Just a quick note to let you all know Paul's chemo has been postponed for a week because his blood counts are low again. White - 2.3, hemoglobin - 9.8, platelets - 43.
The corpuscular volume of the red blood cells is still high also - 109. He's still taking Folic acid for that. As Paul's sister explained, Folic acid is important in the changing of large immature RBC's into the "normal" smaller cells that have a "dish like" appearance. The size and shape of the mature cell allow it to move freely into the small capillaries. The larger cells are therefore not as mobile (efficient) carriers of oxygen.
Paul goes back for a recheck on Friday. If the white count is still low, he'll get some injections of Neupogen. That's what he got before, and it really did the trick. He's not too disappointed about having the chemo postponed. The last cycle went really well, and we think that was partly because he had an extra 2 weeks off before that one.
He's been feeling real tired so is staying home from work today. He's also got a few nasty bruises, probably because of the low platelets. He fell on Sunday before the choir fest - tried to jump up on the platform instead of going around to the stairs. He got a scrape on his leg, but wasn't seriously hurt, and didn't have any problem performing, etc. A couple of the bruises are probably from that. Anyway, he's taking it easy today.
Continue to: May 12, 1998
Return to: Diary of a Brain Tumor Patient's Wife
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Created: May 29, 1999
Last updated: July 18, 2010