chemo on hold

Ethan was scheduled to have his next round of chemo today that included 2 IV drugs and an oral chemo that lasts for 2 weeks. He had pre-chemo bloodwork yesterday with a goal of his blood counts being at 750 in order to start chemo (these particular drugs can really knock down his counts, so it's important he is at a certain count level first).

His results came in yesterday afternoon and we learned that he is severely neutropenic right now with his counts at 80. Yes, 80. Remember that the minimum threshold for neutropenia is 500, so he is way below that number. The nurse assured me that this is very common - that basically what can happen is that the more chemo your body has, the longer it can take for your counts to recover. So, when this happens, they basically put his chemo plan on hold for one week, in order to give his body more time to recover and make white blood cells.

Thankfully his hemoglobin and platelets are both in acceptable ranges right now, so no need for any transfusions at this point. We just have to be very careful to keep up our hand washing and cleaning and do what we can to keep him infection free.


So, our plan right now is to take the next week and lay low. He will have bloodwork again on Monday to check his counts and if he makes the goal of 750, we will resume his chemo plan next Wednesday April 9th.

Please pray:

• For Ethan's body to make those white blood cells and that his counts recover this week.
• For sweet Eloise, who woke up with a cold this morning. She's in fine spirits, but please pray that she heals quickly and that the rest of us don't catch it - especially Ethan. 
• For rest for all of us.
  

P.S. Today is the last day to order Team Ethan t-shirts. We've been abundantly blessed so far with so many ordering shirts - and no pressure to order, of course. You are a part of Team Ethan whether you have a t-shirt or not. :) If you'd like a t-shirt though, make sure you order today April 1st. www.booster.com/teamethan