Sunday, August 9, 2009

Our latest trip

This month was Chet's regularly scheduled marrow aspiration. His doctor called and asked us to come a day early so there would be time to do the necessary tests and make sure everything was good.

Chet is still stable, but he has lost a third of his platelets again. That has really become par for the course for him.

As you can see, Chet has some strong feelings about getting IV's put in. He really doesn't want to do it.

I think he almost considers it torture to see the nurse line up all the necessary gear and equipment to get one in.

Beth always thinks it is funny, though. She looks so small next to Chet.


Here he is right after he was all hooked up and right before the medicine knocked him out. I took the girls to lunch, and when we got back he was awake in recovery and eating Rice Krispy treats that he washed down with all the Mountain Dew he wanted.

There is a new drug program that he will be a part of in the next couple of months when the protocol is approved. It won't affect his bone marrow failure, but it should stop the cells he does make from being destroyed. It will mean a weekly trip down there, and it is administered through an IV. We should know within the next month or so when he will begin the program.

On the way home the next day I took Chet and the girls to Cracker Barrel for lunch. Faith was busy trying to figure out the brain teaser puzzle they have on the tables,

while Beth was busy making up her own rules for it.

Then I loaded my two blue-eyed children and their little sister back up and we finished driving home. School starts again in a couple of weeks. Hopefully Chet's immune system will stay strong and we won't have any cases of the flu (esp that nasty swine flu) in our home this winter. Jack is working hard to find a day job that gets him away from the crowds he works with now so he isn't bringing home as much crud, and Chet will have to remember to step up his handwashing. He needs all his blood cells to give him the energy required to make faces like this.

No comments: