Fewer Blogs = Good Days

10/10/2011: 3:30 PM

I apologize for doing a poor job at keeping up with the blog. When Davis is well and his ANC is high enough, we sqeak in as many normal activities as possible. We have been busy lately. 

a young monet, perhaps?

Recap of last week . . . Davis had a great week.  He was able to get up early on Wednesday to attend his first student student council meeting.  The group is getting ready to fundraise for polio. He decorated his "Pennies for Polio" can a few days ago.  He sure has been completing a lot of projects as of late. After school, we ran to Sarah Bush for bloodwork before rushing back to Charleston for his painting class.  He finished his Monet-style watercolor painting.  He began feeling ill shortly after eating supper, so we ended our evening there. I had a hunch that his blood might be a bit off since his energy and appetite dropped off drastically.

field trip fun

Thursday finally arrived. We had to get up super early to go to school because Davis and his class had a field trip to the Challenger Space Center in Bloomington. While the teachers awaited for all of the students to arrive, I armed myself with a bucket of Lysol and bleach water and wiped down all of the seats of the bus. I worked up a sweat at 6:20 in the morning. I rode with a few other mothers as we followed the bus up. The field trip was amazing. I had just as much fun as the kids did. Davis actually thinks he went into outerspace. If you are not familiar with the Challenger Space Center, the kids are given jobs similar to what Mission Control and astronauts would have. Then, they go into this simulated space shuttle to try to complete a mission. They have to read gauges, report humidity, put together a probe, communicate with mission control, measure items using robotics, etc. It was very hands-on. The afternoon consisted of hands-on lessons in physics - a concept hard for 5th graders to understand. The kids were so well-behaved and everyone seemed to really enjoy themselves. 

Friday was supposed to be a quick trip to St. Louis. Our appointment was at 10 A.M. The only chemo Davis was to receive was a push through his port (basically a shot in an IV) and a 45-minute platelet transfusion.  Normal platelet levels are between 150-400. On Friday, Davis was at 8. Yikes! Unfortunately, Davis can only have a certain type of platelets because of his blood type and the hospital was out of matching platelets. They had to be ordered from the Red Cross, and the Red Cross truck didn't arrive with the platelets until 2:00 PM. No real complaints though. We just hung out in the chemo lounge. Davis played on the computer and I did a lot of nothing. We were finally on our way home a little after 3 P.M.  So much for a short day. 

I can't believe I did that to him

We pulled into the driveway on Friday evening around 6 P.M. Davis and Annakate were flitting about the car. I was barking orders to help carrying in the collection of stuff that had made it from the house to the car over the course of the last couple of days. I loaded myself down with backpacks, a computer bag, my purse, a blanket and pillow, and used my hip to shut the door to the car. Before I knew it, I was flat on the pavement. Davis, who was experiencing some car sickness, had stepped out of the car and kneeled down in the driveway to allow his dizziness to pass. Obviously, I didn't see him and tripped right over him. Figures. Just when the doctor warns us about his low platelets and no bumps, scrapes, or hits. . . Davis was fine. I did call the doctor because within seconds - not minutes - seconds, the bruises started to appear.  Poor guy. His legs look horrible, but thankfully, they don't hurt. He gets a kick out of showing people his bruises.  He says, "Hey, look what my mom did to me." 

a turtle and a pig

Davis's appetite increase was short lived and he has fallen back into his pattern of not eating or drinking very much. He was back down to 59 lbs. from 61 lbs. the previous week.  Kyle has challenged him to weighing 70 pounds by Christmas, but that seems a bit out of reach at this point. 

Davis enjoyed pottery on Saturday.  He ran out of time to glaze his turtle because he is in the process of making a piggy bank.  Definitely a work in progress.  

We found out on Friday that Davis is to avoid pumpkin patches, straw, hay, and farming in general. There are many molds that grow on those things and on dead leaves and such around this time of year, and those molds and fungi are what cause serious lung infections in children with suppressed immune systems.  Davis complained quite a bit when he found out that he couldn't go to the pumpkin patches he has gone to his entire life, but so be it. There will be next year. 

pennies for polio project

Davis starts the next phase in the consolidation phase this week. It is shorter (41 days) but appears to be harder. He will have chemo on Thursday and Friday of this week. He will receive methotrexate (a chemo Davis doesn't particularly do well with) through his port and via spinal in addition to other chemo on Thursday. On Friday, he will receive another set of Peg shots.  If his counts (ANC and platelets) aren't high enough for treatment, chemo will be postponed for a week.

We will keep you posted.