Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Slow news is good news?

For months, Steve has had his blood drawn at one of the clinics where he works. There are many great advantages -- fewer trips to medical offices, good people who take care of him and reliable access to the results.

The past two weeks, though, I've taken him to a lab between our house and his Plano office. The main drawback is we don't see the numbers until his oncologist's office decides to share them.

We've learned that if oncology doesn't reply quickly with results, they're most likely within an acceptable range. Still, I tend to worry until I see actual numbers.

Today we received results from Monday. The counts that were low last week are still low, but none of them are dangerously low. His lymph count still warrants that he continue taking Bactrim, a routine antibiotic used to prevent some infections.

This is his week off chemotherapy, so we assume all those blood cells are recuperating and preparing for another round of poison next week.

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Please note that I've added a link on the right side of the blog to other friends who are in need of prayers and good wishes.

Eric, an editor at the Morning News, was seriously injured in a pedestrian/car accident this weekend.
Young Willie, the son of a former co-worker, continues to recover from falling from a third-floor window.
Mandy, the daughter of a former co-worker, has been battling Neurofibromatosis most of her life and is undergoing chemotherapy for brain tumors.
Alex, the son of one of Steve's fraternity brothers, this week will mark three years since being diagnosed with stage IV Neuroblastoma.
Connor, a friend of friends, has also been fighting Neuroblastoma.

We all are surrounded by sweet reminders that life is a gift and health is a true blessing.

I discovered a quote a few weeks ago that I try to remember throughout the day:
"Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle." (Anonymous)

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