Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Just when I get happy... reality bites!

At Ashley's lab appointment today it was not so good news. Her ANC number (the one that tells if she has an immune system) is 141. Anything below 200 and she spikes a fever, we have 1 hour to get to the hospital. Oh I sure hope we've gotten rid of her UTI.

More bad news... her plateletts, these are the parts of blood that help blood clot, hers are 80. That is the lowest they've ever been. The doc's said they could drop as low as 20 by Friday and then we'll need a transfusion. I'm so bummed. I cried at her appointment. There is something about someone elses blood going into my little girl that really scares me. Who's blood is it? What type of person are they? What was their motivation to donate plateletts? Donating plateletts is not easy, its complicated. Much more complicated that donating blood, so why did they do it. Was their life touched by a horrible medical event? Are they homeless? Were they considered a "donor" upon passing away. Someday I want to donate plateletts. Why? Because not many people do it, plateletts are in high demand and maybe I can help someone live a longer more healthy life. Maybe my blood plateletts can save a life.

So I'll take Ashley back to Children's Friday morning and they'll check her urine to make sure the UTI has been taken care of. Then her blood counts will be checked again. If her plateletts are low, we'll have a transfussion on Friday. If her red blood cell counts are low, we'll probably have a red blood cell transfussion also. Whew! Thats a lot for a little girl in one day.

For now, I'm just trying to keep Ashley from getting any bruises. When your plateletts are low and you get a bruise, the bruise could bleed and not stop. She got a slight bump on her nose today and blood started coming but it clotted. Whew! Thats was before I knew her plateletts were so low. Now I'm extra anxious. I'm doing everything I can to keep this little girl healthy. -- April

2 comments:

Crystal Thomas said...

You poor things! I'm sure it's just another test that she'll prove she can handle, but I can imagine how hard it must be to get news like this now. I feel confident that you're so close to the end of this journey... there's light at the end of the tunnel!

Anonymous said...

Just a quick response to why people give platelets. I have been donating platelets for almost 14 years. I give because it's my small way of helping someone else. It's really not so complicated anymore. God has blessed me with a stable family and healthy children and I feel it's important to try and give back and maybe even help someone else to hopefully become healthy. My prayers are with you and your family. Someday I know your family will rejoice as ours does now because my nephew has been - "feeling me and cancer free" for 9 years.