[choijk]

Hi Lost,

I'm not an expert in interpreting these blood counts but I'll give it a shot. If anyone differs, please join and correct me =)

To give you a short answer, it appears that all 3 stem lines of your husband's is affected: the red blood cells (rbc), white blood cells (wbc), and platelets. The red blood cells look like they are probably the ones that are most holding up, however, they are below the normal mark.

I am looking at the chart given by our hospital and it says that the normal is the following:

hgb -14-18
hct - 42-52%
rbc - 4.7-6.1

platelets: 130-400

Neutrophils: 42-75
lymphocytes: 20-51
monocytes: 1-12
eosinophils: 0-10

As you can see, your husband's counts are below the normal range, especially his platelets and his white blood cells. Although I don't know his overall white blood cell count, the neutrophils, lymphocytes, mono's, and eosinophils are all subcategories of the white blood cells.

His hgb (hemoglobin) isn't too bad, but it is below the normal range mark. I found that our doctor usually looks at the hgb. For instance, my dad's rbc are affected the most and his hgb is around a 9 after he is transfused with 2 pints of blood and falls anywhere to the 6's. When he drops to the 6's my dad is ordered a blood transfusion to bring him back up. He is getting blood transfusions about every 3-4 weeks at this time. However, your husband's rbc is holding up right now and hopefully will continue to do so so you have one less thing to worry about.

As for bringing up the platelets, I heard that juicing pineapples and black seasame seeds to help. I don't know, but thought it may be worth a shot.

As for low wbc, I'm sure you read that when a patient's wbc are low, they are more prone to infections. Some of the tips I've read throughout my research is for those with low wbc, to wash their hands and to avoid crowded areas because of germs and other infections. It seems that from the subsets of the wbc, the doctor usually makes sure that the neutrophils are good. Your husband's is a 6.7 so it is low.

Please try not to be scared but I know it is hard not to be when everyday you learn something new or come across something that you don't understand. After awhile, you will be equipped with a good background of knowledge that you will start to feel more comfortable. I think I began to feel like that about 2 weeks after some research. Please feel free to post more or you are more than welcome to private message me and I will try to help as much as possible because I remember when I was in that situation and someone very special was kind enough to take me under their wings and to share what they knew with me. I would love to pass on the favor....

Stay strong and remain positive. =) God has a plan for all of us. Someone once said that we are all part of a "family" and I agree. Don't worry, we are all in this together to fight this ugly battle. You and your husband are in my thoughts...