Tuesday May 15, Day -2

We had a great morning today.  He was able to get his zofran via IV fluids in morning and then the cocktail of tylenol, steroids, antibiotics and benadryl which put him to bed right away. He was able to get some deep rest and because of his vomiting and lack of fluid intake he also received fluids via IV.  Upon waking up from a 4 hour nap, he was in the mood for mcdonalds and was able to eat a few fries and a couple of bites of cheeseburger and a few sips of sprite- HOORAY!  We asked for another round of zofran via IV and he was able to eat a decent dinner and even have some dessert.  It is 11:40 pm and he asked for a snack and is now drinking juice and some crackers.  Another HOORAY!

We had a little incident with his PICC line today. He got wet while he was in the shower despite wrapping it 2 x with press and seal and an Ace bandage.  I was horrified as we were unwrapping the thing b/c there is a huge risk of infection thru the PICC line.  We called our Dr. and he told us that we can change the dressing if it is wet but that if it is going to get infected, the damage was done. (Connor was very concerned and told me that I shouldn't touch it b/c I was not a professional but he also did not want to go to the ER)  It was very stressful and I just pray that it doesn't get infected.  The only small comfort that I have right now is that he has been taking 2 of his oral antibiotics since Sunday and also has received 2 rounds of antibiotics due to the fevers the other day so he has a little bit of protection.  We ran a CBC on him today (before the PICC line incident) and his numbers are really really low so he is at risk. Why couldn't this thing get wet on in the first week? UGH!!! We are going to have to be more cautious from now on.

The stem cells should be en route right now and will arrive here tomorrow morning.  We also learned that the donor donated thru the old fashioned way of actually getting the cells from his hip bone versus taking it thru the blood. There has been research to show that this is more effective in terms of grafting so hopefully this will work in our favor.

Please continue to pray for NO Infection of any kind but especially in the PICC line ( i don't think i could handle the guilt) and that there will be minimal side effects from the chemo and NO GVHD.  GVHD can be mild or acute - we really are praying for nothing at all.  We feel very blessed by our BMT progress so far and we just pray that it will continue to be smooth sailing for Connor. 

Connor is being really brave and generally happ throughtout the day, it only becomes challenging when he has to swallow medicine.   

Thank you all and have a great night!