Day 21 - No Walk in the Park

Sarah's last few days have been tough. She has been very tired and sad a lot. She has had a good bit of joint and back pain. Cried in the morning, cried in the afternoon and cried in the evening. We don't know if this is specifically due to her low red blood cell count or other chemotherapy related side effects. The Tylenol we treat her with helps a little. We think her hair is starting to fall out a little more noticeably now. The hair falling out doesn't bother Susan and me much when viewed relative to more serious potential side effects.

We took Sarah to the park today so she could get a little sun and not lay on the couch/bed all day long. Maybe a little change of scenery and surroundings would lift her up a little. She fell down as soon as we got to the park and was not interested in anything except crying after that. Sarah's evening did pick up after a nap when we returned from the park. She smiled, talked a good amount and actually laughed a little. We are learning to call that a good day. Actually, we easily find things to be grateful for every day. Maybe we look for them more than we did before Sarah's illness.

Due to Sarah's chemotherapy, she is neutropenic (abnormally low # of neutrophils). Neutrophils are white blood cells that fight bacterial infection. The doctors tell us that we need to avoid public places that might result in some form of bacterial infection. Maybe we should steer clear of the park and stick to the front yard next time.

And, as it turns out, Betsy and John will not need to be isolated after the vaccinations in preparation for donating bone marrow. The suggested isolation was a false alarm that Sarah's doctor later recanted. Man were we glad to hear that. Sarah's grandparents were relieved that the two BM donors didn't need to be isolated too (they were going to be isolated with them in their RV for 3 weeks).

I think Sarah's next hurdle is achieving remission so she can move onto preparing for the bone marrow transplant. We'll share more details on Sarah's remission status on the next posting.

I would like to say that I am not able to bring to mind the number of folks that have offered and provided support in countless ways to our family. It has a deepening and enriching effect on your faith. I am thankful for God's mercies.
-Lamentations 3:22-24

Useful Web Link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutropenia