After feeling cruddy for a week-and-a-half straight, Spencer is happy to announce that he's finally getting his groove back! I'm not sure if it was the 2 units of blood they finally gave him yesterday. Or the new 12-hour anti-nausea pill, Kytril, they gave him as a last resort when he wouldn't keep anything down. Or maybe it was the surprise visit from Darth Vader to the hospital courtyard.
Whatever it was, Spence is back to joking with the nurses, scarfing down food (and keeping it down), not falling asleep on his visitors, showing off his card tricks, and even giving his sister a few lacrosse pointers in the hospital courtyard.
Later they came around and visited all the patients in their rooms. They said (in very non-Star Wars sounding voices) that the vast majority of the kids they'd visited had no clue who they were. Spence, of course, knew exactly who they were supposed to be, but still wanted nothing to do with posing for pictures with them.
Which is why I employed a little motherly bribing to get this one.
I've got to have at least an occasional photo of him not sleeping....for prosperity's sake!
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Random Star Wars Memory: Star Wars Episode 2 came out right around Spencer's birthday one year and serendipitously for us, at the same time boxes of General Mills cereals featured free tickets to the theater on them. Being the cheapskates we were, we thought that we would make Spence's birthday party super cool and take his friends to see Star Wars at the movie theater. We stocked up on cereal, cut off the coupons, and traipsed Spence and about 10 boys to the theater. Since we hadn't spent a cent on the tickets, we thought we'd buy the boys their own drinks and some popcorn to share (a treat our own kids rarely enjoy). Too bad for us that we didn't think ahead about the fact that:
20-oz. cups of soda + young boy pea-sized bladders = peeing every 15 minutes
To this day, when I think of Star Wars, I think of traipsing boys back and forth to movie theater bathrooms.
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UPDATE:
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Spencer's Facebook status in honor of Dr. Seuss' birthday:
"I have heard there are troubles of more than one kind. Some come from ahead and some come from behind. But I've bought a big bat. I'm all ready you see. Now my troubles are going to have troubles with me!"
~Dr. Seuss~
Whatever it was, Spence is back to joking with the nurses, scarfing down food (and keeping it down), not falling asleep on his visitors, showing off his card tricks, and even giving his sister a few lacrosse pointers in the hospital courtyard.
Darth Vader, Captain Rex (from the Star Wars cartoon), and the storm trooper came to help one of the young hem/onc patients celebrate his birthday. Ellie was a little nervous about them, but eventually decided that the little storm trooper, who wasn't that much bigger than she was, was okay to talk to.
Later they came around and visited all the patients in their rooms. They said (in very non-Star Wars sounding voices) that the vast majority of the kids they'd visited had no clue who they were. Spence, of course, knew exactly who they were supposed to be, but still wanted nothing to do with posing for pictures with them.
I've got to have at least an occasional photo of him not sleeping....for prosperity's sake!
**********************************
Random Star Wars Memory: Star Wars Episode 2 came out right around Spencer's birthday one year and serendipitously for us, at the same time boxes of General Mills cereals featured free tickets to the theater on them. Being the cheapskates we were, we thought that we would make Spence's birthday party super cool and take his friends to see Star Wars at the movie theater. We stocked up on cereal, cut off the coupons, and traipsed Spence and about 10 boys to the theater. Since we hadn't spent a cent on the tickets, we thought we'd buy the boys their own drinks and some popcorn to share (a treat our own kids rarely enjoy). Too bad for us that we didn't think ahead about the fact that:
20-oz. cups of soda + young boy pea-sized bladders = peeing every 15 minutes
To this day, when I think of Star Wars, I think of traipsing boys back and forth to movie theater bathrooms.
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UPDATE:
- Spence's hemoglobin never got below 7, the number at which doctors would automatically transfuse him, but since he was so fatigued the last few days they went ahead and gave him 2 units of blood yesterday. Afterward, he was far happier and had more energy than he'd had in days. Next time I plan to request him to be transfused before he gets that worn out.
- He received another platelet transfusion today after his platelet counts got down to 10. Luckily he wasn't randomly bleeding like he did last time his platelets were that low.
- His blood counts finally hit bottom today! (yesterday's ANC=~35, today's ANC=0 ) It's expected to stay at zero for a few days before creeping back up to a point at which we can hopefully take him home for a little while again (maybe in about 10 days or so)!
- Eating food and keeping it inside of him, helped Spence to regain some of the weight he'd lost. (Weight yesterday=55.2 kg. (121.5 lbs.), Weight today=56.2 kg (124 lbs.))
- I'm quite impressed with the new anti-nausea medication (Kytril) they're giving him. It's far more effective than any other he's gotten and it doesn't knock him out like the Ativan does.
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Spencer's Facebook status in honor of Dr. Seuss' birthday:
"I have heard there are troubles of more than one kind. Some come from ahead and some come from behind. But I've bought a big bat. I'm all ready you see. Now my troubles are going to have troubles with me!"
~Dr. Seuss~
2 comments:
Hooray! I am glad Spencer was able to have a happy Saturday.
I am so happy that Spence is feeling so much better! Woo-hoo! May he continue to feel better for a long time!
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