June 28, 2010
Oliver's WBC counts have been down the last couple of weeks leaving him on neutropenic isolation. They just went back up today and so he will resume his home chemo (pills) at reduced dosages with some modifications which hopefully will resolve the issue. The doctors also ordered an enzyme study last week. Results will be back in a couple of weeks to show if there are any issues with his body breaking down the methotrexate. We will keep everyone posted and are very happy his ANC went back up this week.
Posted by Ann Shortes.
May 24, 2010
Oliver received methotrexate via spinal tap today and vincristine through his port. His ANC was 640 and hgb 10.8 which are both fine. We would like the ANC to be a little higher, but it was high enough for chemo today and is expected to fluctuate over the next few months as Oliver's body gets used to the maintenance chemotherapy. He was very brave and cooperative during his port access and spinal tap today and is resting soundly right now. His energy and character continue to amaze us. T... Continue reading...
Posted by Ann Shortes.
May 15, 2010
I just realized it has been almost a month since the last update. Sorry for the delay. Thankfully, not much to report this past month. Oliver's ANC counts have been up and down, but as of last Monday, his ANC was at 840. He is still neutropenic, but not isolated (below 500 is severely neutropenic). We go back to clinic May 24 for spinal and VCR chemo. It is hard to believe three months have passed since the last spinal. Oliver remains happy and energetic. He started a taekwondo class ... Continue reading...
Posted by Ann Shortes.
April 19, 2010
Last Monday Oliver's ANC dropped to 40 rendering him severely neutropenic or basically with no immunity or ability to fight any kind of infection. Because of the low ANC, we had to hold all chemotherepy pills at home and recheck in a week. Today, the ANC went up to 480, which is in the right direction, but still not high enough to resume chemo pills for this week. Next Monday we will check again, and if the counts go up, Oliver will receive vincristine via his port and resume chemo at home... Continue reading...
Posted by Ann Shortes.
March 30, 2010
It is hard to believe it has been almost a month since the last update! We did have a clinic visit two weeks ago just for a count check and results were great. Yesterday Oliver received VCR via his port and surprisingly his blood, platelet and ANC counts declined slightly. No transfusion or isolation required and the doctor expects the counts to fluctuate over the next couple of months as his body is still recovering from delayed intensification. Oliver was so brave at his clinic visit - ... Continue reading...
Posted by Ann Shortes.
March 2, 2010
Oliver's counts have improved significantly and yesterday Oliver received his first chemo treatment at the clinic under maintenance!! He is still neutropenic but his ANC went up from last week just enough to perform the spinal. Oliver demonstrated tremendous bravery and did not cry or scream at all when accessing his port. We are so proud of our little boy.
We are told maintenance is far less intense and we can start regaining a sense of normalcy to our lives. The clinic visits will be ... Continue reading...
Posted by Ann Shortes.
February 22, 2010
Oliver's counts today were too low to receive his first maintenance chemo and spinal - we will try again next week. It is our first delay throughout this process - hopefully by next week his counts will be high enough. On one hand we are relieved he gets a break from medications for a week, but on the other hand, the sooner he begins his 3 yr maintenance chemo treatments we are that much closer to closing this chapter of our lives. Of course we know there will be a lifetime relationship wi... Continue reading...
Posted by Ann Shortes.
February 16, 2010
Oliver went to clinic last Thursday and today. His ANC is very low (60 last Thurs, 140 today) which equates to severely neutropenic (immune comprised). His blood was borderline transfusion at both visits - anything below 8 requires transfusion - today it was 7.9 and last Thurs 8.2 but the doctor decided based on his energy level to skip transfusion today and recheck him this Friday. We pray he is on an upward trend and will not require transfusion on Friday. On Monday, Oliver will receiv... Continue reading...
Posted by Ann Shortes.
February 9, 2010
Inevitably, it is impossible to predict a "short" clinic day from a long one. We thought Oliver would need transfusions last Thursday but he did not. His counts were down on Thursday, but did not meet threshold for transfusion. He did however need a blood transfusion yesterday. His platelets were down significantly as well, but not below the transfusion level. We have an office visit on Friday to check counts again. It was surprising that his blood was low yesterday given his high energ... Continue reading...
Posted by Ann Shortes.
February 1, 2010
We just returned from clinic -as anticipated, Oliver's counts have plummeted since last week. He has no white blood cells, low hemoglobin/blood and is severely neutropenic requiring isolation restrictions. He received a blood transfusion today along with the ARA-C chemo which he will also receive at home Tues-Thurs this week via his port. We return to the clinic on Thursday to check his counts again, as we expect for him to need another transfusion by that time. We know we are in the home... Continue reading...
Posted by Ann Shortes.
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About Me
I started this blog as a way to keep everyone updated on Oliver's status and am so thankful for the outpouring from our friends, family and beyond. Thank you all for the support!
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