What started as an uneventful weekend quickly turned into a pretty eventful weekend. Friday, Day 28 was the milestone day that marked the end of the Induction Phase. Elliott did not have to get chemo on Friday and the prednisone is over, but he did have to get a lumbar puncture/bone marrow analysis that will tell us if he is in remission (which I believe they said is defined by less than 5% leukemia cells). We haven't received the results back, but hope to get them on tomorrow (Monday). The appointment Friday was pretty smooth. Elliott was a bit hungry from not being able to eat and was also tired, but tolerated the procedure well. His lab work showed his hemoglobin (red blood cell count) was a bit low, so we had the option to transfuse blood or wait to see if his red blood cells would recover on their own. We were leaning towards transfusion, but I think we were both tired and needed to get work done, so we opted to wait until Monday and see if perhaps he could recover on his own.
Day 29: Life outside the bubble. Yes, he really did eat a full plate of chicken and french fries. Thank goodness we are done with the Prednisone. :-)
Saturday, we opted to go out for a late lunch during an off peak time to give Elliott a change of scenery and make sure he had a chance to get out of the bubble (aka.. house). He seemed to enjoy being out for a change. When we got back to the house, my sister and nephews stopped by for a visit. That night as we were putting Elliott to bed, we noticed he was a bit warm. He felt warm to me earlier in the day, but I figured since it we had him out and about, perhaps he was just warm from the hot summer day. Unfortunately, he had a fever of 101. In the leukemia world, a fever of 101 = emergency = call the oncologist and prepare to be admitted to the hospital. Sure enough, the oncologist told us to pack up and head on in to the oncology unit. William took Elliott to the hospital while I got Laurel ready for bed and actually put her in the bed. I then realized I was going to want to head to the hospital first thing in the morning to be there when our oncologist made rounds, so my mom happily agreed for me to drop Laurel off at her house.
Day 30: Feeling a little better after his transfusion. What a difference blood makes. Donate blood!
When they arrived at the hospital, Elliott's temp was 101.6 and his hemoglobin had dropped to 6.2. Anything below 7 would warrant a blood transfusion in Elliott's case. He was immediately started on antibiotics and later got a blood transfusion. Apparently he was pretty restless as well, so I relieved William first thing in the morning, so he could come home and get some rest and also get work done. Fortunately, the blood transfusion did allow him to pick up some energy. He enjoyed playing with my phone and one of the ABC apps and then had some fun playing with the IV cords (until I had to put a stop to that one).
Elliott is still in the hospital tonight, but should hopefully go home tomorrow as long as his lab work and blood cultures come back normal in the morning. Fortunately William's mom came in town today, so we have an extra set of helping hands. My mom was with Elliott all last week and has taken Laurel during all the unscheduled hospitalizations. Sarah, a family friend was with him before that and through the constipation drama when I was out of town. The support from family and friends has truly been incredible. I don't take that for granted because many people are not blessed to have the support we do.
I am at home tonight with Laurel. Her first day of preschool 1 (preschool for 3 year olds) is tomorrow and this will be her first day wearing her uniform (unicorn as she calls it), so I wanted to be here to get her ready and take the obligatory "first day of school" photo.
Well... I need to get rest, but wanted to provide an update. Thanks for the continued prayers. Today's prayer is that Elliott's lab work comes back normal, he gets to come home, Laurel has a good first day, and our family, friends, and co-workers know how much we love and appreciate them.