Rainbow Day

Friends, we have good news.

Nancy's blood counts have finally started to climb. She's been neutropenic, at risk of infection for the 5-1/2 weeks she's been in the hospital. All that time, we've been working towards this day. Her ANC (neutrophils) jumped from 0.01 yesterday to 0.58 today, and the threshold for neutropenia is 0.50. Her WBC (white blood cell count) is up to 700 from near zero, well on her way to a normal value over 4500. These are probably the highest numbers she has had in months. If everything proceeds well, she should be home in a week to 10 days, to recover her sanity and strength.

There was a fabulous rainbow visible from the hospital this morning, and Nancy sounded upbeat on the phone even before we got the news about her blood. I feel like I've turned a corner in myself, and I cannot imagine how she feels, beyond the vast sense of relief that the first difficult wait is over.

In a few days, we should know if her brother or sister are a match for marrow donation. In the mean time, I'm taking myself out to lunch to celebrate.

Warm regards,

-tdc