See more photos from 3/13/07 - 3/16/07 in the Autologous Stem Cell Transplant Photo Journal #1

3-17-07
Still some red (back and forehead) but mostly "tan" looking, splotches of different colors, peeling by where his dressing change tape used to be) - Awake from 6am-12pm, watching TV, playing balloons, playing Sims2 with mom



Playing with Daddy (he came to visit for 4 hours or so) - painting his window with paints that child life brought in





3-18-07



3-19-07






3-20-07 - Asher receives FFP (fresh frozen plasma)


3-25-07


3-27-07


3-30-07 - Discharged at 6:45pm!!!! First photo is Asher waiting for the elevator to leave the 2nd floor at PCH. First time we ever had Asher WALK out of the hospital on his own two feet (instead of carry him or pull him in a wagon)! That's his special mask he has to wear now, when he is out in public or in really windy outside areas, until Day +100.

Just got home. He's thrilled!

From the hospital transplant coordinator:

Infection Prevention:
1. No crowds or public places-if Asher absolutely had to go into the
store(for example), he needs to wear a mask and wash hands after.
2. No construction or musty places-if he happened to be passing thru a
construction zone he has to wear his mask
3. Avoid being outside on windy/dust blowing days-if he is outside, he
needs to wear his mask
4. Avoid sick people-if you or the other kids are sick, try your best
to separate the sick and healthy people in the house
5. Visitors or other family can come visit as long as they are
healthy-they don't have to wear a mask in your house unless u want them
to.
6. Encourage hand washing, hand washing, hand washing!!
7. Asher does not have to wear a mask if he's outside in the fresh air
going for a walk or at the park or when around the house. He DOES need
to wear a mask if he goes to a public place, including coming to clinic
or the hosptial building.
8. When Asher comes to the clinic he does not need to wait in the
waiting room. Tell the receptionists he had a transplant and so you
need to bring him straight back. They will take his vital signs and
then take him to a room so he doesn't have to be around the other kids.
9. Daily bath or shower.

Cleaning/House Stuff:
1. Change the house air filter once/month.
2. A good clean including dusting blinds, ceiling fans is needed. Then
regualar cleanings is fine of the main living areas. When you dust and
vacuum, have Asher out of the room until 30 mins after so the dust has
time to resettle.
3. Bathroom-have chlorox wipes or cleaner available (but childproof!)
so you can clean the sink counter, toilet, or tub before each time Asher
uses them. You don't have to clean before every child uses things, just
before Asher does so it's clean for him.
4. No plants/flowers in the house. Keep them outside.
5. Cats or dogs are ok. Let me know if you have any other animals. He
should not be around birds, reptiles, aquariums, etc. No zoo.
6. Don't let Asher play or dig around in the dirt or in anything that
may have lots of bacteria, spores, fungus, etc.

Things to be concerned about and call the clinic:
1. SEE YOUR HANDBOOK-section 14
2. Fever of 101 or higher-you must call no matter what time of day
3. Temp of 100.4 to 101-Recheck 30-60 mins later, do not give Tylenol.
If goes down on it's own then u don't need to call unless you are still
concerned or he's having chills or other problems. If it stays at the
temp or goes up, then call.
4. Do not give Tylenol unless he doesn't have a fever and u want to use
for pain. We don't want to mask a fever.
5. You don't need to take his temp unless you think he has a fever
6. If he has a fever, expect to be told to bring him to the clinic
(daytime on weekdays) or the ED (nights or weekends) and that he'll
likely need to be admitted for at least a couple days for IV
antibiotics.
7. When you call the clinic with any concerns,
if during the day on weekdays ask for the clinic
nurse for bmt patients
if during the nite or on weekends-ask for the BMT doctor on
call

**We want Asher to play at home and go outside for walks or quiet play
at the park. No bike riding, climbing anything, or activities that
could cause injury though.

***His nurse on Friday or myself will review all the presciptions with
you before discharge. We'll send you home with a medication sheet that
lists all his meds and when to give them.

