Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Lab Results

Sam's big round of labs test came back today.

Sam's direct bilirubin was at 7.8 on August 4th when he began his Omegaven treatment. Typically this level gets worse before it gets better and it can be a few weeks before there are noticeable results. We were hoping for a steady number or a small decrease. We need this level to be below 2 before Sam is able to return home.

Sam's direct bilirubin today was at 6.1! This is a huge drop in only 8 days. Dr. Puder is hoping that we can continue these big drops each week - at this rate we may be home at just over three weeks.

Sam's Hematocrit was a little on the low side today. They were getting worried that Sam's marrow had gotten "lazy" because of the multiple transfusions he has needed. After a few more tests though, the rest of his results look good and it appears that his marrow is producing blood cells. They think that this low level is most likely being caused by the amount of blood that has had to be drawn over the last 8 days to try to get his nutrition worked out correctly.

Sam's weight was at 9 pounds 8 ounces today! This is a gain of an ounce a day since we started Omegaven. We were lucky to get a few ounces a week before, and then we always seemed to lose a few here and there.

Sam also has a consultation with the ENT doctor on Thursday. We can't seem to get rid of the fluid behind his ears and he will be having tubes put in before he leaves Boston.

Overall a very hectic day, but for once it was a good hectic day.

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