This is Karen, posting on behalf of my parents.
Dad has been struggling with fatigue and low blood numbers for the past few weeks. After experiencing extreme fatigue and shortness of breath, he called the cancer clinic yesterday. He had blood drawn yesterday in Strathroy and it was sent to London for testing. Throughout the night, he struggled with fever, and then vomiting this morning. Mom and Dad headed to London shortly after 8:30.
Dad's blood was incredibly low - 46 for hemoglobin, 9 for platelets. The low blood numbers explain the fatigue and shortness of breath. They gave him three units of red blood cells and one unit of platelets. To try to find the cause of the fever, they also took blood cultures (to test for bacterial infection), an echo-cardiogram, and chest x-rays.
The chest x-rays came back clear, the echo-cardiogram was normal, and the doctors could find no visible signs of infection, other than the fever. The bacterial cultures will take a few days to come back but the doctors don't think it is an infection that is causing the drop in blood numbers or fever.
Rather, they are worried that Dad is either showing signs of engraftment failure or a virus that is plaguing the bone marrow/blood. To get to the bottom of it, the oncologist ordered a bone marrow aspiration and a biopsy, which was done this afternoon. Dad had this procedure done almost a year ago when they were trying to nail down his leukemia diagnosis. Through this test, they will hopefully be able to see the maturity of the stem cells and/or if there is a virus present which is suppressing the production of blood.
Because they won't pinpoint the cause of the fever until results come back and since Dad had been topped up with blood, he was sent home this afternoon again. He will rest up and return again on Tuesday for more blood work, more transfusions of hemoglobin and platelets, test results, and hopefully a much clearer picture of what we are facing.
It was a long and frightening day, but we continue to rest in the Lord's loving hands and sovereign plan for Dad's life and all of our lives! What a comfort to know that God goes before us and stands behind.
"O Lord, You have searched me and You know me....
You hem me in--behind and before; You have laid Your hand upon me....
If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea,
Even there Your hand will guide me, Your right hand will hold me fast."
Psalm 139:1, 5, 9-10
5 comments:
Thank you Karen for the update. We are praying for you all and especially for you Uncle Richard and Aunt Barb. We are sending you lots of love and trusting in our God to provide.
Brian, Aileen and family
You are in our prayers here, for peace, trust and much patience as you wait for results. It is good to know that we are always in the hands of our God
The Lord continues to hold you fast, no matter what side of the sea you are on. He is right there. What a comfort in the face of the unknown!
Eko & Karen.
Was not really expecting an update to be there, but just got home and thought I'd check. Amazed at the scripture reference. It never really stood out like that before. Thanks, God does surround us with his love, in front and behind. God bless you all and give you strength, your Dad's Cousin Ron
This is not the news anyone was expecting - but we know that we are all in God's hands, all the time, and that His will is perfect. Our prayers for your family (especially Richard and Barb) continue - and we're especially praying for His peace to fill you to overflowing, and for His strength to be your strength.
Post a Comment