Chemo #2 and Fever scare

Sunday October 19, 2014

Thanks to my fabulous husband and my amazing brother and sister-in-law (TJ and Jodi), I got to catch up on some much-needed sleep this morning. My eyes opened at 10:45am! I can't remember the last time I slept so long, and I feel like a new person today! However, I realize that you're not reading this blog to hear about my sleep! :) So lets rewind to Friday.

Friday October 17 2014: chemo #2

It was an early morning as we had to be at Mayo for labs at 7am. So at 4:00, we heard that terrible alarm sound (it made me think of my NLXF friends who get up every day for a 5am workout...how in the world?).  Thankfully, Elliot woke in very good spirits and was ready for the day, more than I can say for Dan or myself. He remained awake the entire two-hour drive to Mayo. I'm not sure why, but at least he was happy. Upon arriving, we got to experience the lush, exotic-hotel-like, waiting area in the pediatric hematology-oncology clinic. For those who have been there, you understand. It is simply amazing! As we are waiting and watching Chicken Little on one of the TV's, Elliot hears his name over the sound system...Elliot Sundblad please. He perks up and looks at me with a proud expression and then repeats his full name. It was a priceless moment. Moments later, though, he laid eyes on the nurse who was awaiting us and immediately started crying. Suddenly, his entire demeanor changed, for he now knew why we were here...port access, labs, poking prodding, etc. Thankfully, everything went quite smoothly. Other than getting "Tubey's tail put on", and then removal of it at the end of the day, it was a pretty painless experience for Elliot. We had numerous appointments and all went quite well. By 1:00pm, we were on our way home again (after grabbing some Chipotle of course). When we got home, we swung by a friend's house to pick up Julia and spent the rest of the day as a family!

(Compliments of Jodi Sunderman...more below)

Saturday October 18: fever scare

We had a great morning relaxing with Uncle TJ, Aunti Jodi and cousin Arie. Elliot was so excited to have them here. A midst vigilant hand-washing and minimal contact with Elliot, it seemed to be a relatively normal Saturday morning, the way it used to be prior to Elliot's diagnosis. It was wonderful. Jodi took some beautiful family photos, something I wanted to get done prior to Elliot's hair loss (not that he won't be cute, but I really don't want to send out a Christmas card that will create pity or sadness).  

Shortly after pictures, Elliot and I snuggled up on the couch to watch a movie while everyone else continued playing outside. It was clear that Elliot had hit a wall and was in need of some down-time. Within minutes, he had fallen asleep, and I brought him to the bedroom. About two hours later, he awoke and felt quite warm to the touch. This immediately raised my anxiety. You see, with a chemo patient, a slight fever becomes an immediate emergency. With a fever of 100.4 or higher, we have to get him to the ER to receive antibiotics right away. Sure enough, he had a fever and off we went to the ER. Thankfully, Julia was able to stay home with her Aunt, Uncle and cousin. 

After putting Tubey's tail on again and drawing some blood, the doctor contacted Mayo and followed orders of antibiotic administration via Tubey. Because Elliot's blood counts came back normal, we were able to go back home rather than be admitted. We will return again tomorrow to receive another round of antibiotics and await the blood cultures that take 48 hours. If they come back showing bacteria, we will be admitted to the hospital for further treatment. With such great blood counts, this is unlikely.

Thanks again to all who have supported us. We're doing our best to take this journey one day at a time and are leaving the future to God. For those of you who pray, in addition to praying for comfort and healing for Elliot, please pray for Julia as she tries to adapt to this "sick brother thing". Clearly Elliot demands a TON of attention, and she's not sure what to think of it. We're doing our best to give her extra attention when we can, but it's tough. We are grateful to those who have given her some of their time and have taken her under their wing in some way, shape or form (her preschool teachers, Toni, Mr. Howard, Megan, TJ and Jodi, Adrienne, Lyndsey, Lori, and finally, our amazing parents/her grandparents). Your love for her does more for us than anything else you could do for us at this time. Knowing she is feeling loved and important relieves a great deal of stress from Dan and me. Thank you so much!