Whack That Mole

Still at Cooks. Day five. We came in with a sepsis diagnosis but got to stay for gastrointestinal concerns. I mean, the guy can’t catch a break. His sleep is disrupted. His appetite is hit or miss (mostly a miss this week). Cook Children’s is incredible but it’s not home. Even when he is comfortable, vitals have to be taken at regular intervals and there’s no continuity of rest.

The good news is that his white blood cell counts are rebounding. He hit the nadir (lowest point of white blood cell counts) on Saturday and he’s been rebounding as expected every day since. We hope to go home soon. We have to be back Tuesday for round two of chemo. I want him to get a few days in his own bed before we come back. 

A friend texted me this morning and said it’s like we are playing whack-a-mole with his health. He’s not wrong. I’ve been in touch with his doctor who provided initial care for him at Shriner’s Hospital in Chicago. He’s considered one of the experts in the world on children’s spinal cord injuries. But he doesn’t deal with cancer. His oncologist has a wonderful team here she huddles with every day. But she doesn’t deal with spinal cord injuries. That is a super sub specialty I hope never exists. But we could use one for the next three months.

He’s still a champ though. He still smiles. He still texts his buddies all. day. long.  (Probably in the middle of the night too, but I’m at home then. When do college kids sleep???) He still says, “Thank you mama.” He’s so strong my sweet boy.