Loganism of the morning

Callum, did you know, when I was first born, there were NO iPads... Really!

Sparklers!

Had a lovely time hanging out at the Jodoin's house today. A couple of other families were also here so there were loads of kids and fun for all.

Once it started getting a little dark, the neighborhood began to light up with a few fireworks here and there which was fun since we could actually see some from the Jodoin's backyard. Jenn had also bought a few sparklers for the kids to play with and I bought a random set of poppers. They loved them all but the sparklers were the real treat!! The boys had a blast. :)

Happy 4th to all!

Ready, launch!

I took several pics because the minute Jon started launching one kid in the air, they all had to have (multiple) turns!

These two are my favorite because you can really see them in action. The first is of Evelyn (who is a pretty big kid!) and the other is of Connor (who's one of the smaller kids so he really flies!). Jon definitely got his workout in for the day. ;-)

Enjoying the 4th at the Jodoin's!

My contribution for today's BBQ Pool party is a Mango and Pomegranate Guacamole and good ol' Deviled Eggs. Phew!

Happy 4th to all!

Back Home!

Callum's methotrexate level came back at 0.06 this morning so we were soon discharged and got home just before lunchtime.

We've spent the day tidying up the house, doing chores and taking care of some errands that I missed during the week.

Here's Callum, as happy as ever that we're home again, next to a new blanket that was given to us by a mom who was staying with her son in the room next to ours at the hospital.

I spoke with her a bit about her son's battle with cancer (this is a second round for them, he doesn't have leukemia but a rare bone cancer that has attacked his leg and unfortunately they're talking about amputation). :( Making these blankets is her way of coping and her husband's way of spreading joy to other families in our small "community". We continue to meet super nice people who are going through similar rough patches in life, and they are all amazing.

One more night

Well, we are still here. :(

I actually meant to post these two pics yesterday but ran out of steam last night and forgot. Today, I didn't take a single pic! So I guess I'm slacking more and more each day. ;-)

The first pic is of Callum helping Nurse Brynn draw his Hour 24 blood, which he likes to help out with nowadays. :)

The second pic is of he and I playing a little "bowling" with some hospital cups acting in as our bowling pins and my couch/bed acting as our bowling alley. The balls are these cool soft yarn like balls that my Aunt gave us to use for play during our hospital stays - both boys (since Logan came to visit both last night and hung out with us most of today) actually loved them quite a bit! ;-) Thanks Aunt Pammie!

A couple of hours after our Hour 24 mark, our nurse came into our room with a really sad look on her face, so I knew right away something wasn't right. :/

Unfortunately, she had missed the instruction in Callum's protocol which calls for an increase in his fluid rate (from 71 to 89) once chemo starts. Instead, she had left it at the pre-chemo hydration rate, which basically meant he got less fluids (432ml or roughly 14.5oz) than he should have gotten during the 24 hour chemo treatment. And, what it meant for us, was that it would likely take him longer than usual to clear. :(

Ugh.

So, to counteract that, the head NP approved an extra 350 ml bolus (basically an extra bag of fluids) yesterday evening to help make up some of the difference.

As it so happened, his Hour 24 levels weren't too bad, landing at 7.59 (methotrexate) and 0.4 (creatinine). So I don't know if the miss in fluid rate really made too big of a difference.

But, to help things a bit more, our head NP approved giving Callum another smaller 175 ml bolus this afternoon, just before his Hour 48 draw. :)

Sadly, our extra efforts weren't quite enough. I think EVERYONE thought he was going to clear tonight, but his numbers came back about 8pm and his methotrexate level was at 0.25. We need to be less than 0.2 to get outta here - soooo close!

So, another night we stay.

We'll draw levels again at 5am, so hopefully by morning rounds (roughly 9:30am) we'll have good news and get discharged.

Wish us luck!

Passing the time

Every time the doctors or nurses see Callum, they're a little concerned with how raspy and wet his cough sounds. But, he doesn't have any signs of being sick other than this nasty sounding cough. The NP we have here recognized it seems to be an ongoing thing and so the doctor on rotation this week wondered if it's allergies.... So, we've started Callum on Claritin, in addition to the regular battery of drugs he's getting while in the hospital.

We'll see if it helps but I'm actually hoping that might be the cause - since every time I bring him in I feel like I'm getting judged as a terrible mother for letting my kid fester with some horrible cough and not doing anything about it. :(

Otherwise, our visit is the same as always and going well! Just hanging out and passing the time away. I have an agreement with one of the Child Life Specialists here to come up with some new and interesting activity for Callum each visit. Last time, you'll recall, she brought out the big guns with a bunch of paints and easel. This time she brought a sandbox for him to play in! And, while much messier to clean up afterward, he absolutely loves it. Another hit! :)