Day 51 - The forgotten son

     Last night and today has been pretty uneventful and we're certainly not complaining about that.  Evan has had a few mild fevers, spaced out roughly every 10 hours or so.  For the most part we (the medical team, Cristy and I) feel his body is handling them, however the toradol isn't hurting either for reducing the inflammation.

Grandma and Evan opening a gift from Levi and his family.

     We've met with several teams today and even though the treatment plan isn't changing drastically I'll provide the most recent updates.  The ID team has pulled the meropenem antibiotic from his daily intake.  This was his last IV antibiotic and he's walking the rope without a net now, so to speak.  He hasn't had a bacterial culture come back as positive since the 13th of July and the medical team feels his immune system is ready to take on any bacterial infections now.  This will also allow his stomach to start growing good bacteria to fend off the c-diff.  The ID team has stated he will likely stay on one or both anti-fungals throughout the next few chemo phases and possibly even through maintenance.

     The Orthopedic team is very pleased with how his arms, leg and ankle are healing.  We have started removing the wraps and gauzes and will continue to shed more of them over the course of the upcoming week.  His ankle will still require PT work and we're on Evan's schedule now for how soon or long it will take for him to heal up and start walking again.

Despite how it looks, he's not delivering a baby.

     Our Oncology team this weekend consists of Evan's primary physician and he was happy to see Evan looking bright and alert this morning.  He feels very satisfied with where we're at and is going to schedule Evan's spinal taps for the next few consecutive weeks.  Each session will involve treating his spinal fluid with methotrexate and possibly drawing spinal fluid back for continued monitoring and analysis of his WBC.

     Finally the GI team is pleased with the look, feel and sound of his stomach.  They've given us the go ahead to ease Evan into eating solid foods, should he desire to do so.  No changes imminent on either the drugs or treatment plan concerning his stomach.

Playing with his doctor kit from Deavlin and the Brooms family.

     I wanted to take a moment to dote on my youngest son, Nolan, for his easy-going nature and ability to add some levity to tough situations.  He's completely oblivious to what's going on, but knows he wants to spend time with his big brother.  I'm positive the two of them will be fighting like cats and dogs again before you know it.  We're extremely fortunate with the timing of his maturation.  About two weeks before Evan was diagnosed he was without question a clingy momma's boy.  Now he doesn't have a care in the world if Cristy or I leave for a few hours, a day or even for a weekend.  He always has a smile on his face and brightens any room he's in.  While we're splitting our time between the hospital and the house he's definitely not forgotten in our eyes and we love him so much.

Cheesing with Daddy before heading to the hospital.

     This also leads me to point out some individuals who have been life savers for us over the last two months.  Heartfelt thanks go out to Hannah, Gina, Boni, Corrie, Kelly, Katie, my parents and sister and even Todd!  I am so so sorry if I forgot anyone in that list.  Knowing that we're leaving him in good hands allows us to concentrate on getting Evan better and I'll always be grateful for your time, sacrifice and care you've given our family.

     I'm unlikely to provide any more updates until Monday because the weekend team doesn't monitor Evan quite as closely as the M-F 7am-7pm folks do.  We'll keep moving forward and check with the doctors to see where we're at on Monday.  Thanks to everyone for their prayers and well wishes!

Eating junk food on the couch following an afternoon outside.