Simon is back in the hospital getting another transfusion. His billirubin has fallen more to 3.8 which is great, but his PCV fell to 13 today. He was still eating some on his own (and I was syringing him as well) but his energy level dropped precipitously so i brought him to the local vet for a quick PCV check and it was at 13 (it was 15 when he was discharged on Thursday afternoon and had been 15 since his last transfusion on Tuesday morning-- a few days before that it had been 36, well within normal range). I called the hospital and they said I could bring him in for a second transfusion. That was at 11 a.m. I got there before 12. They had us wait until 3:30 until they would take him. I reminded them he needs syringe feeding. I was told he needed his transfusion first and then would be fed. I called 4 times between 4:30 and 8 pm and kept being told that the vet would call me before she left (she was supposed to leave at 6 and a new vet come in) and I needed to wait to talk to her rather than get update info from a tech. A little after 9 I called again and was told the vet had left and that he had not started his transfusion yet or been fed! At my insistence, they did put a tech on the phone, who said his PCV is now 12-- it dropped again in the 9 hours he has been waiting for the transfusion. And they have not fed him yet. I am furious, frustrated, and very scared. It is fantastic that his billirubin has come down so much, but without nutrition it could go back up. And the fall in his PCV is very frightening. I wanted him to get the transfusion before it fell more, since the first one only raised his PCV by 2 points. He needs to make it to his chemo treatment on Monday and be strong enough to get it, or it is all over. I have asked repeatedly about Epogen and was told by the internist that it would not help him, but no one has told me that he is not producing any rbc's at all, so I am not clear on why. Maybe he isn't.
Has anyone had their cat's PCV fall this quickly from lymphoma in the bone marrow and then manage to turn around? If so, how? Please send vigorous prayers and thoughts to Simon-- I think it helped him before. Thanks, Michelle
