Chase went to the doctor Friday afternoon for a bone marrow aspiration and spinal tap because his results from his blood tests on Wednesday had dropped so much. We didn't expect to learn anything until Monday, but Dr.Cooper called with some very preliminary results.
Chase now has 20% saturation of leukemia blasts in his bone marrow. We learned today that does in fact have blast cells in his spinal fluid. This is new for us. During his last battle, every spinal tap results were negative for blast cells. He will most definitely be receiving chemo treatments directly to his spinal fluid for this. This was a preventative type of treatment that he received last time, but they ceased giving him the treatments after the third round (I think) since there was never a presence of blast cells.
Even though his marrow blast cells have increased, the percent of blast cells in his blood has decreased by 5%! A head scratcher. However, his ANC count is extremely low making him very vulnerable to infection, even from bacteria in his own body.
Last week,Dr. Cooper told us to go ahead and pack for him to be admitted this Tuesday and had mentally prepared ourselves for it. But...aww come on, you knew it had to be coming given how things have been going, right? All kidding aside, they called today and wanted him in at 8 am to have a lumbar puncture and chemo infusion before being admitted. Since we're an hour away, plus with Atlanta traffic, we would have had to leave the house probably by 6:30. Not happening. Instead, we were able to move his appointment to Thursday at 10:00, which will be better for everyone. And Chase was very pleased to learn that he would have a couple more days at home, too.
The waiting for Chase has been a double-edged sword. He likes being home, but he can't stand that his life is "going no where" as he puts it because of the leukemia. (Insert image of a stuck car's back wheels hopelessly spinning in the mud.) I hate that he has to go through this, but I know he'll be much happier to have this behind him. On a very positive note, having a sibling match in his brother means the duration of his bone marrow transplant treatment may only be for 3 to 4 weeks! Best case scenario, he'll be there 20-ish days for the 1st round of chemo, come home for a brief stay, and then another 3 - 4 weeks for the final chemo/transplant phase.
So, we can finally dust off and/or zip up the suitcases that we never really unpacked back from January, and make sure we bring plenty of Snowballs, Twinkies, and some instant soup cups (aka - salty noodle soup) for Chase. Oh, and nachos and queso dip, too. Can't forget that! He's up to 121 lbs now and outweighs William. Since he'll probably experience a significant weight loss once again, he's been on an unrestricted diet - if he sees it, he eats it. Too bad we all can't live like that, right?
Once again, I extend my heart-felt thanks for all of the prayers and support! Thank you so much!!
Caroline
PS - I uploaded a few newer pictures of Chase in the gallery.
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