It is quite shocking today to find that Erin's ANC has moved from zero to 100. Her white blood cell count is really growing and now the doctors are wondering if maybe the nodules on her lungs and the fevers are a result of her body producing white blood cells again. It's possible that her body is sort of in shock from producing white blood cells again after killing them off with the chemotherapy.
Dr. Verma seemed surprised that her ANC came up and they think that maybe it will go back down again as the counts sometimes fluctuate. So, we aren't holding our breath that we'll be taking her home soon, and I'm sure they won't let us bring her home with a fever. Last night they put a tube up her nose into her sinuses and took some samples to check for a virus, she just LOVED that procedure. The first lab results came back today from her nose/sinus samples and they were negative and showed no signs of a virus lurking her body.
Because of her diarrhea (since having this blog I have learned to correctly spell DIARRHEA) we now have an Infectious Disease Doctor (ID Doctor) working with us. There is a sign on her door warning those who enter that they have to wash their hands with soap (no hand sanitizer) after contact with Erin. Her poop cultures from yesterday have come back negative. The ID Doctor asked a load of questions like "is her diarrhea super stinky?" How do you answer that? All poop stinks. Maybe I've never smelled "super stinky" poop. Maybe all the poopy diapers I've changed over the last 5 years have only been "sorta stinky" poop?! The ID Doctor wants us to make sure that those in contact with Erin are currently immunized. Particularly the DTaP (Diphtheria Tetanus and Pertussis) Vaccine. She said that you or I can carry Pertussis (also known as whooping cough) and show no signs of if, but we can pass it on to our immunocompromised Little Air Bear. Being up to date on your vaccines means having had the shots within the last 10 years.
The possibilities of the fungal infection are still up on the list. If things don't improve then they'll put a tube down her throat and get a sample of one of the nodules in her lungs too see what's going on there. I suggested to Dr. Verma that maybe we just need to wash our feet more often. I wonder if toe jam could make her sick?
Basically, the team of doctors working with us are covering all bases for current and possible future infections. I wonder how cautious we really need to be? It's all so unnatural having to worry about so many possibilities. Let's just continue to pray for a speedy ANC recovery.
John said that they didn't sleep very well last night, but she took a 2 to 2 1/2 hour nap this afternoon. She's still really cranky, but that could just be that she's just fed up with being confined to her room.
Thirty-five years ago when my brother's counts were 0 my parents were the only ones allowed to see him, and that was after intensive scrubbing, then gowning from cap to booties... It's nice to hear that, as horrendously crappy as it is, it's not so restrictive anymore. Hang in there - you're never alone!
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