Tuesday +211 (Election Night Coverage)

Just a quick note to let everyone know that Jackie received new blood counts today. Her RBC count continues to be good at 11.0. While this is not "normal" it is good considering where it has been. Unfortunately her WBC and ANC counts have declined again. Her WBC count was 2.8 with an ANC of only 300. If you will recall, anything below 500 makes her officially neutropenic and subject to disease, infections, fevers, etc. Any fevers over 101.3 call for an immediate trip to the hospital.

Due to the low levels she received another growth factor shot today to bring up her counts. These usually cause blood pressure problems and bone pain. She will only receive on shot to see what impact it has on her WBC/ANC counts next week. This depression of her count could be due to some of the meds she is taking for the C-Diff problem she experienced. It could also be due to some hidden GvHD. She continues to taper her Cyclosporine. She is now down to 75 mg/day.

Her platelets continue to hold. They are down slightly to 179, but this is far above any dangerous level.

All-in-all she is feeling well. She was a little depressed that her WBC counts did not hold at a level that would not require the growth factor shots. Her energy level was low today as well. This seems to be another small bump in the long and winding road. The good news is that her "good" days now far outnumber her "bad" days and hopefully with enough time they will all be good.

Until Later...

Bruce and Jackie
From Pryor