The NP called me around 5:30pm tonight before going home and we decided together that Asher would go home on TPN. (As long as he starts eating and gets better through the first week, Asher could keep the TPN for up to 2 weeks at home, but if he doesn't eat at home, we'll have to go to NG tube after one week.) It will be 18 hours per day in order to give him all his fluids. He will also either need a vitamin injected into the TPN bag or a separate vitamin.

She gave Scott Rx which have to be filled before Asher is discharged; so Scott will drop those at the pharmacy down the street from the hospital tomorrow.

If Home Health can deliver TPN, pump(s), and anything else needed through them, on Friday (3/30) AND a nurse can come out Friday (3/30), Asher will be discharged Friday (3/30). If Home Health can't get everything that fast, then Asher has to stay at the hospital till Monday (4/2).

Sounds like Asher will have clinic visits, at the hospital, twice a week at first. Also, until Day 100 (100 days post stem cell transplant), Asher will be under the care of the transplant team and after that he will go back to care under his oncologist.

I think Asher would have his first post-treatment MRI at the end of May (90 days after his last one) and then every 3 months for the first year, or maybe it is 90 days after transplant, I'm not sure, have to check on this.

If I think of more I will post it in this blog entry.

Transplant: Day 24
Day 14 post stem cell infusion

Counts 4:20
wbc 3.2
rbc 3.19
hemoglobin 10.2
hematocrit 27.8
platelets 38
ANC 1888

RBC Morphology - anisocytosis (variation in size of RBC's) slight & polychromasia slight

Chest xray is clean and "quick" nose swab tests are negative (as I figured they would be....he always just gets this runny nose after aggressive chemo).

The social worker came in to talk to me this morning. We had a good talk about this and that, personal stuff to me. I know I have mentioned this in the blog before, but she said she is even going to look into counseling and my insurance for me to get me started since I said I think I will need that now that this is "over." It will never be over for me. She said something really interesting to me that I have never heard before....she said she doesn't like the words "counseling" and "therapy" because if you find the right person it is more just about "growing" in your life. Very interesting point of view. I like this social worker. Hopefully I can find someone like her on the "outside."

I think I have finally figured out where Asher's irritation is coming from....I watched him really closely this morning....first it is all the new nurses that Asher has never met....second, it is that the nurse comes in and first thing he says today is, "Asher looks great. As soon as he eats he can go home." DOWNHILL FROM THERE!! And, honestly, if one more person says the H--O--M--E word in front of Asher I'm going to lose it more than I did today. I said, "No more saying HOME in front of Asher; put up a sign on the door so every nurse and doctor knows." They haven't even switched him from IV meds to oral meds and that has to be done prior to Asher going home. Asher CAN go home on nutrition and IV fluids, and if he just can't eat yet, he can't eat. And, truly, the doctors and NP need to get on the same page and write things down they tell me because yesterday the NP told me NO fluids during the day so Asher will be more thirsty and this morning the doctor said NO WAY she would consider that, he needs fluids. Whatever, just get on the same page. I don't want to be told different things from day to day.

It really has become a point of frustration for me....the new people to Asher, the mixed messages, them telling Asher (well, me, but in front of Asher) that it is his fault he can't go home right now (that's what he hears when they say he has to eat in order to go home)....and he does try. They forgot his breakfast I guess because I actually called at 9am and it is now noon and the food just came (after it got reordered)....he has a piece of french toast in his mouth that he still hasn't spit out or swallowed. Not all kids are the same and maybe some eat, but Asher takes a bit longer I guess, so the doctors just need to deal with it. Whatever doctor is on call the week we are dealing with it or talking about going home, that's the point....

After I got frustrated, to the point of tears, with the doc (no NP today) and nurse in the room, Asher's mood completely changed. He was almost smiling, he liked his frog and lizard again, and he even started talking to the doctor (and 10 minutes earlier he had slapped her hand while she was going for his diaper and then she yelled at him for hitting her). I even told her the reason I don't talk to the doctors is because they don't stop and listen....I was trying to talk to this doctor this morning and she just kept interrupting me saying, "This is the first time you are telling us this" (the part about not to tell Asher about "home") and I said, "Yes, it is, so please let me finish telling you what I am trying to say...." Asher started to say, "Yeah, my whole family is at home. I want to tell Daddy to take lizard and frog home cuz Lexa would probably like them. And Aubree too."

