Leaving the clinic The basic conclusion at this point is we don't know what it is. There are benign possibilities, so we are hoping for one of those. But we have a plan to figure it out. The Plan: First, move up the scans that were supposed to be the beginning of June. PET/CT is …
Eli's port removal surgery went spectacles well. The actual surgery was only 11 minutes. They called me from the post op recovery area, and said that he was waking up but they weren't sure how lucid he waa because he kept repeating himself. I talked to him and he kept saying how determined he was, …
Eli came down with a fever on Sunday, so we got to make a trip to the emergency department at the hospital since he still has a port. They had people inside the entrance to greet us with questions about symptoms and pump hand sanitizer on our hands and give out masks for those who …
With the scans having gone well and the port removal surgery scheduled, I thought we'd breeze through this last bit without problems. Sadly, this has turned out not to be the case. Three weeks ago, Tabitha, age 5, came down with a virus of some sort that gave her croup. I had her with me …
The kids like to try and catch Leprechauns each year on St. Patrick's Day. This year, they set out the traps they worked on earlier today. This is what they came up with: Gold coins to lure the leprechaun into a box too deep to escape A gold coin that can't be removed (maybe leprechauns …
Continue reading Leprechaun traps, Port removal, and COVID 19
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 …
Eli's brother Noah, of the infamous Thyroglossal Duct Cyst, is now in surgery to have it removed. That cute Adam's apple style lump will be no more. Here I am with Noah in pre-op. It was a long wait. His surgery was scheduled for late afternoon and got started late, as I expected because what …
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
As Eli continues with his chemo regimen, he is managing to enjoy his summer. His doctor approved of Eli swimming, with certain limitations, but lifted the time limit in the water once Eli's incision had healed more. In fact, the incision scab looks like it is finally gone. While the foot itself is still tender, …
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
Eli The Boss 