Wait. See. Pray.

Morning Update

Carson's blood work this morning was a bag of mixed results. His hemoglobin remained low and steady, while his platelets rose slightly. What is troublesome is that his ANC took a nose dive - all the way down to 62. Critically low.

The larger question is why the ANC level has remained low and is not bouncing back. Is there something preventing the production of neutrophils in the bone marrow? A virus certainly complicates matters. But one possibility is a relapse - that the leukemia has returned and is preventing the production of the neutrophils.

Right now the doctor still feels as if we are experiencing the delayed effects of the virus. For a relapse we would expect to see steadily decreasing platelets, which we are not. Although seriously low, they haven't decreased for several days.

Another plus - Carson's monocytes, the precursor to neutrophils, are on the rise. In other words, we should see the ANC rising soon. If not, then we'll proceed with the bone marrow test to see if we are dealing with a relapse.

As you can imagine, we are hanging our hopes on the virus. The mere thought of a relapse brings an unimaginable hollow pain to our stomachs.

In the Meantime

Carson continues to rest and is increasingly wanting to play. This morning he spent a good half hour at the outdoor play yard running around and playing. That's more than anything he's done in the past week and a half. His appetite is getting stronger, albeit slowly. So we are hopeful.

We continue to wait and see what tomorrow's blood work will bring. (This will probably our same message tomorrow.) Until then, please pray for continued improvement...and that we aren't dealing with a relapse!

Paul.