Last night was a bit of a rough night for our boy. I know that being tired had a lot to do with it, but he was getting ready to go and stay at his friend Chris' house when I could tell he was upset. He said he was tired of the hospital and clinic, he hates needles and how the treatment makes him feel. He wants to be at school the entire year, not just a couple of days here and there. He said, resigned, " Mom, I know I HAVE to do this, It doesn't mean I have to like it!" He said "I just have to release all of the anger, or I will explode". We sat in his room while he shared his feelings and I just listened. I wasn't sure about him going to Chris' after sharing his feelings, but he said he wanted to do something "normal" and he would always go there to hang out with his other family. How could I say no? Frank came in and I told him how Zack was feelings. He said "of course, he feels that way, this sucks!" He then turned a shoulder to Zack as if to say "go ahead, hit me, it will make you feel better" Zack stood up, laughed and Frank looked up at him as if staring at a Giant. (6'5" vs 5' 9") We all just stood there laughing. Chris has a little brother and two sisters ( one older and one younger). His parents Melanie and Brian have been in our lives since the boys were in 1st grade. Mel is Zack's "other" mother, a honor I gladly share. Mel just recently graduated with her nursing degree and is ready to take the State Board test, so she understands a lot of the medical talk. We have shared our ups and downs through the years. Like everyone else close to us, Mel and her family are now on this roller coaster ride with us. I called her while Zack was on his way to their house and explained how he is feeling. She assured me she would look out for him and let him know that she too is there should he need to talk more. Melanie called me this morning and told me that everything went well, though he had a hard time falling asleep. (must run in the family lately.. I woke up at 4 am)
Zack insisted on going to the Center without us this time. He was to have his lab work, so we felt it was okay for him to do go without us. He thought it out and asked Chris to go along with him (Chris was actually the driver today) just in case he felt dizzy after the tests. It turned out that he did just fine, though having more needles in his arms is not his idea of a good time. When they completed the lab work, they managed to go to his favorite steak restaurant (a visit he missed the last couple of times due to not feeling well). I'm sure the pretty servers there are a big part of the "attraction" as well.
His "ANC" was 500 today, his last count was 1,500....{ Absolute neutrophil count: (ANC) Which is the white blood cells count that are neutrophils. "WBC" or White blood cells: One of the cells the body makes to help fight infections. There are several types of white blood cells (leukocytes). The two most common types are the lymphocytes and neutrophils (also called polymorphonuclear leukocytes, PMNs, or "polys").} In layman's terms, this means Zack is not to go into large crowds and we must all wash our hands a lot more than we already do! If someone is sick (in the house) we must wear masks to ensure he doesn't catch anything,. He was given permission to go to school on Monday (they expect the level to rise by then) but can't be in a small enclosed area. He will go and hang out with his friends outside during lunch and pick up the Chrome-book, which will be his to borrow for the school year. The doctor said no close contact with anyone that is sick, just as an added precaution. They are going to re test him on Tuesday morning, and IF the count is not higher, they will postpone the next treatment at the Hospital until it is higher. If he does the chemo with it low, that could wipe out his immune system completely. (THAT would be bad.. sorry understatement of the year!!)
While Zack was at the clinic, I started on my new project. Clearing everything from his room and preparing it for painting tomorrow (Rhonda is coming to help, Yahoo!) and new floor installation which Frank will do next week. We decided to "sterilize" the room since he may be spending more time in there. He currently has old green carpet and we are installing oak laminate flooring. It will also be a lot easier to keep clean, not to mention give him a new calmer color. Zack's room is currently dark and light blue, he picked out a dark green (evergreen). I believe that color is very important in the healing process.
Having said that, When the room is done, I will post "before" and "after" pictures just for fun. Since I need my beauty sleep and Zack is now claiming the couch (his bed is upright in the hall), I will say goodnight. Thank you for all your emails, texts, calls and FB messages. We KNOW we are loved! Hugs and Blessing to all!
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