Counts dropping

Last week when Joe had his blood drawn, his counts had dropped. We were hoping it was nothing and the counts would stabilize by this week. Today, results of his blood draw showed that Joe's counts have gone down even more. They haven't hit rock bottom, but it has been months since they have been so low. To give you a better idea of where he is...

Normal Ranges
WBC - [4.4-11.0] k/mcL
Hemoglobin - [13.4-17.5] g/dL
Platelet Count - [145-445] k/mcL
Neutrophils - [42-74] %
Neutrophils-absolute - [2.20-7.70] k/mcL

Joe's Counts
WBC - 2.7 k/mcL
Hemoglobin - 16.6 g/dL (the one thing that stayed normal)
Platelet Count - 75 g/dL
Neutrophils - 32%
Neutrophils-absolute - 0.86 k/mcL

We don't know what this means. Joe will get his blood drawn again on Wednesday and Friday to see what happens. If the results on Wednesday show another drop, Joe will be getting another bone marrow biopsy that afternoon to see what is happening with his marrow. I don't know what happens after that. One step at a time. If the results on Wednesday show the counts rising again, then we'll proceed as planned with chemo round 6 beginning on Monday.

We're trying to remember to take one step at a time. Remembering that God is in complete control. It is scary to think things might be changing after being on the positive side of "bad" for so long. But we will try not to worry before we know anything, because worrying won't solve anything. Plus, there is a positive, and that is that everything has already been moving toward Joe getting his transplant sooner than later. God is in control.

Wednesday, Joe and I are also supposed to speak to the Asian Pacific American Medical Student Association (APAMSA) at Pitt (They are planning a bone marrow drive with Cammy Lee in the Spring!). We're hoping it is informal. :) David from Pitt has been so amazing with organizing everything and keeping us up to date. It is actually a bit intimidating! Pray that Joe will still be okay to go and share his experiences.

Saturday, we were going to kick off the Christmas season and attend a hospital party. With Joe's counts being funny though, we're going to be safe and stay home. Don't want to take any chances!

Thank you to Sandy for hanging out with me. It was really nice to catch up with you!

Thank you to Cammy Lee for the cheery message! You have been a great source of encouragement.

Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God.
~2 Corinthians 3:5