Blood Test Results

Jasper had his regular 3 monthly blood tests today. It was the first one that I have not been totally scared of the results for.

We are so lucky that Jasper's blood is so healthy, that I don't really have a need to worry.

Jasper was ok going in.. he knew it was just a thumb prick, not a vein drain! It makes him much happier.

He is mesmerised with the blood coming out and going into the vial and onto the slide. I can't watch for fear I will pass out!!!

As predicted, his blood is perfect and there is no dramas!

The best thing is that his weight has hit 14kg even!!! I was so excited, and his height is 105.2cm. I think that is growth of about 3.5cm in 3 months.. pretty cool!!

For anyone interested, his bloods were as follows:

White Cells: 5.40 (norm range 5.00 -17.00)
Haemoglobin: 131 (norm range 110 - 145)
Platelets: 160 (norm range 150 - 400)
Neutrophils: 1.57 (norm range 1.50 - 8.50)
Red Cells: 3.87 (norm range 3.90 - 6.00)

These results are pretty steady, and the doctors are really happy with him.

Next medical news will be in April when he is due for his Bone Marrow Aspiration.. then we should be able to go to 6 monthly blood tests (fingers crossed).

Paul is home from work this week, so we are looking forward to spending some good family time together.

No more news for now.

Thanks for reading!

Brooke

Off to the Zoo we go!

Well, it is the Summer school holidays here at the moment.. we start the week before Christmas and the kids go back to school at the start of February.

Jasper and I have been spending a lot of time at the beach and at my mum and dad's pool! It has been pretty warm here since Christmas, lately it has been 37C (98 - 99F). We get the sea breeze early though, and that means I don't need to kick on the airconditioner most days.

Well, the other day we went to the Perth zoo with our good mates Helen and Ray. In case you have not read any earlier posts, Ray has Fanconi Anaemia like Jasper. We met them when we all went to Adelaide in September 08 for the first FA Australia Camp.

We have not seen Helen and Ray in ages, so it was nice to have a catch up!

Here are some shots of our adventure.

Right inside the gate there is this momma gorilla with her baby (just a statue!). It is a given that everyone sits there and had a cuddle at some point in their visit.

Next we saw these big tortises. This one was eating his breakfast! It is ages away from the fence, and totally HUGE!

The boys liked the rhino butt pointing at them.. made me think of that song... "I like big butts..." you know the one!!

The most amazing thing happened when we stopped for a drink.. (we were waiting for the nocturnal house to open) Tricia the elephant walked right by us on her morning walk.. I have never seen an elephant so close before, and she was beautiful!

The boys thought it was icypole time.. it was warm, and only 10am!

Then on for a ride of the carousel!

Here are those tortises again.. all be it statues of them! Another "must have" photo at the zoo.

Here are Jasper and Ray at the orangutang enclosure.. There is a cheeky little monkey hanging in the background. They were all just chilling out because of the heat.

We stopped at the park area for a sit, and to let the kids play. Here they are at the water area... jasper was trying to drink the water, and Ray was posing!!
Here are Ray, Helen and Jasper at the end of the zoo trip.

We had a great time, and Jasper was totally exhausted after this..

Jasper has his next blood test due on the 19th January, so I will post again then!!

Thanks for checking in on us, remember to leave a message, Jasper loves reading them!

Brooke