Scraping the bottom

Tyler continues to have extremely low blood counts because his marrow isn't healthy enough to make mature blood cells. He keeps turning out teenagers (blasts), but they just won't grow up and get a job!

Anyways... Tyler coordinated with SCCA to get a double dose of platelets on Monday in preparation for the trip to Houston on Tuesday. Unfortunately, when he woke up on Monday morning, he was spitting up blood. That is one of the signs of low platelets, so he immediately started calling SCCA to see if he could go in early for his transfusion. When he got his blood count back, he had a 1 for his platelet count. The normal range for platelets is 150-400, but Ty's counts have been below that for years. The doctors transfuse him when he gets below 25, just to avoid any unnecessary bleeding.

He ended up getting 3 bags of platelets on Monday because he had been way lower than expected. Thanks goodness for the Puget Sound Blood Bank and the many generous donors in our area! Tyler would not survive without your lifesaving donations. If you have not donated blood before, i urge you to try it once. It is a really easy process for almost everyone that qualifies. In fact, my mom jokes that it is like opening a tap in her arm! :)