I haven't posted an update on Payton in quite a while. A couple of months ago he had surgery to remove the tumor on his ribs. The surgery was quite successful and he has been healing and coping with chemo since then. As the treatments go on, his little body is having a more difficult time recovering and bouncing back between treatments. Here is a message Terry left on their caringbridge site yesterday:
The Blood Count Lottery……………..
As you may know, Payton has blood drawn twice a week to monitor his counts; white blood cells, platelets, hemoglobin, etc. It is very similar to playing the lottery. The clinic calls us back with the results: hemoglobin 10.8 (great number), platelets 180,000 (alright ….. one more number and we’re good for the next round), white blood cells 500 ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh, so close but no good. Payton had to have a blood transfusion earlier in the week because his hemoglobin was so low. The transfusion took care of the hemoglobin. Then Sunday he really started feeling bad and running a temperature. So we were off to the ER at Cook’s again. They took his counts there and they were all low, except the hemoglobin. We were admitted late Sunday and Payton received platelets early Monday morning. So now his hemoglobin and platelet count is fairly strong, but his white blood count is VERY low. He is going to stay in the hospital until his white cells are high enough to fend off illness. We have no idea how long that will be, but we know he will not start the next round of chemo until he is much stronger. That will probably not be until after Christmas. Please pray for his little body to bounce back quickly this time and for each remaining round of chemo. It appears to be harder and harder on him each time and some of the side effects that were not having are now starting to rear their ugly heads. Thanks for lifting up our little boy. We appreciate your ongoing prayers.
Have a very Merry Christmas!
The Blood Count Lottery……………..
As you may know, Payton has blood drawn twice a week to monitor his counts; white blood cells, platelets, hemoglobin, etc. It is very similar to playing the lottery. The clinic calls us back with the results: hemoglobin 10.8 (great number), platelets 180,000 (alright ….. one more number and we’re good for the next round), white blood cells 500 ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh, so close but no good. Payton had to have a blood transfusion earlier in the week because his hemoglobin was so low. The transfusion took care of the hemoglobin. Then Sunday he really started feeling bad and running a temperature. So we were off to the ER at Cook’s again. They took his counts there and they were all low, except the hemoglobin. We were admitted late Sunday and Payton received platelets early Monday morning. So now his hemoglobin and platelet count is fairly strong, but his white blood count is VERY low. He is going to stay in the hospital until his white cells are high enough to fend off illness. We have no idea how long that will be, but we know he will not start the next round of chemo until he is much stronger. That will probably not be until after Christmas. Please pray for his little body to bounce back quickly this time and for each remaining round of chemo. It appears to be harder and harder on him each time and some of the side effects that were not having are now starting to rear their ugly heads. Thanks for lifting up our little boy. We appreciate your ongoing prayers.
Have a very Merry Christmas!
1 comment:
Thanks for this update. I am still praying for Payton. I can't imagine what this must be like for him and his family.
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