It is hard to sit in the hospital when he's technically not sick anymore or receiving chemo or anything like that. For some reason I am having an especially difficult time this go round and I think it is because after 10 months we are dealing with doctors and nurses (transplant team) that truly don't know Asher and aren't really hearing what we're trying to tell them about Asher. It is a process, it is something we have to do, but it isn't easy, especially with the emotional mommy stuff I have. Most of the time I just sit and observe and keep my mouth shut, and get emotional. Usually I don't know why Asher is acting the way he is (mean to PT, slapping a doctor, not wanting a prize/new toy....) but today I figured it out.

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Update 16:15

I brought out several toys for Asher from 12pm-2pm today. We blew up a punching balloon and played catch. The first one had several holes in it and Asher had a good time laughing as I tried to blow air in and air blew out on his face. Then he played trains for a few minutes. Then he colored in his Spiderman Coloring Book that he got in the mail as a gift. I was so impressed with how well he was holding his blue crayon and he even seemed to be coloring inside the lines (course when I commented on him doing that he started going out of the lines and giggling about it). Around 2pm he started to get tired and I let him watch TV before his shower and dressing change. OT came in, a different gal than last time, with items to do an evalution on Asher's motor skills and I told her it was shower and dressing change and naptime....so....I told her either come earlier in the day one of the next few days or we'd have to do it outpatient, so guess we'll see. He's been sleeping since around 3pm.

Asher's dressing is now tegaderm again. He can have it changed every other day or every 3rd day and we can't get it wet in the shower.

The NP came in and just chatted with me....she said she was sorry she couldn't be here this morning, she was doing a transplant with another patient. She said a lot of the frustration could have been eliminated had she been here, because she has also been calling Scott every day and she does know what Scott says too, and the doctor just didn't know everything. The NP has been our one consistent person throughout the past 4 weeks. Anyway, so we talked things through .... I need to decide by tomorrow if I want to give Asher a NG tube or I want him to go home on TPN....if TPN, she only wants to see it go for a week at most. So starting tonight Asher will try to get his first oral med and then tomorrow, both of his oral meds. She also reminded me that someone needs to clean the house before Asher goes home (especially since we have had workers there)....so....I suppose I need to make the time to do that as well....his antibiotic is done Saturday....So we're looking at Asher going home sometime soon, between Thursday and Sunday most likely.

I keep telling myself we're so close to being outta here....just one more day, one more day, one day at a time. I have started a lot of blog entries, and not finished, regarding how I "feel" lately and I know there is just SO MUCH emotion in me about this being "over." I know I have a lot of fear concerning being in the "out of treatment" phase. I know I shouldn't let fear control me. I know I "should" feel happy. I know I should celebrate. But, it isn't that easy, or that simple. (Thanks Kathleen for the guestbook entry that helped me see why it is I feel this way and that I'm okay and normal....)

Thanks, to SO MANY of you, for following Asher's progress and uplifting our family in prayer!

Transplant: Day 23
Day 13 post stem cell infusion

Counts 4:15
wbc 3.4
rbc 3.04
hemoglobin 9.7
hematocrit 27.3
platelets 41
ANC 2244

RBC Morphology - anisocytosis (variation in size of RBC's) slight
WBC Morphology - toxic granulation present (increased number and prominence of the azurophilic (primary) granules; seen most often with bacterial infections and in association with cytoplasmic vacuolization)

