts tomorrow. Cross your fingers for us. I'm nervous, friends. Less about the actual impact of the radiation now (I've made peace with that) and more about whether or not Fionn will be able to hold as still as he needs to stay during the treatment. Despite his comfort with everything radiation at this point, I am still worried that he will freak out. I keep picturing the heavy vault-like door that closes him into the radiation room all by himself, and I just feel nervous. Nervous, nervous, nervous.
I will check back in tomorrow, folks. Hopefully I'll have a good report.
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