Big puzzle & smile

Liam's blood counts are not quite at the lowest yet (likely tomorrow), so he was allowed in the play room today, it is such a great break in the day to get to go to the play room.

Liam is a puzzle master!

Stem Cell Infusion Done

It was a big production of preparation, but Liam's got his stem cells back.

The preservative caused Liam some coughing, but nothing too bad. Liam could have just slept through it, his eyes were drooping, we could tell he was so tired, but he fought the sleep the whole time and hasn't given in yet. There were about 6 nurses in here during the stem cell infusion, he knew something was going on, there's no way he'd give in to sleep.

Also funny, Liam smells like creamed corn from the preservative. It's not an overly bad smell, just there.

Now is just hydration and waiting for Liam's blood counts to come back up.

Prep for Stem Cells

Liam's frozen stem cells are just sitting here frozen in a tank. This is all crazy foreign to me!

They are loading Liam up with medications now, he's pretty dozy from them. They said many kids do get nauseous, they have given him more anti-nausea medicine than he's ever had all at once before. He's  suspicious about what is going on, so he's hugging onto teddy and being very quiet. We thought Liam was sleeping until Troy tried to turn off the volume of the tv and he up and yelled "Dad!".

Try explaining a stem cell rescue to a 4 year old, I can hardly understand it myself. They are giving you stem cells, to make you feel better, but the stem cells might make you feel sick, um, ok

They don't thaw the stem cells until the very last minute. When they give the stem cells to him, it's done through his central line, like a blood transfusion, and only takes a few minutes. It's all the prep and checks that take time.

If you want to read more, this link is to the Mayo website. In Liam's case, the chemo has killed off all his stem cells. Stem Cell Rescue

Good day

Liam is still feeling well, his blood counts are still up.

Liam had a fun visit with his sister, he has been asking for her to visit every day, but today is the first good day for her to come.

They both love to watch the fish. (In the picture M is actually pulling all the tissues out of the box, trouble!)

Tonight is overnight stay #40 in the hospital.

In Recovery from Surgery

Nothing like a last minute Friday afternoon surgery just to make sure we're all completely exhausted.

Liam is back in his room now, having a nap. He woke up from anesthetic quite upset, but generally likes a nap after he gets anesthetic.

I expect this talk of central lines doesn't make sense to most people, just be glad if you never have to know about one. If you want to see some pictures and details, google "Broviac".

Liam got a smaller central line this time, because he's done some of the procedures that required a bigger one. As much as I dislike the central line, it prevents Liam from getting pokes multiple times a week, so it is a necessary evil. The central line is used for IV fluids, blood transfusions, chemo, antibiotics, etc, as well as taking blood for blood tests.

Let's hope we have better luck with this one.

Stem Cell Transplant Delayed

Look Mom, I'm not connected! Liam is so happy, he's no longer connected to his IV, so he has freedom to play and walk more freely.

Unfortunately, he is not connected, because when they were cleaning the dressing, his central line came out further, and is now 8.5 cms out, which means it is no longer usable. This happened when the nurse was cleaning it, when all of a sudden Liam had to pee, so he wouldn't sit still. But, obviously it wasn't staying in place, so it was going to happen sometime. It just should have happened after the stem cell transplant that was supposed to be this afternoon.

They called off the stem cell transplant until Monday. Today, we will figure out what can be done with the central line. They could do the stem cell transplant with a PICC line, but no sense giving him another poke with a PICC line, when he needs the central line anyway.

We are just waiting to find out if he'll be going to the OR this afternoon for a new central line.

Energetic this Morning

Liam is full of energy this morning, he's done puzzles, he's been playing cars on his mat, then trains on the parent "day bed". He's been up and about a lot, he has more energy than I imagined he would today.

The music therapist also stopped by with his instruments, Liam loves that! Liam's favourite is the rain stick, but he did quite a bit of drumming as well. The music therapy is great, I want to try to get Liam and his sister a session together sometime.

Last night we didn't have the 3am bath, so that was a nice break, he only needs to bath every day now.

He hasn't eaten anything at all today though... I'm not sure how he never gets hungry.