Asher's okay today. Coughing lots (I really don't think this is a platelet reaction....I think he's sick with something), really bad runny nose when he is sitting up, just kinda blah today. Had a few smiles, but other than that, blah. Laying down. Watching TV or napping. He was mad at PT and wouldn't cooperate. He gave his mad face to the doctor and NP. He's been irritable. He just doesn't seem to feel too well but he is okay. He is peeing in the urinal only (not his diaper) since midnight last night. He has had several really small messes in his diaper but hardly anything to weigh on the scale. The doc and NP say he looks good. They want him to eat and then he can go home. I don't see that happening too soon. Tonight when they hang the TPN it will hang for only 12 hours and be 50% of his calories and they will NOT give any additional fluids the other 12 hours, so they can see if Asher will drink tomorrow. They will only give him a one day chance. So, tomorrow's the day. Today Asher refused all food and drinks and said, "I can't eat, I'm coughing right now." I'm not real big on pushing him....it isn't even a month post chemo, or two weeks post mouth sores or vomitting, and I think it is a lot to ask of him to eat. I have told him the sooner he eats the sooner he can go home, but I am not pushing him more than just telling him that. I am a bit worried about the cough, actually. They already came and did a chest xray (about 25 minutes ago) and they just did a nose swab too.

-----

Update 19:00

Asher weighed 16.2kg at 6:30pm. He also had to have his nose swabbed again! They only had snot from the first swab, no cells. I forgot to mention, the PCA was taken away this morning. Asher had pushed it one time this morning and later on, by a couple of hours, he cried, "I need my button." He hasn't asked since then. He continues on with no fever, just the cough and runny nose now. I was surprised when I saw his butt owie (otherwise known as the skin graft site that was to finish healing his head, which didn't take) last night, it was almost healed. Just a tiny area of the skin remains "open." I continue to put bacitracin and a 2x2 gauze on it at each diaper change to keep the yucky stool off of it. He continues to use his urinal (with no accidents) but is still having a greenish color stool every 2 hours or so. I think the C.diff medicine ends this coming Saturday, so maybe he is still recovering a bit, or maybe that is just how it looks with TPN and nothing in his tummy. He did try one bite of hotdog tonight, with ketchup on it, and just about threw up, so I let him spit it out. I'm tempted to just NG tube him tomorrow to get going with the food thing. He does need nutrition and he isn't going to eat. He won't eat with a NG tube either, but at least he will get "food" (formula) in his tummy and not have TPN going into his veins which isn't the best long term anyway. So....anyway....Asher had a good nap on the couch today, but it was short because I had to wake him for the chest xray (which still really scares him because of a big machine in his room, two strange people in his room, and I have to wait outside the door)....but he seemed in a better mood late in the day and we just finished playing Zingo and now he wanted to watch Nemo. He's going to fall asleep soon. Tomorrow will hold more of the same. Not a lot going on this week I don't think.

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Update 20:30

The transplant NP asked me why Asher looked different. She said, "Are his eyes swollen?" I said, "I noticed it too after being gone 3 days, but I think it is just that his eyelashes are all gone now." She looked closer and she said, "Yup, that's it." After being with him a full day now he looks "normal" to me again

Asher earned 3 tickets today and he just put them in his piggy bank. He earned 1 for his dressing change and 2 for 2 nose swabs. His nurse awarded them to him but he was kind of upset at that moment so she had just put them on the table. He'll be excited to trade 5 tickets for a prize tomorrow I am sure!

He's still not asleep. He was talking and being silly with his favorite night nurse. She was thrilled to see him sitting up and talking to her and she said he looks really good.

Good night.

Transplant: Day 19
Day 9 post stem cell infusion

I used to just think the difference between night nurses was how quiet some were and how loud others were. Now I know the real difference are the ones that just hang and run meds and the ones that care.

Asher got a nurse tonight that has never taken care of Asher. There aren't too many nurses left here at PCH 2nd floor in that situation, but we got one tonight. That fact doesn't bother me, but I found it odd she never asked anything about Asher or what she could do for him tonight or anything prior to him going to sleep.

This nurse doesn't check one diaper. Curious why she wasn't warned that he had C.diff and fills a diaper every 1-2 hours. She hangs her med and leaves. She has no intention of checking Asher or his diaper at that time either because she comes in without a yellow gown and gloves on. So, already two times tonight I watched her come in, start a med, and leave. I get up, Asher's diaper is so full it has overflowed to the chuck (pad on his bed) so I change his diaper and the chuck. The third time two pumps were beeping for 10 minutes before I got up, shut them off, and then changed another diaper. Seconds later she came in, "Sorry I let them beep." Then she said, "The last stool had blood in it." Yeah, I know...I changed his diaper....oh well....

