Day 69: One cool baby
Elliott is doing well. He had 4 chemotherapy treatments last week, and has already had his 1st of 4 scheduled sessions for this week. He was a little irritable from the treatments over the weekend, but has started to pep back up. While it is likely he will have a blood transfusion this week, next week is scheduled as a break from treatments.
In a previous post we mentioned possibly taking Elliott to a physical therapist to evaluate his mobility and the fact that he had not started walking. This past week Elliott had his first visit with a physical therapist that frequently works with pediatric oncology patients. Like we anticipated, the therapist feels that everything is fine with Elliott developmentally, and he is perfectly capable of walking, he just lacks confidence. This is normal for children Elliott's age when undergoing chemotherapy and we were told to anticipate this during our initial conversations with the oncologists when he was first diagnosed. The induction phase of his treatment left him too weak to even stand, and now he seems scared to attempt a step without someone holding at least one hand. He still has not caught back up to the point he was before his diagnosis. Also, it doesn't help that his big sister knocks him over at least twice a day. He will continue to go to physical therapy to help boost his confidence and we are going to change a few things around the house to help encourage him.
Laurel finally asked about Elliott's hair last week. She wanted to know why it is falling out and how long it will take to grow back. She continues to have difficulty with the concept that someone can be sick for this long, as opposed to a day or two, and that someone can be sick without coughing or sneezing. She has told us on numerous occasions that Elliott is all better and can return to school with her, including this morning. She also wants to know when it will be her turn to go to the doctor. She seems to think she is missing out on something.
Day 70: Lego Maniacs