I’m starting to despise the number 0.1. 🙂 Eli’s little body just isn’t recovering and making it’s own stem cells. One thing he has going against him is the fact that he is still having positive blood cultures, which means he is trying to fight off infections. Every night he has a low grade fever and every morning I’m changing his sheets because they are soaked with sweat. They have just about maxed his antibiotics and have now started him on an antifungal to try to cover their bases with what might be going on in his blood.
They went ahead and made the decision to give him a boost of his own stem cells tomorrow morning. From what I understand, it’s very anticlimactic. The doctor walks in with a syringe full of stem cells and pushes it through Eli’s line. Pretty high tech. Hopefully part of the comedic effect of that statement is in the fact that I just ignored the amazing technology that allows us to even have a bank of Eli’s stem cells available for use. They say that it will take at least a week for the stem cells to have that “boost” effect in Eli’s body so that he will start replicating his cells and get out of being neutropenic. Another week of being inpatient, YES! Sorry, I’m feeling particularly sarcastic tonight I guess.
Eli was in pretty darn good spirits today. We laughed quite a bit and overall he seemed to be less “withdrawn” and quiet. I don’t like it when he gets quiet because I can’t tell what he’s thinking and I’m afraid he just sits there and contemplates his situation with frustration. Some of you are thinking “Oh come on, he’s a 3 year old” and some of you are thinking, “I can definitely see Eli doing that.” The former have not been following this CarePage long enough. 🙂 Sometimes I am really blown away with the conversations he and I have.
Last night I was up until 5am chatting with and playing the Wii with our roommate Charles (we both brought our Wiis to the hospital). This morning I woke up to find that Charles wasn’t neutropenic anymore and was being released! He promised to come back and visit us during his scan day on Wednesday, though. It was really interesting for me to talk to someone about cancer from a different perspective. I’m always talking to other parents in reference to our kids. He was talking from personal experience about himself. His surgery is the 30th of January, so please remember to pray for Charles, his friends/family, and his surgeon that day.
I think I’m done wearing camo cargo pants with my harley t-shirt and a ballcap. I was asked if I was Eli’s brother THREE TIMES today by various people. In their hasty backpeddling, they claim it’s a compliment, but really I think it’s more of a compliment when you’re 40 and people think you look 30. I don’t see the flattery in someone thinking I’m enjoying my right to vote for the very first time this year. 🙂 I just thought everyone might enjoy a little humor at my expense today.
If you want a food review, I have a quick one. Go to the “Wok ‘n Roll” Chinese joint (I am NOT making that name up) on the corner of 68th and 1st Ave on a particularly dry day and order the Lo Mein. It makes a fabulous chap stick for your lips by the time you’re done eating it. Yes, it’s that greasy. Oh, and take cash, they don’t “have one of those machines” to take a credit card. How they have such prime real estate in Manhattan I have no idea, but Eli loves their noodles and they are a 3 minute walk from the hospital, so what are you going to do?
All joking aside, I have yet a final prayer request for tonight. A cousin of mine (Angie) and her husband (Josh) lost their two and a half month old during a surgery that was trying to repair his Esophageal Atresia today. They are great parents and Angie said it best tonight, “While we are grieving deeply for the loss of our son we have a peace. A peace in knowing that Elliot is in heaven with our Lord and is in no more pain.”
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