Carter had his blood counts done at clinic this morning. As expected, his platelets fell below twenty, so a transfusion was necessary. Carter’s platelets came in at a whopping 10 this morning (normal is 150-400). It’s a bit scary to think they were that low!

In addition to the platelet transfusion, they also gave Carter an extra bolus of fluids because they thought that he might be a bit dehydrated from all of his recent nausea. Carter is still having a hard time holding much down. (He threw up once today and once yesterday.) So, they gave him some extra IV fluids to help rehydrate his body.

Carter’s blood counts also revealed that he is officially “neutropenic” again. It’s been several months since Carter was last neutropenic, so let me refresh you on what that means. Simply put, neutropenia is a severe drop in infection-fighting white blood cells (neutrophils).  When Carter is neutropenic his immune system is suppressed and he is at risk for infection. There are several precautions that we have to take with Carter when he is neutropenic. The main thing is that he needs to avoid crowds of people so that he doesn’t catch anything. If we do take Carter to a public place he has to wear a mask for protection. Carter also has dietary restrictions such as no fresh fruits or veggies, unless they have a thick peel that is fully removed (like a banana). Once Carter’s white blood counts go back up, he will no longer have to follow these precautions.

I met with the nurse practitioner at clinic today and she told me that Carter needs to come back in to have his blood counts done again sometime this weekend. I was a bit disappointed about having to come in over the weekend. I asked if our home health nurse could do it, but they can’t. So, I was given the option of coming in on Saturday or Sunday. With Saturday being the 4th of July, I opted for Sunday. Clinic is closed on the weekends, so we will have to go to the hospital to have his blood counts done. With Carter being neutropenic he can’t go to church on Sunday anyways, so we won’t be missing out on that. So Sunday morning Carter will have his counts done again. I’m told that it’s likely that Carter’s platelets will drop below twenty again, so they want to keep a close watch on that. Carter’s hemoglobin is also hovering at 8.7, and transfusions are done under eight, so they will keep an eye on that too. The nurse practitioner said Carter will likely need another platelet transfusion and possibly a red blood transfusion by Sunday.

Thanks for checking in! Please keep praying for a complete healing for Carter!

Wanda