Still Struggling

Matthew went for chemo today (3 weeks later) and his blood counts didn't make the cut.  His platelet count was 49 (100 is goal), white blood counts were low, and red blood counts were marginal.  The doctor attributes this to the chemo and trauma to the body in general.  They put him back on steroids and told him to come back next week.

In general, he is doing Ok.  He is tired a lot, but does not feel any worse than he has.  He is able to do things around the house (today he was mowing the yard and painting some old flower pots).  I know he is anxious about the time this is taking though.  

Ok...this slide show is long (like 6 minutes), but it is of all the family pictures we took during our Family Photo shoot in December--you know there are lots of us, therefore, a lot of pictures. 

Haluska Family Pictures 2011

New Schedule

Mathew did get chemo today, but it did require some hoop jumping.  When he went to the office they decided to send him to the hospital to have his platelets tested.  This allowed for a more accurate count (remember the platelet clumping throws his counts off).  His platelets were still low, but since they were in the 70's, they went ahead with the chemo.  Based on the last two rounds, they also made a decision to change to a 3 week schedule.  They said that finishing the rounds was more important than the time period, and each time it has taken at least 3 weeks for his platelet count to come up to a reasonable level.  If he can stick to this schedule, he will finish his chemo mid-April!  Three down five more to go!

Holiday Recap

The holidays have come and gone.  Our family was fortunate enough to be able to be all together for Christmas.  We had Christmas all together here in Dallas.  There were 12 people here in the house.  I don't know how my grandmother did/does it.  (She had eleven children)  Matthew (along with Mom, Dad, Jeffrey-who flew in to Houston, and Isaac) came in Thursday afternoon.  Friday, Matthew and Jeffrey took Evan, Isaac, and Claire to play Putt Putt golf.  Saturday, Matthew spent some time with the kids making a gingerbread house.  The video is a view of the finished product. The video is courtesy of Emily.You can hear and see some of the Christmas morning chaos in the background.

Monday after Christmas we got together to take family pictures, which was a gift from the kids to our parents.  (Putting everybody together in color-coordinated outfits could be a blog post of its own).  After pictures, we came back for some left-overs, and then they took Emily to the airport and headed home.  They headed home on Monday because Matthew was scheduled for chemo on Tuesday morning.  Unfortunately, his platelet counts were in the 40's again, so he was not able to get his treatment.  They gave him another steroid pack, and he will go back again tomorrow.

In other news, when Mom and Dad are able to get back to New Jersey--which will most likely be the end of next summer, they will be putting their house on the market.  My Dad has accepted a job with a new company call Sterling Smartware Solutions.  A big part of the decision to take this job was based on the ability to work from where ever he chose to live.  So, when the house sells, my parents will be relocating back to the Brazoria County area.  He is currently continuing to work as a contractor for the previous company as well. 

I will do my best to try to update tomorrow.  If you are interested in Hebert family happenings, you can check out my family blog at   katehebertfamily.blogspot.com

An Experiment

Matthew's platelet count was low Monday.  It was around 70 (remember 100 is the goal).  Another factor is Matthew's platelet clumping, which causes his counts to be a bit off.  The doctor decided to try something different.  They decided that if they kept up with this pattern Matthew's chemo would never finish, and not do any good.  They decided to try him on the chemo in combination with the medication to help increase the platelet count (which is actually a steroid).  So far, he is doing OK.  He said he has had no major reactions, which is a good thing.  He did sound really tired though.  On the upside, he won't have to have chemo next week, so hopefully he will feel pretty good for his Christmas visit. 


Matthew has appointments at MD Anderson later this week.  I will keep you posted when I know more. 

Here's hoping the Christmas season is treating you well!  

Another Low

Matthew's platelet count was too low for chemo again yesterday.  All of his blood counts were on the low side, but his platelet count was 40.  They have put him back on the medication that is supposed to help bone marrow production of platelets.  He will go back and try again next Monday.  These little platelets have got to stay up so he can do his chemo!

Thanks for the prayers.

Round 1 Take 2

Matthew's platelet count was 100 (which was the bottom limit) for chemo, so he started this morning.  It went well as far as chemo is concerned.  His other blood counts were up too, which is good.  He took his nausea meds, so hopefully that won't hit him too hard yet. 

He finishes this round on Wednesday...traditionally, Wednesday and Thursday have been the hardest days for him.  Hopefully this round will be relatively easy.

Thanks for the prayers.

Rising to the occasion

So, its been a couple of weeks since I have posted.  The last post said Matthew was starting chemo.  Well...he went in on that Monday, and his platelet count was too low.  I think everybody was surprised because it had been high enough just two weeks earlier.  Apparently this can be caused by a couple of things.  Chemo can, and frequently does, short term damage to the bone marrow.  Damaged bone marrow does not produce platelets as well. Surgery, even without a lot of bleeding, can also cause low platelet counts.  In addition, Matthew has a condition referred to as "platelet clumping."  This means that his platelets clump together, and while it does not affect how well they work, it does make his counts inaccurate (usually lower).  Matthew has been on a drug that helps increase the bone marrow production.  He was checked last week, and it had increased, but not enough.  Hopefully, it is high enough when he goes in tomorrow.

Because of the chance of starting chemo tomorrow, Mom cooked a Thanksgivingish dinner today so that Matthew can enjoy it.  (We have heard that chemo is worse when your platelets are low).  Matthew is not looking forward to chemo, but at the same time, he needs to get through it. 

I will try to make sure I update with the results tomorrow.