Making Counts

We're continuing to learn all kinds of slang medical lingo. Making counts means that Amanda's blood counts (WBC, ANC, HCT, Platlets - more lingo) have to be at a certain number to move forward with more chemo. Her ANC, immune system, was too low yesterday and she didn't make counts. In fact, it is 0.3, the lowest she's ever been. She has virtually no immune system right now which makes me quite nervous. We go back to clinic Thursday. If her counts don't go high enough she will only have the Vincristine medication and the dosing on the other med gets all shifted around. It is all so complex. I continue to be so amazed by the smallest details of cancer management that somebody has learned through trial and error. The unfortunate thing is that this completely throws off our schedule for when the baby will be induced. I asked the nurse if we can count on any schedule for next month. She laughed and said that we chose the worst possible phase of treatment to have any predictability. This doesn't describe chemo treatment as much as my life right now!

The great thing about additional time between treatment means that Amanda feels better, gets stronger, eats more, runs around more, and is building up her strength. It also means less stress for her. I've noticed a real change in her maturity level over the past few weeks. I think she has largely accepted what she must deal with and is coping with it as best she can. She's not as sad about what she cannot do and is trying to find more creative ways to be happy and entertain herself. We are now three months into this. We are never fully prepared for the hard days and they are always a big setback. But overall, I think we are all adjusting and finding ways to make our lives meaningful right now.