Thursday, September 4, 2008

Kevin's stem cell transplant and Scotty's 1st Day

Whew! It looks like we all made it through the 4th round of chemo! I think I still have a bit of my sanity in tact and not all of my hair is grey yet, just some of it. I am not fortunate enough to be blond and be able to hide any gray hairs very well. Kevin was in really good spirits this morning before his stem cell transplant. He is whiny any time he has to wear his mask but he spent most of the morning out of his bed and even tried to play a game of chase mom around the room dispite being attached to an IV pole. Before Eric left this morning we had him walk around the floor outside his room a couple of times. We handed out thank you's out to the BMT staff. Kevin got a headache once again and it appears that he is having trouble reading fine print, so we have an eye doctor appointment made for later on this week.

The stem cell transplant was at 3 pm (central time) and made him a little sick, he was not happy for about 4 hours after. We went through a whole pack of gum during the stem cell push. The whole process is a bit like mad science and makes his pee red which is a little freaky. But around 7 pm Kevin started to sit up again, think about eating and played webkinz.

I talked to Scotty and he was questioning if he had to go to school tomorrow for another full day. I guess the full day kindergarten is a bit much for him but I am sure he will get used to it. He misses his brothers terrible and really wants to be back in Tennessee. He was asking all sorts of questions like is it dark there yet? I could hear the longing in his voice to be there with Kevin, Scotty and I. He is such a tropper to put on a brave face for everyone and not crying. I have seen a number of siblings have break downs here when they have to leave their moms to have someone else care for them while mom takes care of the sick brother or sister. Cancer is tough on both the patient and the siblings. I am glad there are organizations out there that recongize that and support both the patient and the sibling. We will probably become more involved with them when we get back home.

Pappy says that Jake was pretty good for him today and they had a good time together. I really appreciate Fred bringing me dinner to the hospital each evening. We are typically there until 8 pm when Eric gets there to relieve us, I typically don't get lunch or even breakfast (other than a starbucks). I have to get Jake ready for bed as soon as I get back to the apartment and get ready for the next day which doesn't leave much time to get something for dinner even if it is carry out.

Kevin should be getting out of the hospital tomorrow evening. Hopefully earlier than later but hospital discharges can take FOREVER!

Rachel

3 comments:

Diane Hanewich (Erik's mom) said...

Hi Rachel! Hope Kevin is doing well. Thank goodness he will be home soon. Don't you love the pictures of Scotty with Erik and Christian? I was thankful this morning that they are all in the same class, as Erik was very "nervous" this morning without me being there. At least he has his friends! He met Lucas and Sean yesterday and told me they were "Scotty's friends". Hope everything goes well there. Tell Kevin everyone was asking about him at school. They will all be glad to have him back!!! Take Care!!!
Diane

Kathy said...

Did they sing the No Mo Chemo song yet, or maybe they will wait until after the vincristine push.

I'm so glad he's done with this part. We'll pray for no fevers.

Don't make the mistake we made and take him down to play on the banks of the Mississippi...

Not until his counts come back anyway.

Anonymous said...

Hey Rachel. I am glad Kevin is fnished!!How great is that. It seems like forever since we have seen you. I hope everything is ok with his eyes. I know any change can cause alarm, at least it does with me. We would like to get Kevin to put his handprint on Heather's poster before we leave.

I know you are so glad to be done with chemo. It is nice to see when they start feeling better. I think we have finally hit that point. We may get to go home as early as Tues evening or Wed morning. Still a little nervous about not getting the 4th round but I will just have to keep the faith.

Hope you get out of the hospital at a decent time. We miss seeing you guys. Hope Scotty had a good day at school. Much love, Terri and Heather