High Octane Fuel Update

Tyler visited Dr McGee this morning and got another blood test to see how he is doing. His test results were as follows:

WBC: 16.2
HCT: 24.0
PLT: 15

As his hematocrit (red blood cells) and platelets have both drifted very low, the doctor opted to give Tyler a high octane fill up. Starting about 1pm, Tyler will get 2 units of red blood cells and 1 unit of platelets to bump him back up. This should help his energy level, as low HCT inhibits your ability to spread oxygen aroudn your body. His is very anemic at that level, so he gets short of breath and dizzy with very little activity.

The low platelets mean that he is more prone to bleeding, as the platelets are the clotting parts of your blood. When platelets get really low, Tyler gets lots of little red spots on his skin from internal bleeding. It's especially obvious anywhere he has a band on his clothing (think of the elastic in your socks).

On the upside, we are delighted to share that we have a new nephew!! Tyler's sister, Elizabeth, just gave birth to a little boy named Zachary over the weekend. Welcome, Zachary! The family is at home already and it sounds like everyone is doing well so far. I'm hoping to go meet my nephew later today, so hopefully I can share a picture of the little angel afte that.