Family

Wednesday 6 June

If yesterday was a pretty hefty day, today augurs rather well as off this morning. Hearty breakfast and more active conversation as we partake of it. "Shall we go for a walk downtown?", I suggested. Lara caught on immediately. Perhaps a visit to the family, she proposed, ignoring the rainy weather in Brussels. "The family", down on Chaussee de Waterloo, is her personal reference to the likes of Ferragamo, Chanel, Versace, Vuitton and Gucci, who have all opened shop around there. And, she continued, maybe a second cappuccino, and some light lunch involving a crunchy salad. I am game!, I said. And we continued our virtual tour.

There was another reason, besides indulging in phantasy, to imagine herself out of bed and out of the house. Something is wrong with her inflatable mattress; it doesn't alternate anymore, as it is supposed to in order to prevent bed sores. Already red markings are noticeable on Lara's back, as the nurses have reported for two days now. It is uncomfortable. I lowered the air pressure, making the bed much softer, while waiting for the company to pass buy and fix their material. As she is in bed most of the day and night, and on her back, a comfortable mattress is key to her well-being. As it happened, the company came by around 3:00PM and exchanged the air pump. It now works fine.

The nurses took another blood sample this morning and the lab courier came by the house to pick it up. Around 3:00PM I received the results back through Doctor Willemot, our GP. Red blood cells down to 1860 (was 2360 on Saturday), hemoglobin down to 5.3 (was 7.0), WBC 2250 (up from 1600), neutrophils 23%, lymphocytes 40%, platelets 0.02. The most worrisome is the hemoglobin level. As soon as it dips below 4.0, Lara is unlikely to wake up anymore. At least that is my understanding. It has descended from 8.2 one week ago. I take into account that her last transfusion was two weeks ago. Still, if the dip is projected as a linear one, it is hard to see Lara live beyond the weekend, all things remaining equal. Then again, I am not the doctor.

Willemot completed her own visit around 11:30AM and was not unhappy with Lara's overall condition, quite apart from the quality of her blood. Blood pressure 9 over 5. Main problem is still the coughing (la toux), and how to keep it in check and how to avoid reflux.

Tomorrow morning Professor Wilfried Schroyens, hematologist, chef de clinique at the University Hospital of Antwerp, will pass by and examine Lara. He will have himself briefed in advance by his colleagues at Saint Luc. He is the brother of our homeopath, Frederik Schroyens. A last minute effort.