“The Overachiever.” That is what the team is calling Carter. For the first couple of weeks, he was dubbed “The Textbook,” then the serum sickness took hold.
The serum sickness was a side effect we were aware of but not anticipating. It sent us into the ‘Dark Days’ very quickly, but those days are now in the rearview mirror.
Carter is a warrior. He is surprising the whole team with his strength, drive, and attitude to persevere. He is back to eating by mouth, so much so that we have been able to lower his NG tube feedings by more than half. He has been craving soft tacos, requesting them for nearly every meal. The funny thing is, we have had to explain a beef and cheese-only soft taco to room service each time we order. For some reason, a soft beef taco and a beef quesadilla are equivalent in the hospital. We haven’t been able to figure that one out. You should hear us trying to explain the difference. It makes for some good laughs for our nurses and us— we never know which we’ll receive. Today, we received the quesadilla. 😂
Carter is nearly weaned from his pain medications and steroids. He has started to take a few of his post-transplant medications orally. Once he can take all medications this way, his NG tube will be removed. We are hopeful to see it come out by the end of the week or early next week.
Carter is back to rocking his laps. He is up to 30ish laps daily, time on the stationary bike, and physical therapy. We have even scheduled a time to walk with another patient today. She is leading the way on laps, so naturally, Carter now wants to walk with her. Oh, and she is nineteen. 😉
We are thrilled that football season is upon us. We watched our ‘Noles late into Sunday evening— Dad and Carter hooting and hollering in our room in an otherwise nearly silent unit. What a W! Carter had his fantasy league draft yesterday. He is excited about his first fantasy season, and we are thankful for the entertainment.
Below are Carter’s blood counts for today compared to his lowest on September 2nd. I will share these in the posts now, as the team has informed us that we are beginning to see signs of engraftment— increases in white blood cells and absolute neutrophil count (ANC). Remember, Carter receives RBC and platelet transfusions; thus, his hemoglobin and platelet (he is kept above 10) counts will be in range. We are watching for the transfusions to space out. While we anticipate fluctuations, we hope to watch these numbers continue to increase. He will be considered ‘engrafted’ when his ANC is over .50 for three consecutive days.
Please continue your prayers for our overachiever. We are incredibly proud of his strides so far. There is action in his marrow!
🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸 | Normal Range | 9/2/22 | 9/7/22 |
White Blood Cells: | 4.5-13.5 | .12 | .67 |
Red Blood Cells: | 3.8-5.2 | 3.14 | 3.13 |
Hemoglobin: | 11.5-15.5 | 9.1 | 8.9 |
Platelets: | 150-450 | 17 | 14 |
Absolute Neutrophil Count (ANC): | 1.8-7.97 | .07 | .40 |