Tuesday, October 28, 2008

A little low

It took two days and eight sticks, but enough blood was finally drawn for an adequate sample.

Yesterday Steve sat through seven needle sticks, yielding one vial of blood, not two. And that vial wasn't handled exactly right, so there were no valid results -- just a whole bunch of bruises on his arms.

So today he tried again. Thank goodness the lab tech got a vein in the first try.

Some counts are a little low -- red blood count, hemoglobin, hematocrit. His lymph count is low enough to warrant another round of antibiotics. He'll begin taking them Wednesday night.

He has been worn out the past few days. We're continuing to choose which activities he can handle and which he needs to avoid.

Cooper and Katie are so flexible and understanding. This weekend, for example, I took them to a special breakfast out and then to a Cub Scout event. I was hesitant to take Katie, thinking she wouldn't enjoy an outdoor event geared toward elementary-age boys. But Steve and I didn't think it was a good idea to leave her with him. He was just too tired.

After a special pancake breakfast


Katie had a wonderful time at the Scouting event, proving that I need to have a more open mind about what she can handle. She launched a rocket, shot at a target with a Nerf bow and arrow, painted a rock, flew paper airplanes and completed an obstacle course. Cooper did all that and more. We missed Steve, but we also enjoyed telling him about our adventures later that morning when we picked him up and took him to Cooper's soccer game.

Flying paper airplanes

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