Red, Red Wine (or Blood)

So, I wasn't planning on red wine tonight, but I was thinking about a white. Actually, put one in the fridge. But, once again, things have not gone quite as planned.

We went to Dr Corba's office this morning (our primary care pediatrician) to get a blood draw. The oncology office wants a blood count every so often to monitor her hemoglobin, platelets and neutrophils (white blood cells). This was the first time we'd done one outside of the hospital, and Harper's anxiety was in full force. Anything even remotely medical related right now sets her off. When the nurse practitioner came into the room, she started putting on gloves, and Harper went into a tailspin. We finally got her calmed down and they drew the blood.

Later in the day, as I was getting ready to take Cadence and Finley to riding lessons, the oncology office called and told me that her red blood cell counts were low enough that they wanted her to come in for a transfusion. Ok, girls, change of plans. Grandma will take you to riding - Mom and I need to take Harper for some blood.

And so we sit, fortunately this time in the outpatient observation area (across the street from Kosair in Norton) waiting for the blood cross-match and type (in case her blood type changed... Seems silly to me, but if its safety related, I guess I won't complain too much) and for the delivery of the blood.

Lucky (ha ha) for us, her neutrophils are ZERO so she's going to also get a dose of Nuepogen to stimulate her white blood cell production. It's given subcutaneously, so our assurances to Harper that there shouldn't be any needles involved would appear to be false... Should be a great deal of fun. I am envisioning us sitting on top of her to get that done.

But, back to the blood. I've never been a blood donor. I was always too chicken of the needles. Of course, this experience has put blood donation in a different light for me, seeing that Harper and I are the same blood type and she's going to need a lot of transfusions over the course of her treatment. I'm going to schedule a blood donation myself. We investigated "direct donation" where you earmark your blood for a specific patient (as she and I are the same blood type) but have decided against it since if there is any reason they can't use it for Harper, it can't benefit anyone else.

We've been overwhelmed, at times, with the considerable volume of offers to help us as we have started this journey. People have raised money for her medical bills (which will be substantial by the way), brought us food, etc. Its been humbling. But now, as they are about to give Harper her 3rd transfusion, another bit of help comes to mind. Give blood. Or better yet, give platelets, as they are only good for 5 days.

Help keep Harper stocked up on her red. We can take care of the wine.