In situations like this, I prefer to just stay up all night and take care of Asher because I want someone who isn't afraid to change a diaper or afraid to touch his head to see if a fever is starting....so that's me tonight.

And, the moral of the story....I am really amazed and thankful for the night nurses that are willing to stand by a kid and take care of them when a mother or father is tired and needs some sleep at night! Asher and I have been quite blessed with a few wonderful night nurses the past 9 days, one in particular....she had Asher 3 nights last week and 3 nights this week. Whenever I would wake up, she was always there with Asher. She stayed by him during vomitting, she changed all his diapers at night, she mixed a special cream-powder for his butt to protect it from all the diahrea, she carefully lifted him to weigh him at 6am, he even took Tylenol from her so I could sleep, and she bought him a special Elmo twirly flashing light toy and gave it to him the other night. She's great and she's making such a huge difference! Hope she's back next week so I can tell her just that.

The good news, for tonight, is his temp has been 36.8-37 since 9pm! Yeah Asher!

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Counts 3am
wbc 14.5
rbc 3.42
hemoglobin 10.8
hematocrit 29.9
platelets 66
ANC 11455

PTT Time 14.3
APTT 32.4
Fibrinogen 631
Thrombin Time 15.3
D-Dimer 5373

weight 17.6kg I think at 5:30am this morning - the transplant staff said this is okay, but hey, his diapers are barely fitting and we're talking about 3 1/2 lbs extra on him right now

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Update 11:00

They are stopping the anti-fungal medicine and the neupogen with his ANC over 10,000. They got the bacteria sensitivities back; the bacteria in his blood (Enterococci) is resistant to Vancomycin so he is getting a different one as of this morning (Linezolid) and he has to get it for 10 days so his hospital stay is for sure another 10 days. They will slowly take other things away too, the morphine, the TPN, etc. He hasn't had a fever since 4pm yesterday. He hasn't thrown up since morning yesterday, I think. His stools are still pretty big/heavy, and he's averaging 8 a day they said (sure seems like more than that to me, but every now and again he will have a urine only diaper).

Asher's skin started peeling yesterday from the Thiotepa chemo skin burns/Paliferim skin rashes. His head and elbow were the first things and now I see his armpits are next. His elbow was really bothering him and he kept rubbing off the dead skin onto his pillow last night.

Asher is up and looking really good. Not as tired anymore and more himself! He's on the couch playing game boy now (I had gone to the shower and he said he wanted to sleep there but I put game boy in his lap just in case and sure enough, when I got back he was playing Curious George). He said to me, "I like you sitting by me." He's too cute.

Asher has started getting nosebleeds. They aren't too severe yet. They started as pink tinged mucus that he just blew out but this morning the other nostril has blood that just runs. So, we'll keep an eye on it today.

So, I asked Asher if he wanted to call his sister to say happy birthday. Asher said, "No. It's my birthday. Cuz I need it more. It's not Lexa's birthday yet. Cuz it's mine." Earlier this morning he said, "I don't know how to make a cake." That came from our conversation on stem cell collection day (when he thought as soon as he got his stem cells he could go home....he was quite upset when I said it would be a few weeks yet) when I told Asher when he was bigger and stronger we'd go home and celebrate Alexa's birthday, make her a cake, and celebrate Easter too, and look for Easter Eggs. So, he remembered that. Anyway, Happy 3rd Birthday, Alexa Belle! Mommy and Asher will celebrate with you soon!

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Update 17:00

So Asher was up from about 9am-1:30pm. He sat on the couch with me the entire time and after a shower and dressing change he napped till around 3:30pm. I tried to sneak a little one in there too.

Asher's eyelashes and eyebrows are about gone now, with some just hanging on. I notice his left eyelid isn't opening all the way.

