Just as we thought it was almost over, we are back to playing the waiting game. Yesterday’s blood counts came back flat or even slightly lower than those taken two months ago. With the acceptable margin of error on the machines taken into account these counts are regarded as having remained constant. The MCV count is still slowly moving downward, which is a good sign, because it indicates that the bone marrow function is getting closer to normal, i.e. it is under less stress.
We are a little bit frustrated that we are not off the hook yet. We could still be looking at a full recovery after the first treatment, but it may take many more months or even years. A second set of ATGAM treatments may also still be on the cards if his recovery remains partial.
Lliam’s tests came back with the following: hemoglobin 104, white blood cell count 4.2, neutrophil count 1.3 and a platelet count of 52. This means that his neutrophil count is within normal range. His hemoglobin count is almost there (115 being the target).
Continue reading ‘Week 45 - Hitting a plateau’
We are too stumped for words to describe our reaction to the results today. Utmost relief? Profound gratitude? Totally overwhelmed! For the first time since the diagnosis of this frightening disease we can let our guard down to some extent and appreciate the effort it takes to face up to a disease of this nature. Dr Juliana informed us that a full recovery is now very likely within the next few months! Lliam’s tests came back as follow: hemoglobin 107, white blood cell count 3.93, neutrophil count 2.26 and a platelet count of 51. This means that his neutrophil count is now within lower normal range. His hemoglobin count is almost there (115 the target as lower normal). His platelet count is probably closer to 70 based on a physical examination of the slides. The lower normal count for platelets is 150, but we know by now that the platelets will be the last to recover and the trend is overwhelmingly positive.
Continue reading ‘Week 36 - Full recovery in sight!’
We are over the moon with joy with the results of the blood tests this morning! For the first time since the diagnosis of Aplastic Anemia, Lliam’s hemoglobin count reached 100. The normal minimum hemoglobin count for a child of Lliam’s age should be between 115 and 140. His neutrophils are already almost in the normal band. His platelets have gone up to 43, also showing a nice positive trend. We have been informed that platelets are always the last to recover. The likelihood of a full recovery without a second set of treatments is starting to look very likely….provided he can avoid contracting the flu or another major viral infection.
Continue reading ‘Week 32 - Hemoglobin count 100!’
We thought we were used to playing the waiting game by now, but it still catches us by surprise every now and then. We went in for the now monthly check-up early this morning. The results of the FBC (Full Blood Count) are still great in comparison to what they were at the start of the treatment, but remained more or less constant from last month. We were really expecting the strong positive trend to continue (based on the last couple of tests), especially in light of the high levels of energy Lliam currently has. To us it also appears as if his complexion is improving by the day. Despite all the positive signs, all major results (the hemoglobin, the white blood count, platelets and neutrophils) remained on a similar level than 1 month ago, while three of them dropped ever so slightly.
Continue reading ‘Week 27 - The waiting game revisited’
The school term has started and so far we have been very lucky. No major virus outbreaks has been reported at school, so Lliam can for the moment attend school as per normal. He is playing for his soccer team again, and continues to enjoy tennis. He has his first rock-climbing class today, a sport he always wanted to participate in. I must admit we are still a bit nervous about this one, but it is probably as safe as riding on a bicycle. We will monitor this activity carefully though. Continue reading ‘Week 25 - Normality returns?’
