Hi Kelly,
I would question your doctor as to why she wants to wait 4 weeks. There is a lot of evidence out there that prompt treatment (<21 or 27? days from diagnosis) leads to a more favorable prognosis. Perhaps this is just another reason to expediate the consult with another doctor!
Time is of the essence when dealing with a disease like aplastic anemia! I had about 2.5 months between diagnosis and treatment and things went downhill pretty fast towards the end of the wait.
Here is the criteria for severe aplastic anemia:
Any 2 of these in a hypocellular marrow (hers is):
* Absolute neutrophil count less than 500
* Platelets less than 20k
* Absolute reticulocyte count less than 60,000 /uL
I wish you and Ella the best! Continue to be strong and advocate for your daughter!
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55 yo female, dx 9/08, AA/hypo-MDS, subclinical PNH, ATG/CsA 12/08, partial response. small trisomy 6 clone, low-dose cyclosporine dependent
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