CBC Done and Numbers Are Up

Parker had his regular visit to the Hospital For Sick Children today. He received his PEG-ADA injection (210U) and then had a Complete Blood Count (CBC) done to check if his numbers were higher than last week. The result, they were. We have been tracking several of the numbers that we feel are quite important, like his total white blood count (WBC), lymphocytes, neutrophils (polys), platelets, as well as his hemoglobin (Hb). All of these numbers were up from the previous week. The one we were the most worried about was his neutrophils because the Septra had caused them to decrease dramatically. Parker came off of Septra while we waited for them to come back up. Now that he is receiving enzyme replacement therapy (PEG-ADA), he restarted the Septra. His neutrophils are monitored quite closely to make sure Parker does not become neutropenic.

Parker took his PEG-ADA injection very well. His mommy held him while they gave him the 210U injection of the PEG-ADA. The little monkey did not cry at all when they inserted the needle into his right thigh. That was definately not the case when the actual PEG-ADA went into his leg. But once he got a few snuggles, he was smiling again.

We are trying to get Parker to bed a little earlier tonight. If we can have him asleep by 7:30 pm I think we would be very happy. He better get some rest now, because this weekend I am going to make him work pretty hard on his exercises.

People ask me alot about Parker's exercises. How often does he do them? Does he like tummy time, does he cry when he is doing it? See, when we went into isolation we heard two different stories. One was that he would likely be delayed developmentally because he was a SCID and confined to a room. And the other was that he should be fine because he will get so much attention in his room. Lastly, we were told that many children display some neurological problems when they have an adenosine deaminase deficiency. We were determined that Parker would be a normal baby when he got out of isolation so we did everything we could to ensure that. We took all precautions to keep him healthy, and we worked with him each day to make sure his muscles were developing. The occupational therapist taught us exercises that were relevent to the things a baby needs to do and by doing that, he picked up on how to do them. When we finally did take him home, he was exactly where he was supposed to be for an infant his age. We continue working with him to ensure that he is always at least at the level he should be.

Lastly, we think we can see a couple teeth about to come in on the top of his mouth. I don't think it will be long before the break through. I also think it will be less than a week before we start him on some solid food. Mmmmm.... Rice Cereal.