Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Clinic Visit #1

Look at the smiles below! Case is loving being at home! With each day he is perking up more and more. His appetite has increased (not back to where it was before this started). He is sitting and playing with his toys. And the best thing so far...this morning he laughed! It caught me off guard when I realized I hadn't heard him laugh in over two weeks. What a sad thing for a little baby! But he thought me trying to give him a "high-five" this morning was hilarious. He also thinks that the word "billirubin" is hilarious...if only he knew the irony in it.

The picture below is as close as we got to any Halloween activity. We put on the bear outfit just long enough to snap a picture. On Halloween we had our first clinic visit, which was also our first visit to the Center for Cancer and Blood Disorder (CCBD) at the Children's Legacy campus in Plano. We decided that we love our new doctor, Dr. Appell, and everyone else in the office.


Case's white blood cells (WBC) are extremely low. We knew this would be the case, as that is what happens with chemo, but his are REALLY low. For example, when your number hits 0.5 or lower, you are considered "neutropenic," or very susceptible to infection. Your body basically does not have the ability to fight off even a cold. Last Friday Case's number was 4.56. On Monday he was 0.1!! Zero point one! Some people on chemo don't even reach the neutropenic level of 0.5, let alone 0.1!!

So Dr. Appell just forewarned us that Case will get sick in between cycles. It's just inevitable; even if he lived in a bubble. So we are still sanitizing ourselves and the entire house every other second, but we know it will eventually happen. Unfortunately, due to his age, that means hospitalization. So don't be surprised when that happens! We are being careful though. Since Monday Case has not even stood at an open door, let alone venture outside.


But...the most important things are 1) That he's MYC-N Negative!!!! and 2) That he's HAPPY!

Everyone, we can't thank you all enough for all of your prayers! I know that Heavenly Father has been inundated with prayers concerning Case and we love it! Thank you for your specific prayers concerning the MYC-N gene. We know that this was an answer to thousands of prayers. Now we just need this boy to remain stable in his weight (not lose anymore), remain infection-free, and withstand the chemo and let it do its job!

Thank you for every one's outpouring of love. It is definitely felt!

3 comments:

  1. Just FYI...you could never post too many pictures of Case smiling! They just absolutely melt my heart! It makes us all so happy to know that he is happy and feeling better again. Lots of love!!

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  2. Thank you for your beautiful post with pictures of this precious smiling boy! We continue praying for Case's complete recovery. You are loved.

    AJ and Cindy Harty

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