Our poor little guy is really miserable today. He woke up with warm skin, so I was thankful it was clinic day and hed get checked out. Pattons doctor had x-rays taken of his chest and head. He has ear and sinus infections, but as of now no sight of pneumonia. These infections are slight but are still being treated hastily. Chemotherapy treatments are highly effective against cancerous cells, but along with the bad cells they also take the good infection fighters. This makes it difficult for oncology patients to fight infections, so at the sight of anything abnormal, infections are treated quickly to prevent them from getting worse. We haul Patton in with a temp of 100.5°. Along with two doses of chemo this morning, Patton also received a heavy dose of Rocephin (antibiotic) via his port. The doctor chose to use this one intravenously to minimize the risk of causing C Diff (a nasty gut bacteria that thrives when oral antibiotics are taken for other infections). Just since last week, the little guys ANC (absolute neutrophil count: infection fighters in the blood) plummeted from 3,300 down to 200. Because he is now severely neutropenic and has almost no immune system, our home is under lockdown, the washing machine is running like crazy, and the Clorox wipes are flying. We are careful about not feeding him leftovers, heating sandwich meat to steaming, and washing produce with vinegar...just to name a few. Like a friend said today, we now lead a very unnatural lifestyle. There are so many visible things that demand attention (laundry, bills, dishes, meals, etc.) and now we have to deal with invisible things (germs). It is truly mentally challenging, but we know that our exhaustion means a safer environment for our son when his immune system cannot deal with these microscopic organisms like the rest of us whose immune systems just work. Please pray for a quick recovery for Patton. Hes already dealt with so much nausea this past week, and each cough has him thinking its another pukie feeling and he needs to grab a bowl. Please, also, thank God for Pattons doctor and his nurse. I cannot express how grateful we are for these two women and their choice of profession. Each day they take care of little ones with cancer. It absolutely cannot be easy, but they smile, they love and care for them all, and they are helping families through some of their toughest journeys. I pray for them continually and ask that you all please do the same. ***Patton just burst out of his mini recliner, told me he was going to have more macaroni and cheese, and is now destructing a box in the living room and making a ramp for his brothers car race. Thank you, God...I think the antibiotics and Tylenol have shown their blessing!!!
Posted on: Mon, 11 Aug 2014 22:33:59 +0000
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