We did a check today since we had to draw for something else.
Apparently at Monday's clinic appointment, they forgot to draw for his ING level.
His WBC is 4.3 with an ANC of 3698
RBC is 4.0, HGB is 12.8 and Platelets are at 202K (all normal for Reds)
The counts can jump due to the steroid he is taking right now as its a stimulant on production of cells.
We started this 12 week cycle on Monday.
Off to the hospital to get a spinal. They were really behind so we didn't get started until 930am (mind you he can't eat/drink for 8 hours prior).
They start him off by giving him the 'Michael Jackson' drug to make him sleep (all through his existing line). Usually it takes about 30-60 seconds and he fades and we lay him down. This time he fought it.. took a couple more ML's here and there of the drug. He was laying down but not asleep, and talking back to us, which was kind of cute.
I'd say "go to sleep" and he'd repeat me all long and drawn out.. "Gooooooooooooo tooooooooooooooo sleeeeeeeeEEEEEEEEEP" (slight higher voice at the end there and smile).
After waking from that, we went over to clinic to get vincristine via IV and picked up more meds.
Its 5 days of steroid and boy does it really show effects after the first dose gets into the blood stream. Obviously we didn't go to school on Monday, but dropping him off these last two days he has been a mess, but he recovers after I leave though. When he is happy, he is extremely happy, but then eventually he goes the other way, for no reason most of the time. One moment he is sitting at the computer playing on the PBS website, talking about how he loves everyone.. Particularly he kept saying "I love neena" over and over again. Then storms into his room and lays in his bed crying. I was feeding Miles dinner and each time Miles made a noise, it upset Oliver even more. After about 20 minutes, he comes into the kitchen and says "all better" and sits at the table where I had made him his turkey sandwich (one of the many food items he keeps requesting as the steroid makes him extra hungry as well). Then he says "Oliver was sleeping in his bed". That silly boy. Its hard though as you have to remember its not his fault that everything is heightened during his mood swings. Friday is the last day of this drug and then we'll have our boy back shortly after the effects wear off.
Because Oliver has grown as well, his dose for the daily drug he takes went up slightly. He only takes 1/2 a pill one day of the week (opposed to a whole pill) so they changed that to a whole pill now.
We see the dentist next month as well. Oliver grinds his teeth a lot, mostly at night. He's done this for a while but it seems that since he was diagnosed, it got worse. Sometimes extreme (all you hear at night). I saw the bottoms of his top teeth the other day while he was looking up and it does not look good.
We'll see what the dentist thinks. He will have to take antibiotics before the visit because of the chemo and his heart surgery.
In other teeth news. Miles got his first tooth. It is exactly crooked the way Olivers first fronts were as well. Miles will be 9 months on the 1st (Oliver did not sprout his first tooth until he was 13 months, but that could be Down syndrome related).
We'll be checking his counts again sometime next week. Not sure when exactly but by Friday.
Here's to making it through this week! Thankfully we only have to do this once very 12 weeks and only 5 more times in total.
