Friday before long weekend

Liam's red blood cell count was low, so he got a transfusion this morning. It was an efficient morning, so we were out of the hospital by 1:00. While laying in the hospital bed, Liam was tired and cried out "Mom, my eyes are trying to close!", thankfully he gave in and had a nap.

It was a quiet week from a hospital perspective, we had 2 clinic visits, then the transfusion. Liam had a touch of fever last night and this morning, but they monitored him at the clinic and he didn't have fever while we were there. We will see if we can make it this whole weekend without going to the hospital (with a fever, it's minimum of 48 hours in the hospital), it wouldn't be too surprising if we did have to go.

The kids at the clinic received cute teddy bears with Canada Flag balloons for Canada Day. If we would have been in the clinic for the afternoon, they had entertainment and some of the Stampeders football players were going to meet the kids! That just wasn't enough to keep me there for the afternoon :-)

Some fun this week

We finally got the opportunity to check out Jamie's Preschool this week! It is a preschool for immune-compromised kids, so we could feel more at ease taking Liam.

We went on Tuesday, which was preschool and music class. Then on Thursday for gym class at Stars gymnastics centre.

Liam was absolutely so excited to go, he was beside himself. At the gymnastics centre, he just ran from mat to mat jumping and falling. They even had a bouncy castle, so he spent a good amount of the hour in there.

School is over for the summer, so we'll have to wait until September to go again.

Questions about Feeding Tube

We get lots of questions about Liam's feeding tube. A while back, Liam got the all clear from the ear, nose and throat doctor, Liam is fully able to swallow and eat food. His left vocal cord wasn't closing all the way, but judging by Liam's voice now, it must be closing more, he still sounds a little "nasally" but he certainly is much louder and is getting less nasally sounding.

Liam was given the all clear to eat, and he was so excited to have chocolate pudding, milk and juice, he ate 5 bowls of cheerios in one sitting! Then he had his first cycle of chemo and that changed. We had the feeding tube out and tested whether Liam would eat, but something about the chemo made him decide he wasn't going to eat or drink. The chemo might him a funny or metallic taste in his mouth, he doesn't tell us, but Liam no longer will eat by mouth now at all.

Anyone who knows him, knows that Liam was never that keen on eating, so it probably didn't take much to turn him off. Besides, now he can sit and play with his cars with 2 hands and have his meal through his feeding tube! 

We are actually thankful for the feeding tube, Liam has gained a little weight in the last month, which is more than he's gained in a long time. The feeding tube does at least give us peace of mind that Liam's getting calories and he's not getting dehydrated. Both are critical while he's going through chemo, so at least that's one area that we don't have to worry about right now.

Cycle 2 Discharged

Liam had some vomiting today, but he's happy to go home. Sister came to visit today, he was pretty excited about that.

Cycle 2 - Day 3

Liam is getting his last chemo today. Given Liam's energy, you wouldn't know he was on day 3 of chemo! He did have a nap (thank goodness, I need a break sometimes!), he has been playing non stop again all afternoon. The child life specialist brought Liam a floor mat so he could drive his cars on the floor, he's enjoying that, he's sitting on the floor by the door playing and watching the activity at the nurse's station.

We certainly didn't expect that Liam would be so energetic. Especially since, if he wanted, he could just watch tv and play the iPad all day long, but he still chooses to get up, play cars, trains and do his puzzles.

Liam's Beaded Journey

Kids Cancer Care Foundation of Alberta (KCCFA) has a Beaded Journey program that we're taking part in. We add a new bead to Liam's bead rope for all the tests, procedures, etc he Liam goes through.

In addition to MRIs, chemo, etc, when we have a fun day, or something special, I have some special beads and Liam picks which one he wants. We had a fun day last week playing outside in the tent and on the play set, Liam selected a pink dotted bead for that day. We also bought alphabet beads, and when his friends come to visit, we put on a bead with their initial. When family visits, we have beads for them as well, Liam's beaded journey starts back in March, when his symptoms first started, so the rope begins with a bead on for Auntie Ami's visit (yellow butterfly) and for Nana and Papa's visit (orange star). Grandpa & Grandma - blue star, Grandma and Alex - purple beads, Auntie Shauna - pink butterfly and Auntie Tanya - clear heart.

See their website Kids Cancer Care Foundation of Alberta

Child life specialists

The child life specialists are another group of amazing people at the Children's Hospital. They bring Liam Cars toys/blankets, today is a new Cars coloring easel.

At Liam's age, rotating activities is key, especially since we can't leave the room due to Liam's cough.

This afternoon the volunteers run a weekly Bingo game. The kids who can't leave their rooms get to play using a walkie talkie!