Platelet -- Word for the Day -- Monday, August 4, 2008

Platelet

Definition: a minute flattened body (as of ice or a mineral); especially : a minute colorless disklike body of mammalian blood that assists in blood clotting by adhering to other platelets and to damaged epithelium —called also blood platelet.

Here's a history listen for you guys today. Do you remember the low count for Platelets? When ChemoSabe's platelets became a certain level he would be in the Infusion chair for approximately 30 minutes to receive a bag. Okay -- here's your answer -- Below 20. He received his report today from last Thursday and his platelets are 155. AWESOME!

Okay -- I will tell you this one.. We get worried when the WBC is below 2. Thursday he was at 5.29. Yeeeeaaaaaahhhhh!!! He just keeps on getting better. With results like this he will be more than ready for his big dose of chemo on Tuesday. That will knock him down on his knees again, as far as counts go.

With his last dose of steroids on Friday, he was running full speed. I won't tell you how little sleep he got because you wouldn't believe me, but you could probably count on one hand how much in 48 hours. He finally ran out of gas yesterday after we went out and had breakfast with the son. He slept the rest of the day in the recliner. Today he was still out of gas, but didn't crash when he got home. Instead of going to bed at 7:00 or watching reruns on television, we watched a very good movie with Kevin Spacy (21) and are down for the night.

Billy had his transplant today. ChemoSabe called him this afternoon and got the scoop. He sounded relieved when he got off the phone. Billy says he feels well except for a little nausea. He is quite susceptible to infection now. He indicates you can go down for about a week and then come back up and then you get another dose of cells. We didn't realize it would be so fast, but here we are. It's amazing and humbling. We are about to have babies.

We stayed in much of the weekend. Son came over on Saturday since he was a 'weekend bachelor' and cooked us burgers on the grill. Rainman and Stretch were out riding their bikes and dropped in to cool off. None too soon, I would venture to say. Too, too hot to ride.

We have a lot in store this week. ChemoSabe will be at UAMS by 7:00 a.m. on Thursday and his last test begins at 1:30 p.m. That being the dreaded bone marrow biopsy again. He doesn't seem to be dreading it as much as in the past. Even with much discomfort at least he knows it is just a drop in the bucket to survival. I plan to drop him off and got into work so I can catch up. I need at least three hours to get my Sunday work ready. He can do the first four tests, but that BMB just ain't a one man band.

I have seen about three articles in the paper the last two weeks about the MM patients at UAMS. A blog on KTHV gives us statistics, contact with other patients, etc. I have not looked at the blog. Another article tells about the movies and dinner once a month for the patients. And one today was about a Corp of Engineers camp site where patients live in the RVs while away from home. Have I been unaware of these stories in the past about the popularity of MM, or is it such a common disease and I have not been listening to the words in the past? Does that make sense to you? I hate long sentences.

Rainman told ChemoSabe of a man in Conway he speaks with that is an eight year survivor. He will be getting a call from ChemoSabe for progress notes.

Well -- got my orders to finish up. I have been the patient since Thursday myself so I need to wind down. I am running out of fuel. Could I get some steroids, please?!

Good night and love those platelets!! Pepper