At a "typical lunch time" hour Asher asked for pizza! I was thrilled. He is asking for food. I didn't expect this meant he would eat anything, but I ordered it anyway. While waiting for it (it takes about 45 minutes to get it from room service) he said he wanted mushrooms on it. I tried to tell him the hospital didn't have mushroom pizzas but when we get outta here I'll be sure to get one from Pizza Hut for him. He cried (he is a bit emotional/moody/irritable today, like yesterday, although better today). Anyway, I had ordered cantelope and pizza and potato chips and a chocolate chip cookie. He took a bite of cantelope. He held it in his mouth for a bit and then started to chew it and then whined. He wanted to spit it out. I expected this. But, I'm thrilled that he put it in his mouth! He didn't drink anything today at all. I think I forgot to metion the last two days he had drank a bunch of water, although usually threw it up after.

Asher looks to be back to his almost old self already, schedule wise. Although, he is napping again now, but will probably wake up when Scott gets here.

I talked to the transplant NP around 4:30, during and after she played with Asher and his frog and lizard. She said he is looking great (although she just noticed his runny nose and is talking about swabbing him now, although, she wants to wait to see what his platelets are at because of his nose bleed). She said if Asher is only on the one drug for the Enterococcus, he could go home on it, but it will still probably take about seven days to get him ready to go home. So I told her I want the calories on the TPN cut back. They wouldn't want to cut back on the electrolytes, which makes sense, but in the past we have learned that Asher just won't eat if he is getting TPN or NG tube feedings. So, at least I threw it out there now. Also, Asher's morphine will go to 0.1 continuous tomorrow and we'll see how he does with that. I think he will do okay. We really only push the button when I shower him now because of the bone/skin pain. Oh, I also talked to the NP about cutting back on the antinausea meds, starting with the Ativan, going back to 0.5 if he is still at 1.0 (and she said 0.25 if he is at 0.5 now but I don't think he was yet). I also told her I want the hydroxyzin stopped. She mentioned if he remains fever free (forgot for how long) she will remove one of the other antibiotics too.

In any case, we're on the road to bringing our boy home. It's been an emotional week. When it gets too quiet in this room, with Asher napping, I am brought to tears at just the thought of one part of how this past week was for him, for me, how the past 10 months has been for him. I am sure the pregnancy hormones don't help my emotions right now, but I have decided it is time for a break. After crying several times last night, trying to get some sleep, trying to make sure Asher stayed dry with his diapers, I just need a 3-day weekend. I need to see the girls and just get some fresh air. Hopefully the house isn't too torn apart from the warranty repairs that have reeked havoc there this week. Scott will be here soon and I'll head home. Be back Monday morning or Sunday night I guess.

Oh, and I forgot....

Last night Asher asked to pick from the "prize box" after his dressing change. He just brought it up out of the blue. He used to have only one dressing change a week and get a toy from a prize box while he was in the hospital, but in transplant he gets one every day and has never been offered a "prize." But, the nurse held up the toys outside the window to his room and when Asher picked, she washed them down and brought them to him. So today Asher wanted another prize. However, it isn't safe for Asher to get those toys yet. So, the child life specialist came in with a piggy bank with Asher's name painted on it and she said Asher would get a ticket for each dressing change. I talked to Asher and we agreed after five tickets we will call the child life gal and he will get to pick a prize worth five tickets. At first the said, "No, I get five tickets," he meant for today's dressing change. I reminded him he gets one ticket each dressing change and after he has five (so Monday) he will get to pick a special prize (one that is set aside for transplant kids - mainly that it is brand new).

Transplant: Day 18
Day 8 post stem cell infusion

Right after my update last night, Asher started having more yucky diapers, lots of pure green liquid vomit (with hardly any flem problems this time) (I think that was at midnight), and fevers returned throughout the night.

I have asked a few times why his vomit is so green and I'll ask the doctor again today, but the nurse said green bile is what comes from the liver and when kids don't eat, that is the color of their vomit. That makes me feel very nervous! So I hope I can get a doctor to tell me more specifically why and if this is OK. I had noticed it start around the time the TPN started, I thought, but anyway.

The last two yucky diapers had very little to no blood, so I'll be watching it more today.

Asher's 6am weight was 17.3kg. My goodness....he must be holding some fluid somewhere!

Asher seems to have had some more pain through the night. My thought is maybe he's finally healing, and I'm sure his bones hurt too from his counts rising so fast and from the neupogen.

