Sunday, November 4, 2007

Taking Turns

After a nice day with the family and friends, I returned early to the hospital to relieve Tara. She had an OK night with him, a bit restless from the sound of it. Henry seemed uncomfortable. Today was Tara's turn for a solid night's sleep and some recuperation.

Henry was tolerant today of the normal nurse check-in's, but began to experience a side effect of the Vincristine. Apparently after about 60 - 90 hours, patients begin to experience pain in the jaw. It came on quickly, but we noticed as he ate his breakfast he was holding his head in his hands. A bit of Tylenol and some Dora videos quelled this for a time, but Henry decided the pain was not worth eating through. While he wanted to, he didn't really eat much today. We decorated the walls with many of your cards and a couple of coloring pages and had some quiet time in front of a movie. Early in the afternoon, the pain management folks supplemented the Tylenol with a narcotic, oxycodone, and he felt better, ate a little and talked up a storm to my visiting mother.

Tara spent the afternoon with the girls and her mom, watching Anna's soccer game and catching up on errands after a family dinner. Time well spent. I'm hopeful for a restful night for her - waking up at home should be rejuvenating.

Tomorrow the first dose of chemotherapy medicines should be cleared of Henry's system and we'll start with the next one.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey, guys. Thinking of you all with lots of love and prayers. You are strong people. Love ya, Cousin Fran

Anonymous said...

Tara & Bryan,
Henry, the girls, and you are in my thoughts and prayers.
Sending all my love,

Lakshmi

Anonymous said...

Hi, Henry. I hope your head feels better today. Tell your daddy to give you lots of hugs from me. You are a very brave little boy and when you come home I will wear a funny mask and visit you. If you will eat them, I will make you some cinnamon buns. Lots of love from MizMaury

Anonymous said...

Hello,
I don't know any of you, but a co-worker of mine told me about Henry.
I just wanted to let you know we have him and all of his family on our prayer list at church and will be praying everyday for all of you.

Anonymous said...

Hello everyone,

My name is Ramona and just yesterday I visited with Grandma Gudenkauf at church. She spoke to me of the difficult situation your family is currently experiencing. I am familiar with this kind of turmoil. Nothing is more painful than watching your child fight an illness and feeling helpless and unable to tell them that everything is going to be O.K. However, please remember one thing; good things really do happen. Our daughter, Rhett, was diagnosed with brain cancer right after her 4th birthday. Today Rhett is 11 yrs. old, in the 6th grade, and is a happy, healty, vibrant young lady.
Children are resilient. They are better "fighters" than most adults. Henry is an absolute "cutie-pie" with the most beautiful smile as is evident from your photos. What a wonderful family you have! Please be strong, try to remain positive (even on the roller-coaster days), keep the faith, and we will continue to keep Henry, your family, and Henry's doctors in our prayers. God bless all of you.

Erin said...

Hi Bryan, Tara, and family,

I just wanted you to know that I think about you guys every single day. I love the pictures of your kiddos! All three of them are precious. I hope Henry is feeling better and I will continue to pray for him and all of you.

Love,
Erin (Pryor) Gollogly

Unknown said...

Bryan - You probably don't remember me, but we graduated together. Kim (Bohle) Eichelberger forwarded your initial e-mail to me and I've been following Henry's story ever since. I've put him on our prayer list at church and we pray for him every Tuesday at my exercise class. I certainly can't tell you I understand what you're going through, but I'm thinking about you and your family every day. I have twins that are the same age as Henry, and I don't know how I would handle it if I were in your shoes. I applaud you for your strength and courage. Take care and know that I will continue to keep Henry and your family in my prayers. Kristi (Moser) Glass

Anonymous said...

Bryan, Thanx for keeping us up to date on Henry's condition.
Please give all your girls, and that special guy-- hugs from the krause house.