Day 18 - Preparing for surgery

     With Evan's port removal scheduled for tomorrow the doctors have been focused on eliminating the yeast infection, getting his platelet count up and balancing his nutrients.  Since so many dead cells are funneling through his kidneys there's been a focus on keeping his potassium levels up.
     On the plus side the latest round of blood work is clear of bacteria, so the antibiotics did the trick.  My boy is still complaining of stomach and leg pains.  The ID doctors are going to take a back seat now unless the infection returns and the GI doctors are front and center at the moment.  They've updated Evan's heartburn medication, upped his hydrocodone frequency and added an anti-spasmatic drug to the mix.  The belief is that he has cramping in his stomach since all the other tests have not yielded any major GI concerns.
     In addition to his surgery tomorrow he'll also have an MRI on his legs to check for any structural or bone density problems.  Obviously I'm no doctor, but I suspect they're not going to find anything.  My personal thought is his legs are hurting due to side effects from the chemo and the timing would seem to correlate to his treatments.  Hopefully the doctors can quickly zero in on the culprit and at a minimum help us manage the pain.

Taking a nap after a brief snack.

     I'm beginning to get superstitious about posting positive news, but here we go again.  All of his vitals are stable.  Evan had a couple of fevers last night due to the anti-fungal medication killing the yeast, but with the increase in hydrocodone-acetaminophen it has been able to get him back to normal.  Today he's shown glimpses of himself, which is very encouraging.  His appetite has returned somewhat.  If we can definitively find out the root cause of the stomach issues I think we'd see a much happier child.  As of today he is still on schedule with all of his cancer treatments and we have not impacted the Induction phase end date.

Much improved vitals since our admission on Wednesday night.

     Today we had several visitors and we forced Evan to come out of the room for a bit.  Because of his apprehension to bear weight on his right leg we put him in the wagon with his brother and the whole Pruitt clan, along with a couple of others friends, and went to the hospital cafeteria to at least get a slight change in scenery.  Once the MRI results are conclusive I'll encourage him to walk around more, assuming the pain can be managed.

Heading downstairs for a bite to eat.

     Tonight I'll try to get a laugh or two out of my trooper.  He's got a long day ahead of him tomorrow and I'd like to get his mental state right for the soreness and pain he'll likely feel afterwards.  Once we get the blood results for his latest draw the doctors can determine whether another platelet infusion is needed.  Signing off for the evening with a picture taken during a Shrek 2 showing just a bit ago.

Cristy is upset due to the lack of space on the bed.