SIMON'S PLACE | Transplant

Ann/Grann arrived from Oberlin to join the care team. She took on the task of watching over Miriam in the afternoon, while Simon, Mary, and Markus went to the Cancer Clinic to check in with Dr. Yanik.

Simon was indeed doing better, and he was sent up to the 7th floor of Mott. On the way from the Cancer Clinic, we crossed through the courtyard. We asked Simon if he had anything he wanted to do before going into the hospital for a long time. He spotted the small playground and said, "Playground!" He enjoyed about 10 minutes of play, noticing that he won't be allowed back into a sandbox for a long time.

We got settled in casually, knowing he had no big tasks, aside from pre-hydration with IV fluids, until the next day.

GLOSSARY

BLOOD COUNTS
WBC (white blood cells; infection-fighters) normal range: 4.5-13.5 K/MM3
Hemoglobin (carries oxygen in blood, low=anemic) normal range: 12.5-16.0 g/dl
Hematocrit (not totally sure, but related to red blood cells) normal range: 36.0-49.0%
Platelets (blood clotters; low means risk of internal/external bleeding) normal range: 150-450 K/MM3
ANC (absolute neutrophil count; basic measure of immune system) normal range: 1.8-10.1 K/MM3

GLUTAMINE an aminio acid that can reduce mouth sores after intensive chemotherapy. Not commonly used at UM Hospitals, but hightly recommended by other parents in our Neuroblastoma listserv community. Dr. Yanik said it would be OK to try it and ordered it for Simon.

MYEOLOABLATIVE destroying of bone marrow. Pre-transplant chemotherapy is designed to kill off all bone marrow in the body. The transplant introduces new cells to create new marrow.

NEUPOGEN white blood cell production stimulating agent; injected subcutaneously while WBC is low.

TRANSPLANT

GLOSSARY