So, his counts are very big....will confirm when I get the actually printout, but here's what Asher's night nurse said:

Counts from 3am
wbc 6.5
rbc 3.62
hemoglobin 11.1
platelets 22
ANC 4680

I think I may actually go back to sleep here, see if I can get some more rest.

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Update 9:30

The doctor and other transplant team nurse/assistant were just in. They said Asher looks better today than yesterday. He's going in the right direction. They want to come back to see the Broviac site in person later today. Asher will get platelets today and stop neupogen in a day or two (if his ANC is over 10,000 tomorrow they will not give him neupogen tomorrow, if it isn't, he will get a total of three doses after his ANC is over 1000). His DIC is better today. They aren't changing anything else today. If Asher was able to take something by mouth, they would prefer to give the C.diff med orally, but won't do that just yet. They still don't know what the bacteria is sensitive to, but hopefully will know soon. They said obviously something he is getting is working for it. Nothing from yesterday's cultures has grown as of now. They said some of the fever can be due to the neupogen and the cells grafting.

The nurses said his stools are a little less watery and a little more brown in color, so maybe he's close to kicking the C.diff.

Asher is having more pain today and I think I'll ask the pain team to leave his morphine alone for today, so still 0.2/hr continuous with allowing Asher to push the button as well.

He's still sleeping.

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11:00 37.4
13:00 37.1
15:30 37.9
16:30 38.4 - took Tylenol

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Update 18:30

Asher went almost 12 hours without a fever! Yeah Asher!

Asher has been more irritable while he's been awake. That's probably a good sign since he has more energy to be irritable.

The transplant team nurse/assistant has checked on Asher tonight and said he looks really good and he's not out of the woods yet, but he is improving.

Asher is up for the third time only today. He wanted to play Peggle Deluxe (free game on my laptop) first two times he was up today and the second time he fell asleep on me on the couch while playing. He does have little engery. He's up now; had a shower, dressing change and will now play with Scott some. Asher said, three times, "Thanks for coming back Daddy." Awe, kinda sweet and kinda sad at the same time. If only I could bring the girls too because I know he misses them and I know he would feel better, faster, seeing his sisters too.

PT stopped in but Asher was sleeping. She won't be back till Monday.

OT dropped off some little tasks that we can do with Asher at home (or the hospital).

Asher got magnesium today because he was low.

Not much else happened today.

Chemo Round 6 3/5/07 - 3/10/07 (see Chemo Round 6 Photo Journal)
Days of Rest 3/11/07 - 3/12/07 (see Chemo Round 6 Photo Journal)
Receive Cells 3/13/07
-------------------------------

3/13/07 - Asher receives his FOUR bags of stem cells (from 10:51am-12:20pm)
Asher before receiving his stem cells

Childlife made the signs for his room

Opening the freezer


Removing one "cassette" (which holds one bag of Asher's stem cells)

Removing the bag of stem cells from the cassette

Putting the bag of stem cells into the "bath" to thaw

Still thawing and turning a darker red color

Checking to see if thawed (and gently mixing?)

Passing on to one nurse

Showing a bag (this was the smallest bag 1.9x10^8 cells) and label

That nurse brings the bag to Asher's nurse and they compare the I.D. on Asher's ankle band to the one on the label (for EACH bag)

Asher's nurse prepares the bag, attaching it to the tubing she has already primed (for EACH bag)

Asher's nurse hangs the bag on his IV pole

The infusion begins

Asher receives the stem cells through the tubing and then through his Broviac, almost immediately he has a terrible taste in his mouth (from the preservative) and begins to vomit

A syringe is used to get as many of the cells out of the bag and tubing and into Asher

Empty bag!


After it was over, while vitals were still being taken, Asher playing with a race track and three cars that child life gave him during his infusion

Truly LOVES this frog and lizard


3-14-07

Wanted to color with crayons on the posters childlife made him & Tracing his hand


Taking a nap


3-15-07
Really red/discolored skin
Playing with his train on the floor mat on the floor

Listening to mommy's ipod and then fell asleep listening to music



3-16-07
Really red/discolored skin
Fevers today





See more photos from 3/17/07 - x in the Autologous Stem Cell Transplant Photo Journal #2