Monday Praise Report

Today was a good day at the doctor's office. Simon's platelet count continues to rise. His granulcyte level is high enough that he does not need to be isolated. His hemoglobin is about the same place it was the day after his transfusion last week. If his counts remain this high, he will be able to return to school full time after spring break!

Dr. Cook was very pleased with today's counts and with how well Simon is doing. He is encouraged by Simon's progress and is even hopeful that the immune suppression treatments are working. Perhaps Simon will be one of the lucky ones who is able to avoid transplant. It is far more than we had been hoping for.

Today also happens to be Simon's 11th birthday. Yesterday, as I thought about ways to make his birthday extra special, I also wondered how many more birthdays he may celebrate. Today, I rejoiced in the news from the doctor and began to look forward to more birthdays in the future. To celebrate the the good news, Simon and I went out for sushi for lunch. Sushi is one of Simon's favorites, but he has been unable to eat it since his diagnosis. Following today's counts, the doctor said Simon could do just about anything he wanted!

While the news today was good, I am also holding back on my enthusiasm. We are still waiting on some test results. The PNH test is still out. If it comes back positive, transplant will be necessary. The first time they did the test, it was inconclusive. While the number of PNH cells that showed up wouldn't have raised any questions in a normal person, in a person with aplastic anemia, they become suspicious.

We are also waiting for a test on for chromosomal fragility. I have no idea what it is or what it would mean. I can only digest so much information at a time, so I will deal with that only on an as needed basis.

Simon's bone marrow report from last Monday still hasn't come back. Dr. Cook warned me that it may come back and show little or no change. He told me not to be discouraged if that is the case. Often the peripheral blood counts rebound faster than the actual bone marrow.

So, we still wait. However, this time the waiting is different. The kids are on spring break, and we now have the green light to enjoy it! If we want to go to a movie or the park, we can all go. We are hoping to spend an afternoon at Focus on the Family, something that had been out of the question before today's cbc.

And now, my family is going to string me up if I don't get off the computer and sing "Happy Birthday" to Simon. Simon picked out a black forest cake, and my mouth is starting to water! This is one birthday celebration I am throwing my whole heart into!