Dear Family,
I went with Mom to a follow-up doctor's appointment today and things are really looking good. All of Mom's lab tests are great and in fact, her white blood count is in the normal range for the first time since before she got sick. Dr. Wallentine did another bone marrow biopsy to see exactly what is going on and he won't get those results for a week or so, but he seemed very optimistic that Mom might be in remission. It looks very promising that Mom won't have to face any more chemo for now. That was really good news.
Mom is feeling pretty good but is still more weak and tired than she would like to be. Dr. Wallentine says that it is probably a result of her having had pneumonia along with everything else. Mom still doesn't have much appetite but occasionally finds something that tastes pretty good. She doesn't quite feel like herself yet but she was so encouraged by the good report today. It will just take a little more time for her to get her strength back but she is making steady progress. She did really well on the Sisters Retreat in Texas this past weekend and we were so happy for that.
Here are some of her stats and lab results from today:
Blood pressure - 102/60; Pulse - 87; Oxygen 93; INR - 2.5 (this is a value related to the thinness of her blood and is perfect since it should be between 2 and 3)
White blood count - 4.75; Red blood count - 4.51; Hemaglobin - 13.9;
Hematocrit - 41.9; Albumin - 3.7; Platelets - 248! and ANC (absolute neutrophil count) - 3.58!!
We are so grateful for this wonderful news. Keep praying that the bone marrow biopsy results will be marvelous!
Love,
Kathie
