The numbers

Saw the doctor yesterday. Took Riley out of his last class of school early to make the appointment. Tom came with me. We picked up a burger at dairy queen with a vanilla shake before we grabbed him. Good call as he got into the car he said he was "starving". I had it covered.

The drive in was uneventful. We stopped at the lab for the blood draw then headed up to the clinic. We were an hour early, but the doctor is used to our punctuality. He just squeezes us in, besides I think we are usually the last appointment of the day, so after us he may get to go home.

The numbers are unchanged from last time. four months of virtual stability.

Hemoglobin 12.2
Whites 4.9
platelets 140,000
neutrophils 2.8 #

I will probably continue watching Riley for signs, But the doctor now says Riley is stable. Riley can stop taking the weekend antibiotics. So Riley will be off all meds. He said 2% of the population live normally with these numbers even though they are at the very low end of the bell curve.

He said Riley can do any sports he wants including skiing, biking. I am thinking of putting him in tennis. It is a nice sport and there is an indoor club in town so he can play during bad weather. He said a three hour cardiac surgery might be an issue, but otherwise get on with life.

He wants to see Riley back in six months, which puts us some time in July or August. In a year they will want to do a bone marrow biopsy again just to see how things are really looking under the skin. The long term worry will always be leukemia. a 15% chance of happening at any time of Riley's life. But we will worry about that if it happens. We have already beat the odds with his response to the drugs and recovery.

We stopped at my mom's for dinner and to avoid driving home during the commuter hours. Had a delightful time just hanging out and talking. Then we headed home where Trevor had already arranged his favorite play date to be delivered, since there is no school Friday with the end of the semester. Friday is a grade day.

I am off to go walking with some friends. The regular exercise is making a difference with my weight and mood. It just the dragging out of my warm bed in the morning that is hard.