Normal chaos

Joshua is home! He is finished yet another round of chemo. I wish I could say without trouble but as you all saw in the previous post, that wasn't the case. The good news is that he is now home. The chaos of our "normal" is back and I am enjoying every minute of it. The boys were all happy to see each other and have been playing together for the past few hours. I am sure the fighting will start soon but I am happy to report that the worries of the other night are past us for now. Joshua's counts are low and are sure to drop lower. We have been having to do eye drops which aren't fun but he's a real trooper in holding still while I put them it. That kid is just amazing. Now, we have to start the shot in the legs each night for the next two weeks or so. Hopefully, with the low counts, we can escape the fever that usually comes and stay out of the hospital until his next dose of chemo at the end of February.

A few more gray hairs

It's been quite a night. First, let me start off by saying that Joshua has not made blood counts for the past two weeks. The chemo is finally catching up to him and his little body needed a rest. He managed to make counts on Monday and we checked into Hotel Hopkins for three days of chemo. His blood antibodies were also on the low side so we had to give him some of them. That's where the trouble started.

Overnight last night and into this morning, and in between doses of chemo, Joshua was given the IVIG. It was infused over a few hours and just as the last drops were going in, he woke up with rapid breathing, low blood pressure, seemed to be in pain and a few other symptoms. His nurse came in and she immediately called the doctor. Then, they called other doctors and finally pushed the red button on the wall that you never push unless it's an emergency. We had about 15 people in the room and everyone was crowed around Joshua. Finally after flushing out the IVIG, giving some Benedryl and Tylenol, he seems to be doing better. His heart rate is still a little high but improving. He is still going to get his last dose of Ara-C and that makes me nervous. The Ara-C is the chemo that can cause fevers and he has had one since we started it on Monday. With this most recent episode, it got up to 103.3. I just want to get this last bit of chemo in and go home where things can return to our "normal."

So, that's a quick update. Please keep our little guy in your prayers that his body can handle the effects of the chemo and he can keep those fevers down. Oh, and maybe a little prayer for his parents to be able to withstand all the stress!

When it rains, it pours little foam beads

We have just been so busy. Joshua's chemo schedule is into a really rough part. He is in the hospital for a few days every two to three weeks. We go up to clinic for chemo every week and his blood and platelet counts have been really low so we're making unscheduled trips as well. After Adam decided to give Joshua a bop in the nose on Sunday, we headed to the hospital on Monday for some platelets and blood. The donor that Joshua got the platelets from wasn't the best of matches and for some reason, his body didn't accept all of them so his levels didn't go up to where we would like them. Jeff and I have been on bruise watch for the past few days. Try tell two three year olds and a five year not to wrestle. They're boys. It is their nature. Trying to get them to sit still and "play nice" is like trying to tell a bird not to fly. Doesn't work unless you break a leg or something and then well, we're back to that whole low on platelets thing.

So, besides the hospital and keeping the boys in line, there isn't much else going on. Well unless you count work for Jeff, trying to refinance the house, selling Yankee Candles for Relay for Life (if anyone is interested, see a team member), and trying to escape for an evening or two. As I said, we're busy.

I was able to escape last week for a day though. Thanks to my mom, I had a day to myself. For the first time in my life I went to a movie alone. It was the best movie I've ever seen. No, Bride Wars wasn't the best written, directed or acted movie. It was the fact that I went, sat, ate and had no one to bother me. If you've never went to a movie alone, try it. You'll enjoy every minute. At least I did. And the best part was that after the movie, Jeff met me and we went to dinner at the Chart House. That is one of my favorite restaurants in Annapolis. We usually only go on my birthday and our anniversary and since my birthday is this Friday, we decided it was close enough and enjoyed a wonderful dinner there.

But, as nice as my alone time was or the dinner with Jeff, it all must come to a end sometime. After a long day on Monday where we were stuck at Hopkins all day for blood and platelets, I finally walk through the door at about 6:30 completely exhausted. The boys had been playing and Adam, who is my little explorer, had decided to unzip the cover of his brand new bean bag. Inside is an insert that also has a zipper and that insert is filled with the little beans. Well, he didn't unzip the liner but in true Ami tradition, we got a defective liner. One part wasn't stitched correctly and you guessed right. Beans everywhere. Now if you have ever had a bean bag, you know all about how those little beans stick to everything. They are a complete mess. So here I am with Jeff's shop vac trying to suck up beans that are sticking to me, the floor, the vac and everything in between. It was anything but fun. So after a stern e-mail to Land of Nod, I am happy to report that we are getting a new insert with no questions asked.

And finally, some normal news from the Czorapinski's. Noah lost his second tooth this week. This time, he didn't throw it away. We're making progress!~