Still no Transfusions

This week V. went to see her oncologist on this side of the bay instead of going all the way over to UCSF.

She was a little worried that they'd have trouble getting a blood sample. Her veins are pretty messed up from all the chemo and she's had some pretty bad experiences having blood drawn. At UCSF they have a special IV nurse for patients who have this difficulty. V. was relieved when they got her on the first stick at Dr. G's office.

Her numbers are still increasing, ever so slowly, but heading in the right direction all the same. She didn't have to get any transfusions again.

Being able to do all this locally is a great advantage too. It makes for a much, much shorter day which is less tiring which is bound to help with recovery.

No Transfusions Yesterday!!!

Posting an update from V.
=============================================
Went to UCSF today and I needed NO transfusions!!!!I got the go ahead to try going to DR Ganey's office once a week for a blood test. We are going to try it on Tuesday of next week. I am a little concerned whether they can get a vein on the first try. Also I am concerned about having to go to John Muir for blood. I am not sure how long it will take. But I am willing to give it a try and see if we can cut down the traveling to and from UCSF.

Posting the following update from Vicki:

==================================================
Went to UCSF yesterday and platelets were up again to 15! I did not have to get platelets , I htink this was the first time!But the NP felt my red blood count was too low so I had to go to the LSU (I actually go through admitting) and get 2 valentine's red blood.

The Numbers are Up (Not "Your Number is Up")

Vicki's red and white blood cells counts were much, much better today. They're starting to look almost normal. Her platelets are still very low, but they increased 50% over last week's number so they're heading in the right direction. The platelets are the last thing to come back so this was expected. They topped her off with a unit of platelets today, but she didn't need any other blood products.

Vicki had decided she wanted to get more input before taking the recommendation to receive additional stem cells. With these good numbers it looks like she won't need them and won't have to make that decision. This also means she'll get to save her leftover stem cells in case, God forbid, she needs them in the future.

Anybody out there giving blood? I cranked out a unit of O+ today, a mere drop in the bucket of what it's taken to keep our friend alive and well, but every little bit helps.

Progress Report

I watched the Super Bowl with the McF's on Sunday. Vicki was pretty tired, but we were all on our feet screaming at a late fourth quarter touchdown for those lovely red birds. With her low platelets she's bruising up which makes her sore. She also chills easily.

Monday she made one of her bi-weekly trips to the clinic to top off the fluids. She only needed platelets this time, no whole blood. This meant getting home much earlier and getting in an extra nap. Between worrying about what it might mean if she needs additional stem cells and feeling crummy she hasn't been sleeping well, but after the platelets and nap she says she's feeling a lot stronger.

She asked the nurse practitioner what probability she thinks there is of Vicki's platelets returning to normal without additional stem cells. The NP said 90% and that the additional stem cells would be more a quality of life issue. For now Vicki's thinking those are pretty good odds so it would be best to leave things alone and see how it goes, but she's going to talk to the doc and confirm.

More platelets

Received the following e-mail update from Vicki today:
===================================
Had to get platlets again. That is twice this week. The NP wants to transplant more stem cells. She doesn't think my platlets are coming back fast enough. If they do it I wouldn't have to stay in the hospital and it wouldn't involve anymore chemo. She says Dr Damon is thinking it is too soon to do another transplant. He wants to give me more time for my body to develop more platlets.

I am pretty discouraged and scared. Please pray or send good thoughts my way!

More Transfusions

Vicki went for one of her bi-weekly visits to the clinic today. She needed two units of whole blood and another unit of platelets, but is otherwise doing well, slowly recovering. This weekend she felt well enough to make an outing to the dog park with Jack and the boys.

She's back online doing e-mail, a sure sign she's feeling a bit stronger.