We should be going home today as planned. After speaking with the Oncologist, we decided last night to 'refuse' the steroid Henry has been on in favor of sleep over nausea control. It seemed a good gamble and has paid off. Its 7:30 am and he's been down since 11pm last night. His last drug is finishing, Cisplatin. He then has 8 hours of fluid to clear that out.
Better rest was good for everyone. Last night as he was winding down, he said, "Daddy, I was thinking about griving my cruck." He's definitely looking forward to going home. This cycle was so much easier than the first. The worst thing for Henry was taking his oral constipation medicine. The worst thing for Tara and I was the lack of sleep and the mood that ensued. So all and all a 'good' chemotherapy cycle - so far. We'll hope for no fever and smooth sailing until after Christmas. It will be nice to all be at home for Sophie's birthday tomorrow too.
Yesterday as I was waiting out the bandage change in the parent's lounge (it was my turn to play the 'can you handle this one?' card) a woman was telling me her story of their recent admittance to the hospital of her grand daughter with acute leukemia. I've become pretty good at listening to these stories without getting too worked up. There are just so many of them. This time though, the similarities were enough that her story gave me vivid reminders of some of the whirlwind that we'd been through initially. It was tough to see them and know of their heartbreak at this moment and it grounded me in our reality again. It's amazing what we can acclimate to.
One thing hanging over our heads right now will be the head and spine MRI which we presume will be done just before the third cycle begins to determine the effectiveness of the treatments to date. While we're not looking forward to the high-dose chemotherapy (cycles 4-6), as its very hard on the children who receive it, it is a necessary treatment if we want the best chance of long-term survival. The MRI will determine if the current chemotherapy is making sufficient headway to proceed.
For now, we'll pack up our stuff in the hospital and play the waiting game which is discharge. That's a game definitely worth playing!
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5 comments:
Good timing HENRY. Sophie will be glad to have you home for her birthday - and so will everyone else.
Cruckie and SOCKS can race in the cul-de-sac.
So glad to hear that Henry will be going home!!! May it be an uneventfull day for you all. I'm sure Henry will be very happy to be home again. Your family is in our thoughts and prayers.
Margie
Most BLESSED news. Here's to the Peace abiding in your lives for the holiday season that the Christ child brings! Laura Kangas, Glade UCC
That's such great news to hear that u all r coming home. Henry, eat lots of cake at ur sister birthday, u deserve some sugar to go with all those bags of chips.
Hope u have a safe trip home!!!!
Love,
Shelly
Hope you got home OK today. Enjoy the birthday party time with Sophie! We will pray hard for those 4 - 6 rounds of Chemo that he will do very well! Before that though, we will pray for great results on the MRI!
Enjoy the time at home!! and MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Cousin Susan H.
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