We've moved into the Target House, and all in all are pretty settled. It's pretty much a decent sized apartment with 2 bedrooms, a kitchen, a small family room, and of course a bathroom. We went shopping last night with our kroger card, and of course managed to more then double the $100 amount on the card. They don't supply basics like paper towels, soap, shampoo, dish detergent or laundry detergent, or other cleaning supplies....so future shopping trips won't be as expensive-hopefully. Prior to shopping Kevin and I saw a movie: Chronicles of Narnia Prince Caspian. We both enjoyed the movie very much. It's quite long, but was enterntaining throughout. The little mouse is hilarious. There was a significant amount of fighting, but the whole movie's based off a religous theme (although sublimimal), so I figure it balances out.
Kevin began his GCSF shots yesterday. Even though he has an active port, they have decided to administer the medicine through a shot in the shoulder. They believe this increases the chances of the stem cells rising. We went to the hospital 10 a.m. this morning for his second dose. It was odd being there on a weekend, but it got our day started early. Kevin has 3 more shots, Sunday through Tuesday. The hope is for Kevin to be able to have his stem cells harvested through a cathetar in the leg (I forget the technical term) instead of through the bone marrow in his hip. This is less painfull and the ideal part of his protocol. They have told us that this probably won't happen. For whatever reason, pretty much every medulloblastoma patient has not had a high enough stem cell count, even after the GCSF shots to take through a cathetar in the leg. His surgery for his hickman line is Tuesday. They will also either put a line in his leg or withdrawl bone marrow from his hip bone for stem cell infusions. They hope to take enough for all 4 phases. The stem cell infusion is critical for returning his immune system, so as to fight off infection during chemo. This allows Kevin to undergo high dose chemo for 4 months, as opposed to lower dose for 15 to 18 months. He will most definitely need supplemental nourishment because of his weight. He's at about 88% of his ideal weight, and they'd like him at 90% or above. The good news is he gained a half pound since he's been here. We've been eating very high fat/high calorie snacks in between 3 healthy meals a day. He's feeling very well, and has even responded with little side effects from the GCSF shots.
That's about it for today. I think we're going to do something outside today and enjoy the weather. He'll sit in front of the t.v. or Nintendo DS all day if I let him. Maybe we'll go to the zoo.
Take Care,
Eric
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