After a couple days and nights of up and down temperatures and uncooperating bowels, Courtney finally had a good day with virtually no fever and no cramps. So, we were able to do what we had planned: have a small birthday party for Aidan at the hospital.
Today was the day after his birthday, but, being only 2, Aidan didn't seem to mind one bit that we celebrated a day late. He's such a sweet kid. I took him to Walmart so he could pick out his own presents. I fully expected him to gravitate to some particular toy or two and not want to part with it, thus making my job of choosing his birthday gifts easy. However, every time he showed interest in a toy, he would cheerfully leave it alone when I said, "Let's go." The one time I want a kid to insist on keeping the toy, he doesn't do it. Nevertheless, I was able to pick out a couple he seemed to show extra interest in.
So, we loaded up the presents, the cookie cake my sister Ashley made and some party hats and headed to the hospital. Upon arrival to the family room on Courtney's floor, we sanitized hands, attempted to put masks on all the kids and sang "Happy Bithday" to Aidan. He then had a blast licking the frosting off his portion of the cookie cake and tearing the wrapping paper off the presents he picked out earlier. He still managed to act surprised even though he had just played with them in the shopping cart earlier in the day. He's so considerate!
Tomorrow, Courtney should receive a visit from a doctor that specializes in infectious disease. Her internist wants to make sure there are no detectable signs of infection of any kind after her episodic fevers the past couple of days. It's only precautionary, but were thankful for it as it shows the care and concern the doctors have for Courtney. The good news to date is that so far her blood and urine cultures and chest x-ray have all been negative. (Even though 'negative' sounds negative, it's really positive, because it means they didn't find any bad bugs swimming around in her blood or urine. Just in case anyone was wondering.)
5 comments:
Hello, I know you don't know me but I was apart of the t-shirt design. I want you to know you are in my thoughts and prayers daily. As well as my family and extended family. What a strong family and I am touched by every days post. Happy Birthday to your little Aidan. And congrats for being done with chemo.
We look forward to hearing more about you having more good days then bad. We are sending you and your family our love!!
Happy Birthday to Aidan. Glad you got to spend some special time together. Hope this week is fever-free. Thinking about you every day.
Aidan really is the sweetest kid, I miss him so much in Nursery! I am glad to hear things are looking very bright for you, it must be all of the prayers ;) Give Aidan a big birthday hug from us!
We're so happy that the chemo is over and that it did the job it was supposed to. We're just sorry that Courtney must get sick in order to get well. From now on in we pray that every day is better than the last and that the nightmare you have been living in the past few weeks will just a memory. Happy birthday to Aidan. He is such a little sweetheart. I see the sisters don't seem as thrilled about his birthday as he is. Why is it that kids never seem to think it's that much fun to watch other kids get presents. I remember how embarrassed I was one time on your birthday Todd when Becky was pitching a fit because you were opening up presents and she wasn't. Your Grandma Ramm was not impressed. Take care you tow. Love, Ron and Vicki
Happy Birthday Aidan. I'm so glad Courtney could celebrate with the kids! Anyways, I just wanted to share this excerpt I found particularly helpful in understanding leukemia (to anyone that's interested):
Myelogenous leukemia is the result of an increase in WBCs that are made in the bone marrow. Normal WBCs play an important role in the body's defense against infection. However, leukemic WBCs lack this crucial ability, leaving the body vulnerable to infectious organisms such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi.
AML overview and insights:
AML is a malignancy (or cancer) of blood-forming tissues of the bone marrow, characterized by an increase in immature WBCs. Normally, the bone marrow makes cells called "blasts" that mature into several different types of blood cells. AML prevents the blasts from properly developing. Found in the blood and bone marrow, these mutated, leukemic blast cells multiply rapidly and crowd out normal blood cells. People with AML become increasingly susceptible to bleeding and infection as the normal blood cells decrease in number and lose their ability to effectively defend the body against microorganisms. The onset of AML is usually quite sudden.
Post a Comment