Monday, September 21, 2009

Motorcycles, Pills, Transfusions & Cheese


First of all, thank you so much to Molly Meekins who worked so hard for MONTHS to organize an amazing fundraiser for us on Sunday. 50 or so bikers (these are Harley dudes, not cyclists) came out for the poker run and gave so generously to help us with our medical bills. THANK YOU to all who participated and volunteered for this event. Pete really wants a Harley now! :-)

Forester had another long day today. His platelet count was very low (3, normal is 140-440) so he had to get a transfusion of those. His hemoglobin count was low (7.5, normal is 11-15) so he had to get another blood transfusion. His white blood cell count is 27 (normal is 2,000-6000) so we need to continue neupogen shots. Unfortunately, I gave him the last one we had this morning. We were told today by hospital staff that more would be ordered & delivered. When I called to follow up on that this evening it had not been done. SO frustrating. It usually takes at least a day to receive a home shipment so we may have to go back to the hospital tomorrow just for a shot. Blech. It seems that Forester's little body is having a harder time recovering from the chemo than the first couple of months. He had 2 blood transfusions last month and this month as opposed to just one per month. He's had to get platelets the last 2 months where he has only needed platelets one other time in the last 8 months. His white cell count is taking longer to recover....it all really stinks. We're tired of our boy being sick and cannot wait for this to be behind us and see him healthy again. Keep praying for all of us.

The good news we received today is that Forester's weight is up from 61 lbs. to 66lbs., thanks to starting the Megace again. He is back to eating lots and lots of cheese cubes, pickles, and cheese quesadillas & cheese dip from the local Mexican restaurant. Something about the Megace and cheese...but we're thankful he's eating again. He's also been able to take his pills with a lot more ease. Prayers answered. It's amazing the amount of pills he takes a day. The picture posted is of one week's worth of pills. The horse pills we break up into 6-8 pieces. It makes for about 20 swallows of pills, 3x a day. He is a trooper.

I am sorry this is a disjointed post. I'm tired and have more chores before bed. Just wanted to keep you all updated. We will see what tomorrow brings.

Praising Him for another day,
Whitney