Oliver had his monthly check up this past Monday.
Counts are as follows:
WBC 4.4
RBC 4.43
HGB 12.9
Platelets 210K
ANC 2464 (56% of WBC)
Here is the run down of the 'normal' range for all those numbers as they have changed with him turning 6.
WBC (White Blood Count) normal range is 4.5-13.5
RBC (Red Blood Count) is 4.0-5.20
HGB (Hemoglobin) is 11.5-13.5
Platelets are 140K-400K
% of WBC to figure his ANC is normal from 16%-60%
As you can see, we are pretty normal with just being on the low end of the range for WBC.
All his chemistry checked out fine as well, within normal limits on all areas (sodium, BUN, glucose, etc etc.. the whole work up).
He was very brave again knowing he had to get poked. This time the lab technician missed the first time. However, he recovers instantly once they finish, which throws them for a loop since most kids continue on after its been done. You should see when he gets his flu shot.. its so quick he doesn't even have time to complain but throws his hands up in the air and says YEAH! once they are done and put the bandage on.
He's been growing. He's grown an inch in the last 2-3 months, causing a slight slim down the other way, but he is eating lots these days to try to make up for it. Working on hitting that 40lb's (he is at 41.5" now, we hovered at 39 and some for the longest time... maybe a whole year it seems. He was staying at a solid 36-38lbs for the last year until we all got sick in the winter and then he ended up with pneumonia in April eventually getting down to 34, but he is back at a solid 37 now (was 38 but he is getting taller faster than ever right now).
First grade is going great now. He is having a great time in his class with his peers. He started Adaptive Aquatics yesterday with special day class. They go to the pool at the highschool after lunch once a week for 10 weeks. Yesterday was the first day and I heard he had a blast. This is a great start for him and swimming, so we'll continue on after they are done with the school sponsored class.
We had a representative from the Down Syndrome connection come do an Ability Awareness presentation to Oliver's class last week. This time we had Oliver not be in the room during this so the kids feel like they can ask questions more candidly. It was a lot different than last year, though we did it a lot earlier this year so the kids were still getting to know each other. A lot of technical questions this time around about Down Syndrome and the heart surgery part. Impressive to say the least, but they seemed to get stuck on that last bit and how you get DS, etc. Some kids did ask questions about Oliver and it was very sweet and cute.
On the home front, nothing much new. Our house is still under major construction but taking form on the addition. Still aiming to be back in before Thanksgiving. We'll have a better clue next month after the new windows arrive end of the month. I've never been so excited for windows! We are replacing our old ones with double glazed new ones. They will also have that craftsman look. Miles is getting close to wanting to potty train. He's at least letting us know that he just made #2 so we can change him or when he's had enough of the current diaper he has on. We did get lucky a few times with him going on the potty during bedtime routine, once actually trying to get on himself without the seat insert and calling out for help as he fell in. He's having a language explosion as well and talking lots. We can't wait for him to start a part time program once we move back home as he really wants to go to school like his big brother. Grant is growing as usual. He just hit 3 months a few weeks ago, and at this point I think he's hit the 16lb mark. He is one big baby! He's barely fitting into the 6 month pj's (length wise!) and other 6 month things are very snug. He has his next check up next month before Oliver's next visit so I'll have his stats for you then on just how big he is. He is the biggest of the 3 at this age, however he had no hiccups to date as the other two did (Oliver with the heart defect/down syndrome/low muscle tone, and Miles with his Pyloric Stenosis at 5 weeks of age, and feeding issues in the beginning).
Until next month!
