The 2nd Round Glitch

Greetings All,

So yesterday I had my second round of Chemo. It almost didn't happen and the results are leaving me wondering if I'm going to have some problems staying on my 2 week schedule in the future. Before each round of Chemo they take a blood sample to check my blood counts. All my counts came back to normal ranges except for my White Blood Cell count. The normal range for WBCs is 4.0 - 10.0 thousands per mcL. My WBCs were 1.5. That's low but they said they can still do treatment at that level. The problem came in a subclass of the WBCs called nuetrophils, I guess those are the guys that help to fight off infection. Normal nuetrophil levels are 1.7-7.6 (thousands). My nuetrophil level was 300. Yeah, 300.

When the nurse came in she said with those kind of levels they would probably postpone treatment. At these levels I am extremely susceptible to infection, and may possibly explain why things with going to the bathroom have not cleared up like they should. I am still having some pain and a few drops of blood reappeared yesterday. I am also having some discomfort in the area of my left kidney. I have no idea whether these symptoms are related to treatment or if I am just displaying another talent of my of compounding existing problems and working on a kidney stone. I guess given the choice between kidney stone and kidney damage from the Chemo I choose stone but I'm hoping it's neither.

Anyway, back to the dangerously low WBC. Kim and I had started to think this wasn't going to happen and I might catch a break and feel good for Christmas after all. I was a little disappointed because you prepare yourself for these things and I don't want to keep dragging things out but I wouldn't have minded being 100% for Christmas. However, after talking to 2 doctors they determined that I wasn't showing any signs of fever, I was young, and feeling relatively good so they decided to go on with the treatment. Because of the low WBC levels I have to go back today and get a shot to boost my bone marrow to produce more white blood cells. Of course with everything there's some study that shows that it reacts with one of the drugs in my Chemo cocktail and that it can cause damage to the lungs, which is not cool I'm still kind of using those. But from what I've read online lots of people get this shot so it's just one more trip to the hospital.

I'm definitely more tired than last time already. I was looking pretty pale with dark circles under my eyes yesterday but after a long nights sleep I'm looking better (for me anyway). Still no sign of any hair starting to fall out which is a problem in a way because I haven't had a hair cut in weeks and I was hoping to save on a trip to the barber shop. My scalp is sensitive and we just took poisoning number two so it shouldn't take long.

On this Christmas Eve I again want to thank you for all your support, love, and prayers you've sent our way. I want to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas. It's times like this that make me cherish the excitement on my son's face, the inexplicable joy of my daughter's smile, the warmth of people's concern for me, the unending support of my parents and family, the undying devotion of my wife, and the gift of a small child born in a manger that can save us all.

Merry Christmas Everyone,
Ben

"Earth has no sorrow heaven can't heal"
-Vigilantes of Love