Every time we go to the clinic, they draw Eli's blood and send it down to the lab. The lab technicians test the levels of the different components of his blood and send back a report. The doctor looks at the report of the blood counts to monitor his health and determine whether his ANC …
If you recall the notes exchanged between Eli and the Candy King, you may be as entertained by them as I was. Two weeks ago, Eli wrote another message to the "Candy King", his oncologist's boyfriend. Dr. Schneller gave permission to use names, so we will now call her boyfriend by his actual name: David.Two …
Last year, we were still adjusting to the whole cancer thing during Thanksgiving and Christmas. So, I admit, all these holidays bring back memories from last year, starting with Halloween. It seems like I see everything through the lense of pre-cancer and post-cancer diagnosis. The nice thing about this year, is we are back to …
After practicing accessing Eli's port the last few weeks with only mediocre results, I finally got a compliment from Eli on today's access. It didn't hurt him (or me) at all.
If you managed to make it to the end of my last post, you may be wondering how things ended up with Noah. Let's start with Eli's milestone. Celebrating a Milestone A common event in many children's hospitals when a child has completed their cancer treatment is a bell ringing celebration. Eli officially finished his …
Continue reading Sometimes I like being right and Celebrating a Milestone
This time, Eli didn't eat anything and I remembered to give him a Zofran to, hopefully, prevent his throwing up when they make him drink the stuff before the scan. We haven't heard that the machine is down, so that's good. We are waiting for a port access, then we'll go downstairs to imaging.
I am in a couple cancer related support groups on Facebook. One is for moms of kids with cancer, Momcology. The other is a group specific to Eli's type of cancer, Rhabdomyosarcoma. One common theme that comes up is something the parents in these groups call "scanxiety", the anxiety felt while waiting for the outcome …
Eli opted for Irinotecan in cranberry juice. After consulting with the pharmacist, I prepared the supplies, but forgot put on gloves until I was in the middle of adding half of the syringe of medication into 30 ml (2 tablespoons) of the juice, but I pressed forward. While swirling the contents to try and mix …
Continue reading Crash and Burn (part 2) or Rising from the Ashes
For a while now, I've been thinking of writing a post that describes what cancer is like for Eli and our family. I had preconceived notions about cancer and treatment before we got to experience it up close and personal, so it isn't surprising when others we talk to have questions. Elaine's preconceived notion #1: …
Yes, this is the second post of the day and we are still at the hospital, waiting for the last scan (this was written about 7pm). A clear scan of Eli's foot will make today's happiness complete (of course we won't have the report today, so I'll assume that no tumor is left in his …
Eli The Boss 