This Isn't the Vacation We'd Imagined

2/29/2012: 10:48 AM

Happy Leap Day!

Well, now that we are over the disappointment of not being in Hawaii (or on the way to Hawaii) right now, we are thankful that Davis spiked his fever before we were on a nine hour flight or hours upon hours away from St. Louis. Plus, Annakate developed quite a rash on Monday. Kyle took her to the doctor on Tuesday morning (Yes, that makes five doctor visits in three months if you are counting.), and she has Fifth's Disease, which is a pretty common viral infection that has been plaguing the elementary school this year. Could you imagine two sick children - one in the hospital - in Hawaii? 

Due to a Benadryl dose at 8:00 AM every morning, Davis sleeps most of the morning away. When he does wake, he eats lunch and then we look for ways to kill time. Mostly, he plays his DS or writes stories or creates powerpoints (sure signs that he is missing school). In the evening, we watch movies on hulu and eat popcorn. He doesn't fall asleep until well after midnight. There goes our routine.

Davis had just been given Benadryl before eating the pizza I made him.
He had to eat it with his eyes closed. He was too tired to eat with his eyes open.

For one hour every day, Davis is allowed to go to the Playroom. Of course, it is after it is closed and has been cleaned for the day. Since Davis doesn't have an ANC, he isn't allowed to go many places. He is confined to his room or the floor with a mask. He can go down to the playroom for one hour if he wears his mask, but some of the staff still didn't like the idea. So he gets one hour to play in the playroom with me - only me. We usually play Wii (and I think that gets old because I am really horrible at some of the games Davis likes) or do art projects.

Wii

He created a pretty cool dinosaur picture.

Davis has been fever-free since we arrived. All of the cultures are negative, meaning he doesn't have a port infection. The doctors don't have an answer as to what caused the fever on Sunday. A couple of theories. . . A neutropenic fever. This happens when the body's counts are critically low. A fever is a natural response to this. A viral infection. He doesn't have any real symptoms of a virus, but sometimes when the immune system is shot, symptoms don't appear because the body's antibodies can't fight. Ok. That's not very clear. Let me try again. When a person is sick with symptoms, the symptoms are created by the battle between the virus and the immune system attacking it. If your body doesn't fight the virus, the virus hangs out and you can be asymptomatic. My guess is that it was a neutropenic fever, but we may never know.

Kyle's visits are the highlight of our day. He comes down for
a few hours every evening. His drive back and forth is longer
than his visit time.

We had to move from our beautiful view on Monday morning. We are now sharing a room with an 11-year-old boy. He is shy (just like Davis), but he and Davis have a lot in common. Sadly, their sleeping schedules are nearly opposite one another. When one's awake, the other's asleep.

Davis' counts have been incredibly low the last couple of days. Yesterday, he had only 0.3 white blood cells (healthy 5-10), zero neutrophils, and an ANC of 0. Today, we have seen a bit of improvement. Whereas his red blood cells and platelets have dropped a bit, his white counts have stayed the same, his neutrophil count has increased, which has bumped his ANC to 15. We have to be leaping and bounding our way closer to an ANC of 500 in order to go home, so I guess 15 is a good start. I just hope and pray that Davis' ANC gets a little momentum because inching our way to 500 fifteen points at a time is going to mean a very long hospital stay. As for now, a discharge time is not even open for discussion.

Random photo. A view from outside the playroom window.
A blooming crocus puts me in the mood for spring. Davis
had no interest in the flowers.

The positive thoughts and prayers are working. The doctors and nurses comment daily as to how healthy Davis looks. (I think he looks sickly, but compared to others, I guess not.) Plus, if you have to be in the hospital,  I guess it is better to be in the hospital and feel great than to be in the hospital and be very sick. Thank you. We are looking forward to coming home and finding our routine again.

We will keep you posted.