Looking up

06/20/10-0600
ANC 800

Things are looking up this morning. Alan's white cell count is up and they got the fever under control quite quickly. If this morning's blood culture is negative like yesterday's and the white cell count continues to rise, we may be able to go home tomorrow morning. He is getting IV Neupogen twice a day right now to help the white cells recover and the antibiotics are continuing.

Doc P was here to check on Alan and was pleased with how Alan has responded, even if it means he's feisty again. Doc A mentioned a few things that might have caused his fever yesterday. A very likely situation is the tumor causing blockages that allow bacteria to accumulate (like an abscess). That is another reason the abdominal ultrasounds are so important. Alan went through his like a champ today. He fought a little at first, but then was intrigued by the fascinating pictures of his tummy on the screen. He even managed to push a button on the ultrasound machine, causing the image to zoom on the screen.

Alan was free of the IV pump for a while because his nurse had a hard time drawing a blood to test after administering the Vancomycin. We've been having problems with his port on and off all week, so his nurse put some TPA in the line to see if it would loosen up any clots on the tip. Wish us luck!