Gabey D. is our wonderful firstborn son. He was diagnosed with A.L.L (Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia) in May 2007, and has been going through a 3 1/2 year chemo treatment. We are trusting God, and believe He will show Himself Mighty.

Thursday, May 10, 2007

First Outpatient Appointment

We had our first outpatient appointment today, and Praise the Lord, it went really well!
Gabey stayed still for them to access his mediport (put the needle in). We had numbed the area before we left, so I'm sure he didn't feel it. I'm so glad. It went smoothly, Jeff said Gabey was fine, and the nurse accessed it in one quick try.

They took a blood sample, and when the results came back, it showed that his ANC (absolute neutrophil count) was up! That's the number that shows how well he can fight infection. His number was around 300 on Monday, and for a while in the hospital, he had to stay in his room and not play in the playroom.
Today it's at around 800!! That was a prayer answered.
5000-10,000- normal
3000-5000-adequate
over 1000- low risk, mild

NEUTROPENIC
500-1000- moderate risk
under 500- severe risk

His lumbar puncture went smoothly, and the bone marrow biopsy too. He was in recovery very quickly, and had chicken nuggets waiting for him when he woke up. He scarfed them down in a few bites! We went upstairs, and he was able to play in the playroom. The nurse came in and gave him his VCR (a chemo), and we were done!
I keep having a fear that we'll go there, and they won't let us leave. I'm always so relieved to be able to walk back out the doors!

The prayer now is that the results will come back showing that this chemo program is working well. If they're not good, then he'll have to have another set of bone marrow, and lumbar tests next Thursday. If they're fine, then he'll just get his usual VCR chemo.

I brought my camera, but didn't get to take pictures. He liked the Thomas train table in the playroom. :)

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