Yesterday's CBC's (Blood test) showed that Cris will need a blood transfusion tomorrow (some of his counts were low). We'll be in the hospital bright and early and we expect to spend the day there. He is so over this whole ordeal and I can't blame him. He can't do what he wants, he can't eat what he wants, he can't go out in crowded places, he can't swim or ride a bike. In other words; he can't be a 5-year-old boy. When this whole thing is over, we're going to have to make up for an entire Summer.
xoxo
Adina
My Boys
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Nick's Birthday, Chemo and July
This past Wednesday Nick turned 15, which is really interesting since I'm only 21 :-) Happy Belated Birthday Nick!!
Cris finished his last round of chemo before the transplant. This time the chemo didn't hit him so hard which is a huge relief because last time he was sick for a week after chemo. This week coming up is going to be relatively calm, we only have to go in 2-3 times this week for CBC's (blood counts). The following week is when it's going to start getting hectic. Because the last chemo had to be delayed, they also have to delay the stem cell harvesting by one day. He's doing the harvesting on the 6th, 7th and possibly 8th of July and he isn't being admitted!! They are going to use the temp line he uses for chemo so that he won't have to have another surgery to install a collection line in his groin.The week of the 11th he has about 3 appointments every single day for various exams and procedures (EKG, Dental, scans, Echo,etc). The week of the 18th he is being admitted. Radiation starts the 19th (3x daily from the 19th-22nd). On the 23rd-24th he has high dose chemo. On the 25th-26th he has a different high dose chemo. He gets a break on the 27th and the transplant is on the 28th. The transplant doctor explained that the transplant itself was an injection given through the temp line (which he uses for chemo). I was a little shocked to hear that, I thought it would be a surgical procedure. The good news is that Cris is able to use his own bone marrow since it didn't have any malignant cell involvement. This will make it less likely for his body to reject the transplant. Just in case he can't use his own bone marrow, we found out that Nicholas is an EXACT 10 point match!! Dr. Trippett said that usually siblings will only match the first 6 points, and rarely match the last 4 points. She said that it is pretty rare to find a perfect match by a sibling. We were worried because only 40% of patients needing a transplant find a suitable donor. The odds are worse for ethnic minorities. Now we have a plan B!!
On Friday I was able to check out the Ronald McDonald House where I'll be showering and doing laundry while Cris is in the hospital. I'll be able to stay in the hospital with him; he is going to have a private room with a fold-out bed for me, but I'll have to be in scrubs/mask/gloves/hair net while I am in the room with him and I can't use his shower/bathroom. He won't really be able to have visitors for several weeks while his immune system recovers.
Cris finished his last round of chemo before the transplant. This time the chemo didn't hit him so hard which is a huge relief because last time he was sick for a week after chemo. This week coming up is going to be relatively calm, we only have to go in 2-3 times this week for CBC's (blood counts). The following week is when it's going to start getting hectic. Because the last chemo had to be delayed, they also have to delay the stem cell harvesting by one day. He's doing the harvesting on the 6th, 7th and possibly 8th of July and he isn't being admitted!! They are going to use the temp line he uses for chemo so that he won't have to have another surgery to install a collection line in his groin.The week of the 11th he has about 3 appointments every single day for various exams and procedures (EKG, Dental, scans, Echo,etc). The week of the 18th he is being admitted. Radiation starts the 19th (3x daily from the 19th-22nd). On the 23rd-24th he has high dose chemo. On the 25th-26th he has a different high dose chemo. He gets a break on the 27th and the transplant is on the 28th. The transplant doctor explained that the transplant itself was an injection given through the temp line (which he uses for chemo). I was a little shocked to hear that, I thought it would be a surgical procedure. The good news is that Cris is able to use his own bone marrow since it didn't have any malignant cell involvement. This will make it less likely for his body to reject the transplant. Just in case he can't use his own bone marrow, we found out that Nicholas is an EXACT 10 point match!! Dr. Trippett said that usually siblings will only match the first 6 points, and rarely match the last 4 points. She said that it is pretty rare to find a perfect match by a sibling. We were worried because only 40% of patients needing a transplant find a suitable donor. The odds are worse for ethnic minorities. Now we have a plan B!!
