On Saturday I told my dad
that I was going to visit Mason after work, and he told me I wasn’t allowed.
What? I was pretty surprised because I wasn’t aware of these rules to visit
Mason. My dad proceeded to tell me that it was going to be a boy’s night. The
reason I wasn’t allowed to go is, well, self-explanatory.
He’s been doing pretty well
recently. The other night he received anointing of the sick from Father Flynn.
I wasn’t there for it, but Parker and my parents were, and they said it was a
nice thing to be a part of. He likes to make his doctors and nurses laugh. I
really think he’s gotten funnier since being at CHOP. Then again, we are pretty
lucky to have gotten some really great doctors and nurses. I think this
generalization might, however, exclude that nurse that wrote February 29 on the
white message board instead of March 1. Yes, that really did happen.
As I had previously said,
now it’s just a waiting game. We have to wait for Mason’s blood counts to go up
so that he can come home. He has to have a high hemoglobin, platelet, and white
blood cell count, and ANC. ANC stands for absolute neutrophil count.
Neutrophils are a type of white blood cell that help fight off infection in the
body. A low ANC puts Mason at a much higher risk for infection than the rest of
us. Because of a low ANC, the best place for Mason to be is the hospital
because it’s probably the cleanest place he can be. Hemoglobin is the part of
the red blood cells that transports oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the
body. Because it contains iron, a low count of hemoglobin typically presents
the same symptoms as anemia or even an iron deficiency. A low hemoglobin count
means that Mason’s body isn’t producing enough red blood cells, which obviously
isn’t a good thing. Platelets are responsible for the clotting of blood, and
when enough aren’t produced bleeding can be excessive and occur very easily. If
they these counts are too low, then it means the bone marrow isn’t producing
enough, which means it still isn’t functioning as it should be. Lastly, Mason’s
overall white blood cell count cannot be low. The count of these cells is a
pretty good indicator of how his immune system is working. As long as this
count gets up there, his chances of infection get closer and closer to that of
someone who is healthy.
In English, all of that
information means that when these counts go up his bone marrow is doing what it
should be. The cells and parts of cells that need to be produced to keep his
immune system up and running so that it is safe for him to come home must be in
higher numbers. We’re hoping that he will be home around mid to late March
because Morgan is coming home for Spring break at the end of the month, and it
would be awesome to all be in the house together at one time. Things are
looking good, though. He’s typically in good spirits and laughing or trying to
make someone else laugh. He can’t wait to come home, of course, but he needs to
get a little bit healthier first.
It’s hard walking down the
hall upstairs to my room and passing his room because it’s been unoccupied for
so long. It’s hard to sleep with Twinkie, one of our dogs, only because it
means that Mason’s not home to sleep with her. What makes all of this easier is
knowing that he will be home soon, and none of us can wait.
Hi Kenzie, I chatted on text with Mason last night and you are right, he is a comedian. Glad to hear it...I really appreciate the way you explained what is happening. It makes a lot more sense than thinking something is wrong. Thanks...and give him a hug from all of us...
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