Hello, big, wide world......
Day 5. We are 5% of the way to HomeHome. Today's biggest highlights? Hairloss and Fever.
Today's counts: HCT ~ 31, Platelets ~ 15, White Count and ANC ~ too low to report, nonexistent.
He received platelets, of course. His little body is working so flippin' hard. His morphine drip was increased, thankfully and today he had no need of an extra burst of pain meds. He did spike a fever, though. 38.8 C (101.8 F). Never a fun event in Leukemia World. Blood cultures were obtained and he was dosed with Tylenol. It seems under control, for now. When his ANC went below 500 he was put on Ceftazidime 3x/day. When he went on the Morphine drip, they added a pulse ox monitor while he is sleeping. Yesterday/last night his heart rate was between 130 & 150. During the day, today, it's been between 150 & 175.
Current update: It's now 11:30 and his fever spiked, again. His heart rate is between 180 & 199. His temp is 39.9 C (103.8 F). He is totally sacked out. The only reason we would give him Tylenol would be to make him comfortable. The provider on staff is not overly concerned about his heartrate. Waking him up to take Tylenol, at this stage, is a guarantee of one upset kid. It's better to let him sleep it off. It's no wonder that they do heart studies. The work that his body is doing is hard to fathom. I learned a new word today. Well, the meaning of a word. Febrile. It means feverish.
They raised his Morphine levels, today. Thankfully. He is much more comfortable. He will receive his third dose of Methotrexate, tomorrow. His last dose will be on Father's Day. The Methotrexate is another major contributor to his Mucositis. Which means we really haven't even begun. He has a few sores in his mouth and is no longer using his pacifier. We started using the suction thingy and saline. He thinks it's pretty cool, which means he is willing to use it. Still nothing by mouth, today. Except Tylenol and he did take his Ursodiol. At least the morning dose, and promptly heaved it all up. They have also adjusted his antiemetics to every four hours. Basically he is getting an antiemetic every two hours. Have I mentioned that his chemo regimen is heavy duty? He still occasionally heaves. It sucks. Or should I say: It blows.
We spend so much time facing, embracing one another, while he is on the potty. Today, during such a time, we spent several minutes with both of us pulling handfuls of hair out of his head. When I say "pulling" I mean, simply removing them. They come out without any resistance. Gregory is getting pretty sick of eating hair. I'm getting sick of having it stick to my chapstick. *thpt* Chemo treatments should come with complimentary lint rollers. Lots of them. We have baby fine hair EVERYWHERE!
Current update: It's now 12:05 and his temp is 40.1 C (104.2). Wow! The nurse didn't batt an eye. I asked her at what point do we panic. Her response: "Not at 40.1." Brilliantly answered.
Good morning. It's now nearly 8:00 on Wednesday. Gregory and I crashed together not long after the above sentence. He did start to sweat around 1:00. I guess that technically his fever broke, but as of 6:30 this morning, he is still running a fever. 38.8C (101.8F) to be exact. Which may not seem like much of a fever, but with no immune system, it puts it in a different ball game. He is being closely monitored, for the time being.
On my emotions. For now, I'm in Warrior mode. Everything is locked down and contained. My disposition is still snarky and upbeat, though. Once things level out, I'm sure it will change. I just need to be present for Gregory in order to get him well.
I'm going to try and catch a few z's before rounds..... 'til later, gotta jet.
- Music:Matchbox Twenty ~ Push
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