Colin Loves Tractors » Neurological Deficits

Indestructible

Mom — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 05:03:21 +0000

Before launching into the latest long-overdue update, I want to post information about the 2011 St. Jude Give Thanks. Walk that is taking place across the country this weekend. We are going to New York City on Saturday, November 19, to support the hospital in a walk across the Brooklyn [...]

Summer Kick-Started with a Scan

Mom — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 05:47:21 +0000

Even on the cusp of summer, Memphis is unforgivingly hot, but the weather is nearly irrelevant when you’re back for check-ups at St. Jude, which we were at the end of June. I packed instead for the climate-controlled stasis of the hospital and the expectation that our days would devolve into a mad dash of [...]

Full Circle

Mom — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 07:20:29 +0000

Colin returned home, nearly a year from the completion of radiation and two months short of his fourth birthday, with a good scan and no trach. Well, we have plenty of trachs, but none actually inserted in him. Anticipation of the possibility that Colin would come home without that annoying, formerly life saving appliance swept [...]

Reset Button

Mom — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 17:43:52 +0000

Colin’s second week of radiation was grueling: vomiting, utter fatigue, dangerous aspiration and an unexpected stay in the hospital. The third week (days 9 – 13) was a completely different story. After going back inpatient at St. Jude, Colin slept for two days straight, waking on Friday morning at 4 am to let me know [...]

Out of the Nest

Mom — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 05:20:12 +0000

Colin Mugging for the Camera at Le Bonheur (Post-Ops)

Our little fledgling has returned to Target House for good, following his last inpatient stay at St. Jude (barring unexpected events, of course).

While we will spend every week day at St. Jude, our trips to the second floor will be restricted to social calls. This milestone [...]

The Jury Foreman Speaks

Mom — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 02:35:50 +0000

When juries wrap up quickly with a verdict, it can be a good sign or a bad sign, but it usually means that they have found the suspect not guilty. In this case, the jury adjourned hours earlier than expected to report that our little suspect is not guilty of having visible tumor.

At the time [...]

I’m In!

Mom — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 17:40:38 +0000

The news of the impending loss of Colin’s port was sobering, but we put it behind us as we launched into the holiday weekend.

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Even at St. Jude, things slow down over three-day weekends, and during this period we only had one appointment, a lab check on Sunday to see how his magnesium was doing.

On [...]

One-Upmanship

Mom — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 17:53:49 +0000

After Thursday’s flood of good news, it seemed impossible that the trend would continue.

However, Colin wasn’t having any of that. Friday’s first big event was the transesophogeal echocardiogram, which was quick but required sedation.

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Dr. Joshi #1 (the cardiologist) came to take another look at the vegetation in Colin’s heart. Predictably, it took longer to [...]

The Sky is Falling!

Mom — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 07:03:24 +0000

Oh, wait. That’s just snow. Target House Elephants: Normally, this is a fountain, and through the holidays the pachyderms were adorned with white lights.

Memphis has collapsed into pandemonium over the thinnest blanket of white that lasted long enough only for extremely fleet shovelers to find anything worth clearing from sidewalks. The snow is nestled in stalks of [...]

Marathon, Not a Sprint

Mom — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 06:25:03 +0000

We and others have often commented that cancer treatment is a marathon, not a sprint. Today, the literal marathon supporting St. Jude took place, including a half-marathon and the 5K that I participated in. The connection between treatment and the marathon is more than casual, something that we observed and felt first hand through the course [...]