1/26/16-Our clinic appointment is later today and there are many more people here. We are waiting anxiously to see if Steven's WBCs have increased after two shots of Neupogen. He already knows he will need blood, just by how he feels.
WBCs are up 0.4 for a whopping count of 2.6. He will not get Neupogen today. I am eternally grateful for this drug and everyone at Amgen, including Steven, who made it available and safe for patients. When Steven started at Amgen in 1999, I was amazed at the life saving drugs they were devising. I remember saying to him..."I hope we never need one of these medications...". Never say never, this is from personal experience. It was such a great company to work for with life saving drugs and top notch employees.
Then there is his HGB of 6.8...zzzzzzzzzzz. This count makes me fall asleep it's so low. It shows you how he has adjusted to this low of a count for a long time. As women, we frequently walk around with a low HGB, and adjust to continue our wife, mother, sister, daughter, etc...activities. For a 6'4" man to have this low of a count and get where he needs to go clearly shows how his body has adjusted to the situation. He will get one unit today, that's 4 per month. The doctor assured me it isn't too hard on his heart to walk around with that low of a count. Giving him too many and we still have to worry about hemochromatosis, too much Fe, even though he is on Jadenu (Fe chelator). We will now wait for the unit of blood to be ready.
The unit of O+ is here at 12:30pm, did I mention we have been here since 8:30am? He is still typing as B+. We have another 1 1/2 hour here and then will hopefully be able to leave before rush hour!
Thinking of all of you and keeping you in our prayers.
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