Numbers & Waiting

Numbers & Waiting 

01.06.2023

What we are waiting for?  The next step in this process is for Leila’s blood counts to “bottom out”.  Every morning at 4am they draw labs and track those numbers to monitor blood counts. There are three key numbers they’ll be watching as Leila blood cells die off from the chemo. This will occur over the next week.

        White blood count is currently 10.8 

        Normal is 4.1-10.8

        They will drop to 0.0 which will wipe out her immune system.  

        (Hence, no visitors and the need to quarantine until she gets her WBC count back up.)

        Hemoglobin currently 9.8

        Normal is 11.2-15.7

        Leila’s will drop below 7, at which time they'll give her a unit of RBC's to aid recovery

        Platelets currently 218

        Normal 140-370

        Leila’s will drop below 10, at which time they'll give her a unit of platelets. 

Today she felt great.  Walked a lot and did tai chi.  Is eating well and her spirits are alive and well.  As her numbers start to drop, she will become more fatigued and weaker.  The challenge is keeping her moving, drinking lots of water and eating lots of protein.  Essential medicines for her recovery.  She's been tracking her steps and that is motivating her to keep active.  

They keep track of everything that goes into and out of her body.  PT and OT will be monitoring her strength levels. Vitals are taken every 4 hours.  That way they have a baseline to start with and know where she wants to be when she returns to "normal".  Leila has always been an overachiever, so I'm sure she'll blow them all away.  

When she hits “bottom” is when she’ll feel her worst. We expect this to hit mid-week next week.  All the old cells will have died off and the new ones will not yet be plentiful enough to be circulating in the blood stream.  That will last about 5-7 days. During this time, the stem cells will be multiplying within the bone marrow. Once there are enough blood cells in the marrow, they will start flowing into her blood stream and circulating throughout her body.  Thats when the pendulum starts to swing back toward healthy blood levels. 

That is yet another slow process of waiting and watching.