sunday morning update...

i believe the quote from the nurse on friday was "you are now a MEDICAL EMERGENCY". this is what they say when a patient no longer has the ability to fight for himself...

if tim were to start bleeding anywhere he would not be able to stop because he has no platelets.

if tim were to get an infection of any sort he would not be able to fight it because he has no white blood cells.

to put in perspective...an average person has between 150 and 400 platelets (these numbers are in thousands) to help them stop any bleeding that may occur. in the last week tims have dropped from 140 to 75 to 24 and today they are expecting them to be less than 10. he is scheduled to get a platelet transfusion today at 2pm to help boost his count a bit.

as far as the white blood cells that are used to fight off infections...the average person has between 5,000 and 10,000. on friday tim had 200 and was still dropping. these cells are not the type that you can borrow from someone else. these cells have to be generated within his body to be able to be useful. they gave him a shot on friday to help boost his immune system. we will be checking it again this afternoon.

so...what does this mean?

first off it means tim can't play with knives!!! (plus watch for major nose bleeds and bleeding gums, and a host of other things)

second it means that tim needs to be very careful with what he is exposed to...meaning no one that is coughing or sniffling or feels sick. he needs to wear a mask when he is out in public areas and we must hold a record for the amount of PURELL used by one family unit. no hugs or handshakes. no touching doorknobs, car handles, hand railings, elevator buttons, public water facets, public anything...he is to be like "the boy in a bubble". in addition he is to watch what foods he eats...no fresh fruit, no fresh vegetables, no undercooked meats, no left-overs. the general rule is BUY IT FRESH, COOK IT WELL, EAT IT WARM.

SO>>>HOW IS HE FEELING?

wiped out.

having some problems sleeping at night.

painful esophagus (chemo seems to have made it worse).

ulcerated painful mouth.

losing some weight.

SO>>>HOW WILL HE SAYS HE FEELS?

pretty good-could be worse.



i guess we have to remember that he is feeling the way he is supposed to be feeling for someone who just received chemotherapy. in order for the chemo to be effective it must KILL. (and that is what is has done to his platelets and his white blood cells). unfortunately it can not differ between the good and the bad so it kills all...now we need tims body to say enough is enough and start to fight back.

keep praying.

thanks for checking in.

tim and tammy

ps...thanks to all who commented on the blog or by e-mail or in person on ashleys essay. the response was amazing and appreciated.