Off the pole

We were finished our last 96 hour infusion of chemo late yesterday afternoon. The next two rounds the chemo will be administered differently which means he won't have to be hooked up so much. We got to go home right after he was unhooked and we got to stay home all night! That was an unexpected surprise - the first time a doctor has allowed us to do so (though I keep asking...). We had to be back by 8:30am this morning. Malcolm is feeling fine - appetite a bit low but otherwise no ill effects from this treatment - he keeps sailing through. Yesterday his platelets were 143, hemoglobin was 109 and ANC was about 1400. We are hoping to go home on a day pass this afternoon.

Mary Ellen

Still going well

Round four is still going well. Malcolm did not sleep very well last night - it seemed to be teething issues. Tonight he seems more settled so we will hope that continues. Other than being a bit tired, Malcolm seemed to feel ok today. As usual, he is quite active and has been enjoying showing off his new walking prowess up and down the halls. He gets a lot of attention from staff and other parents as he totters along waving both hands for balance.

He is a little more than halfway through his IV infusion and should be done late Sunday afternoon.

Mary Ellen

Going well

Round four started yesterday. The sedation went well. Malcolm had a bit of a restless night and was a bit unhappy at times today but overall he is doing really well. The floor is full which makes it busy for staff but the upside is that there are more parents around to chat with. We seem to know quite a few of them from times when they were in over the summer. This floor gets a lot of repeat customers. We will continue to hope that everyone here does well.

Mary Ellen

Round four tomorrow

We are still expecting to start chemo again tomorrow. Today was sunny but cold out. Grama and Grampa Rainey came over and we went to the park with both boys this morning for quite a while. Malcolm had another great day and had a big appetite, especially for supper, which is good since he can't eat anything till late tomorrow afternoon, after his sedation.

Wish us luck,
Mary Ellen

Delay

Malcolm had bloodwork done today and his counts are all nice and high. Hemoglobin is 119, platelets 405 and ANC 3,654. So he should be starting chemo tomorrow but they have run out of rooms on the unit so he is being delayed until Wednesday. I find this to be a pretty reprehensible reason for delay, especially considering they have converted some patient rooms on the unit into admin offices instead of leaving them available for situations of high demand like this. A Tuesday start is more desirable than Wednesday because it means he is on chemo for less of the weekend. This is good because he is then usually allowed to come home for a few hours on Saturday and Sunday, and because there are fewer staff on the weekends so it is not as good to be hooked up.

Malcolm at least is oblivious to what is heading his way in a couple of days. He was extremely happy again today and walking lots as he played with his toys here at home. Tomorrow we will try to go to the park with his big brother if the weather is nice.

Mary Ellen

Lizards and trucks

We have had a quiet weekend. Above Donovan is modelling his new haircut and his new lizards and Malcolm is driving the big dumptruck! Malcolm spent a good part of today zooming the truck while walking as opposed to crawling, as he has in the past. He is on his feet more and more - it is amazing how sturdy he is getting. Tomorrow we go to the clinic for a dressing change and bloodwork. We are expecting to start round four on Tuesday.

Mary Ellen

Music man

Malcolm had a good day today though still teething like mad. It was raining all day and we had nowhere in particular we needed to go so it was a PJ day - he stayed in his sleeper all day long! He really likes asking us to put music on for him to listen to - he will make the music sign and then if we don't respond right away will start pointing frantically to the stereo. Then when the music starts he starts to clap his hands and dance. Perhaps he will be a musician. For now, it is simply very cute.

Mary Ellen