On Friday I was able to check out the Ronald McDonald House where I'll be showering and doing laundry while Cris is in the hospital. I'll be able to stay in the hospital with him; he is going to have a private room with a fold-out bed for me, but I'll have to be in scrubs/mask/gloves/hair net while I am in the room with him and I can't use his shower/bathroom. He won't really be able to have visitors for several weeks while his immune system recovers.
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Round 2 of Chemo
This Tuesday Cris will begin the second round of chemo in preparation for his bone marrow transplant in July. He will have chemo on Tuesday, Wednesday (Nick's birthday) and Thursday. We'll be home by Thursday evening and he will get to spend the next few days at home! We go back the following week for blood work and checkups.
July is going to be very busy. The first week he will be admitted for 2-3 days for the stem cell harvesting. He gets to spend a few days at home, and then, on the 18th he will be admitted for about 45 days for the bone marrow transplant. During that time he will be in isolation, which is going to be hard for him. He won't be able to have visitors during that time and he is going to have to be confined to his room. Since so many people have asked me what he likes, we created a registry at Toys R Us under his name (please don't feel obligated to buy him anything--we only did this to make things easier because several people have been asking--seriously, we don't expect everybody to buy him things--but, if you really want to buy something, remember, I like diamonds and platinum ;-))
We told him that he is going to be in the hospital for his birthday and now he wants to celebrate his birthday every single weekend until he is admitted and again after he is sent home. We celebrated Nick's 15th birthday yesterday and Cris was upset because we didn't sing him (Cris) Happy Birthday. We decided to compromise; on July 15th we're going to take him to see Harry Potter at the Drive-In (he won't be able to go to a regular theater) and this winter, after his immune system has had a chance to recover, we're going to take him to the Great Wolf Lodge (since he can't swim this summer).
Adina
July is going to be very busy. The first week he will be admitted for 2-3 days for the stem cell harvesting. He gets to spend a few days at home, and then, on the 18th he will be admitted for about 45 days for the bone marrow transplant. During that time he will be in isolation, which is going to be hard for him. He won't be able to have visitors during that time and he is going to have to be confined to his room. Since so many people have asked me what he likes, we created a registry at Toys R Us under his name (please don't feel obligated to buy him anything--we only did this to make things easier because several people have been asking--seriously, we don't expect everybody to buy him things--but, if you really want to buy something, remember, I like diamonds and platinum ;-))
We told him that he is going to be in the hospital for his birthday and now he wants to celebrate his birthday every single weekend until he is admitted and again after he is sent home. We celebrated Nick's 15th birthday yesterday and Cris was upset because we didn't sing him (Cris) Happy Birthday. We decided to compromise; on July 15th we're going to take him to see Harry Potter at the Drive-In (he won't be able to go to a regular theater) and this winter, after his immune system has had a chance to recover, we're going to take him to the Great Wolf Lodge (since he can't swim this summer).
Adina
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Chemo
The first week in June would have been Cristian's one year cancer free anniversary; instead, it was the week he went back on chemo. This new chemo he is on is very different from what he was on last year. He had a bit of a rough time with it, but he only has one more cycle to go before the bone marrow transplant. The next few weeks are going to be very busy, as they prepare him for the transplant (and the lengthy hospital stay). He's angry about all of this, especially since he thought last time would truly be the last time. I can't blame him for being angry, this whole situation sucks.
Thanks for all of the love and support,
Adina
Thanks for all of the love and support,
Adina
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Good News Today
Cris got all dressed up and had a great time at the pediatric prom today!! I even got him to dance!
We also got some good news; the cancer didn't spread to the bone marrow or spinal fluid and it looks like Cris will be able to use his own bone marrow for the transplant, which makes things easier.
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