We're pleased to have some improvements to report: Tom is definitely stronger than he was a few days ago. He's not stable enough to use crutches at this point, but our friendly occupational therapist Lori has outfitted him with an aluminum walker that has 2 wheels on the front legs, and pressure sensitive braking mechanism on the back legs. He is able to walk much more securely, but is still only capable of very few steps. She does not think it's safe for him to use the crutches or the stair lift at this time, so we are moving ahead with the plan to get Tom situated on the upstairs level at home.
We're scrambling to get things in place, and are happy to report that we've been able to locate a vertical wheelchair lift that can be installed on our back deck, AND they can install on Wednesday this week.
We reconsidered the idea of building a ramp because for every 1 inch of height that you are rising up, a ramp should run 1 foot. And since our back door is 53 inches off the ground, we'd need 53 feet of ramp built...and that just doesn't seem feasible, even if we build an L-shaped ramp. It would take up a good chunk of time, effort plus space in our yard! Since they are able to get the lift installed so soon, we think that's the fastest and most efficient way to get Tom home safely.
Meanwhile, the next challenge is that his platelet levels simply are not responding anymore to transfusions. Doc's suspect the most likely cause of this is that he's received so many transfusions, that his antibodies have begun rejecting the donor platelets, and attack/break them down very quickly. They are going to set the transfusion level minimum lower now - transfuse at 10 rather than at 20 - and will crossmatch not only the type but the specific antibodies in the donor platelets. It means that transfusions will be harder to get, and may very well delay chemo even further. There could be other reasons why his platelets aren't coming up, but we'll rule out this issue first. Tomorrow he will receive more platelets, and these will be antibody matched. We'll then observe how his body responds. I am happy to report that his white cell and neutrophil counts are recovered, as are his hemoglobin levels. So it's not all bad news...
The doctor has given Tom a pass for tonight, and we are hoping he's well enough to travel by wheelchair taxi to Luther's Home Concert, and will update you tomorrow on the rest of the story, time permitting.
Thanks for stopping in and your continued prayers and support,
Thomas' Mom
P.S. Thanks also to the many visitors over the weekend, what a treat!
