Monday, January 21, 2008

Day +565 : Follow-up – my liver function is excellent now :-)

My Blood Count Today: - Readings in square bracket [] are result from previous test.
Red Blood Count (HB) = 150[148] (Normal 130-180)
Platelet = 208[246] (Normal 150-450)
White Blood Count (WBC) = 7.5[11.1] (Normal 4 - 11)
Absolute Neutrophil Count (ANC) = 4.05[7.104] (Normal 1.5 - 8.0)
ALT = 38[57] (Normal 30 – 65)
AST = 19[24] (Normal 15-37)
GGT = 70[165] (Normal 15-85)

I am fine today.

I went to have my follow-up today. For the first time since I contracted graft-versus-host-disease (GVHD) about one year ago, all my liver enzyme levels return to normal level :-) I thank God for the excellent liver test result today.

Apart improvement on the liver function, the white blood count also dropped from last follow-up’s reading of 11.1 to 7.5 today. The elevated white blood count during last two follow-up was certainly due to infection. During infection, the body produces more white blood to fight the bacteria or viruses. This is analogous to calling in extra armies to ward off intrusion during a military conflict.

Doctor reduced my daily Prednisolon (steroid) dosage from 15mg (3 tablets) to 10mg (2 tablets). I treat this as another milestone to achieving a drug free life :-)

My next follow-up will be four weeks later - after the Chinese New Year. Hopefully, the Prednisolon dosage can be further reduced by then.

See you next post :-)

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dear Ah Kiew,
We are overjoyed to see that your liver function is now excellent! May all your tests come back excellent in your next follow-up. We pray that you will soon lead a drug-free life. God is great!

My brother-in-law's nephew (Samuel Yii) is still receiving treatment at Kuching Hospital. He has a bone marrow match from his sibling. He has undergone 4 rounds of chemo too. His bone marrow will be sent (to Singapore or KL) for analysis on Jan 28, 2008 before the doctor decides if he needs a transplant. We pray that God will take care of Samuel as He is taking care of you.

God Bless always,
Ee Ding & Dobrin
P/s. You did a good promotion for Pulau Ketam. The pictures look wonderful!

David said...

Dear Ee Ding & Dobrin,

Great to hear from you again, and thank for your prayer.

I talked to Samuel's father, Vincent Yii a few times, and I also visited Vincent's sisters in Bintangor when I went back for holiday last December.

I am praying for Samuel Yii every day, and trust God will heal him completely.

God bless you.
Ah Kiew