Colin has set a new record for readmission, though fortunately not because of a sudden deterioration of his condition. On Wednesday afternoon, I drove Dad and Aidan to the airport for a quick trip home to see family and friends. After returning to the hospital, I packed up Colin and brought him back to Target House.
He had been sleeping all day and pretty much all the day before, but we are assuming that his exhaustion is related to the recovery of his bone marrow. After six days with an ANC of 0, we eagerly awaited a resurgence in his blood production.
On Wednesday, his ANC jumped to 300, giving him a ticket home for the holiday. Even though he can’t eat turkey, it was nice to be able to spend that time out. After all, next Tuesday he is scheduled for readmission following the placement of a new subcutaneous port and then the start of round 4 of chemo.
Heading for Trouble?
Colin was definitely better yet still not perky on Wednesday, yet we were deterimined to spring him free. Our confidence in doing so was in large part due to a CT scan performed on Tuesday. We had become increasingly concerned about Colin’s irritability, lethargy, and complaints of pain, particularly in the head.
The pain broke through a higher dose of morphine, and he was unable or unwilling to engage us or be very responsive at all. In the first months of treatment, we were constantly vigilant for hydrocephalus, and he had failed to exhibit other classic symptoms, such as vomiting and papilledema, when he was initially diagnosed. Given his history, it was difficult to look at his condition and not wonder whether the problem was in his head — literally, not figuratively.
The CT scan revealed tha
nice video : ) colin is so cute with the food! he will be sooo happy when he is able to eat real foods again! miss you guys!!
im glad you and he enjoyed a nice, if non-traditional, thanksgiving day : ) oxox
I was so happy to read “laugh and play”. I had a bit of trouble with the video. I right clicked on everything in sight ( my generic computer solution ) but to no avail. Then, as I began typing this note I heard you voice. As I tried to zip up to the video, my computer protested wouldn’t cooperate, but after some frustrating moments and a spilled cup of tea, I made it to the video.What a delight! No wonder all the nurses have crushes on Colin! He is such a cutie and I love seeing him smile and show interest in his “food”. Love to the whole family. I hope Ian and Aidan had a good trip home. And good news about the port. I’m sure you’ll keep us all updated. Love again, Diana
Please tell Colin that his uncle already misses him a lot, if you thank it is ok to tell him. When I read the title for this latest report I was a little scared, but I am reassured to hear the positive stuff. Speaking of stuff, I sure hope you had something decent to eat on the Holiday. Bless you all.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and Colin. We were very thankful to see Ian and Aidan the day after thanksgiving. We obviously missed you and Colin a lot. Thank you again for the update and the video of Colin. I do miss him a lot and it gives me a chance to be with him in spirit.
Please let me know if you need anything over there Tamiko. May be some yummy snacks?
Love and prayers to you and your family. Riye & Family
Karen, thanks for the encouragement and the note about the link. I did update that. 🙂
Wonderful video, he’s looking so much better!! Looks like he enjoys cooking as much as my shorty does. All the best from Caitlin, Matthias, and me.
Hi guys — thanks for the thanksgiving day update. Glad to hear that Aidan got home for a while. By the way, your 5k race link isn’t working. I found the site manually, but you might want to fix it for the less ambitious.
love,
karen