The best laid plans....Blah Blah Blah

For those of you who haven't heard, my grandson Charles Owen Katula was born last Thursday.  Both Vic and I tried our best to time our visits out east in order to be there for his birth.  I went out a little early and Vic stayed a little later.  Unfortunately, we both missed his arrival.  We were able to see him via the computer but it wasn't enough.  I had to hold this boy!  Vic had this week off and I have everyday off so the choice was simple....ROAD TRIP!  That's right, we decided we would drive out to Baltimore, stay a couple of days, meet our grandson and get back for the weekend.  The only thing I needed to do is change my blood work appointment from Thursday to today so we could leave early on Wednesday.  The oncology department was able to change my appointment, and I was able to get my numbers today.  This is where the "best laid plan" part comes into play.  My numbers were not good at all.  The two major things we look at, in order to mark my progress, are platelet count and tumor marker. My platelet count is at the lowest it has ever been at 38 and my tumor marker went up 20 points to 137.  Based on these numbers the Oncologist feels I am to sick to travel.  He said he doesn't know exactly why my platelets are so low and feels there is a good chance they may go lower.  The chance of me having an internal bleed is just to great for him to allow me to leave the area.  The tumor marker increase is much easier to explain, the tumors are actively growing again.  It seems like we are going to have a battle over what is the right balance of chemo drugs vs tumors vs platelets.  This could take some time and I pray for guidance and patience.  I am devastated that I cannot hug and kiss my grandson now, but I know God will allow me to see him soon.  So in the meantime, I have to be satisfied with pictures and FaceTime in order to get my "Owen fix" and believe me he is cute enough to pull it off.  Keep praying!