Fever's down.

We had a super long night last with fevers reaching 103 on Tylenol, but Watts seems to be feeling better now and his fever has dropped down to a normal range (with Tylenol). Cultures should be back around 5pm and they are also now running a virus panel to make sure they aren't missing anything. 

Thanks for the continued prayers.

Ps. This shirt was unintentional but seems appropriate for the last 24 hrs...no, the last 11 months.

Admitted for fever.

Well, we are back in 911... We've been joking with the nurses that we just missed them too much and had to come back. 

Watts' temperature continued to hover right under 100 this afternoon but his behavior seemed to grow more lethargic and pitiful. At 3pm, Michael came home due to my increasing concern and we called Brenner to set up a last minute appointment. We just wanted some other eyes on him before the clinic closed at 5pm. We are NOT fans of coming through the ER after hours. By the time we got to Brenner at 4:30 (due to horrible, horrible traffic), his temperature was 101.8 which is an automatic admittance. Cultures were drawn, antibiotic and fluids started, and Watts finally got some Tylenol and seemed to start feeling better.

So now we're here again... Lord willing, his cultures will be negative tomorrow. At this point, they are not running a virus panel on him because his only symptoms are a fever and lethargy. If his cultures come back negative, then most likely the fevers are simply his body's response to the neutropenia. 

Regardless of the cause of the fevers, we need four things to get us out of here: 1) he needs to be afebrile (no fever), 2) he needs negative cultures, 3) his counts have to recover (or at least be trending up), and 4) he has to look well. Most likely we will be here through the weekend but we should know more once the cultures come back. 

At this moment, Watts is sleeping, Piper is giddy to be spending the night in the hospital, and Michael and I are tired but hanging in. Thank you for the prayers coming our way. 

Updated to add: Watts' temperature went back up to 102 with Tylenol. We are keeping a close eye on him and hoping for some good rest for his fever-weary body tonight.

Not feeling so good.

How quickly things can change... After great day yesterday, Watts had a rough night and has been cranky and weepy all morning. His temperature is currently hovering right below 100. We are doing a lot of cuddling today and have our bags packed just in case. Please pray for protection over Watts...for no (higher) fevers and for no infections. Thank you!

No-fever dance.

The kids and I went to check Watts' counts this morning and, as expected, Watts' ANC is zero. This means that he is severely neutropenic and incredibly susceptible to infections, fevers, etc. The neutropenia is due to his last round of treatment (the chemo can't differentiate between healthy and mutated white blood cells and wipes out all of them).

Please pray that Watts remains healthy during this time and that his counts recover quickly. We are giving him daily injections of the drug neupogen to help his WBC (white blood count) recover and obviously keeping him isolated at home.

Other than the neutropenia, Watts is doing great. He seems happy to be home and is his normal active, goofy self. We are adjusting to not having the convenience of the ng tube and are learning how to give his medications orally. Watts' appetite is okay right now but he will only eat if he is out of his high chair and if we pop the food in his mouth as he plays...he is just too busy to slow down, I guess! Current foods that he'll tolerate are: Larabars, Veggie sticks, and sometimes Chick-fil-a chicken nuggets or aged cheddar. He also still nurses 3-4 times a day. I may or not have googled, "Can a toddler survive on Larabars and breast milk only?" Haha!

PS. Watts challenged the front sidewalk to a fight and I'm not sure who won:) Thankfully this was before his counts dropped otherwise we probably would have been a lot more panicked about the scratches (open wounds are not, not good while neutropenic).
We definitely have a rough-in-tumble boy on our hands!

Home.

Day 5. I can hardly believe it!

Watts is napping. His head, newly covered with blond fuzz rests up under my chin and his legs are tucked up against my belly as he sleeps. The shades are drawn here in 911 and the sound machine drowns out the voices from the people next door and the hustle and bustle from the hallway.

Michael is taking load after load of our stuff down to the car so that when the last drop of Mesna drips into his port in less than an hour, we can walk out of here. Say our goodbyes, take a few pictures, and go HOME.

What a day! Tears have easily for me as I reflect back on how far we've come. Today we choose to live in joy and without fear and we celebrate that THIS IS OUR LAST SCHEDULED INPATIENT STAY! Forever and ever, amen.

The hero of the day...no, the last 11 months.

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Notice something missing? The NG tube was pulled out today in hopes of clearing up a lingering cough and ongoing nasal discharge He has been eating great while off of his at-home chemo, 6-mp, so the doctors decided to pull the NG tube out for the two weeks we'll be home and off chemo during count recovery. If he miraculously keeps his appetite up when he starts back on the 6-mp, then he'll get to keep it out. If not, then they'll put it back in and hopefully the cough/irritation in his throat will have had a chance to heal by then. Regardless, we are loving seeing his whole face for really the first time (for longing than a quick tube change) in almost a year!

Day 4.

Just pictures for today. All went well... 4 days down, 1 to go!

Hanging out with papa.

A little guitar playing to pass the time.

Comparing ports with cancer-rockstar-friend, Alisa.

Helicopter watching.

Being silly.

Naptime snuggles.