Colin Loves Tractors » diarrhea

Survivor: Target House

Mom — Sun, 23 May 2010 13:10:43 +0000

There is no immunity challenge, and Jeff Probst doesn’t sit us around a campfire to discuss who is next to go, but living here is beginning to feel like a warped version of the Survivor reality show. So many families that were planning to leave after us are by now long gone.

The Simkins, who have [...]

No Mo’ Chemo!

Mom — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 15:46:17 +0000

The last chemo precaution sign. This indicates the time of the administration and how long we need to properly dispose of diapers and so forth (48 hours after the drug has finished being administered).

Well, it’s official: Colin’s I.V. chemo is done. He received a dose of vincristine Thursday afternoon at 3:22 pm. Chemotherapy will continue [...]

Boomerang Boy

Mom — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:08:48 +0000

After days of struggling with the aftermath of chemo, Colin started to perk up a bit, so he emerged from the hospital after 25 days. Of course, he has very happily been out of the hospital during that time, yet not technically an outpatient.

The whole process was a little confusing, as Dr. DeWire told us she [...]

Colin’s MRI Results… and so Much More

Mom — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 19:22:49 +0000

Colin enjoyed three nights on the prowl (i.e. outpatient) before a planned admission on Friday for chemo to start on Saturday. He enjoyed his time out on the town, and it was great once again to have the family in one place. This was also our trial run of the new home health agency, which [...]

GTA: Memphis

Mom — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 07:21:55 +0000

The big news is that Colin is set to discharge on Tuesday morning. We all (doctors included) feel this is important for the whole family because, once Colin goes back inpatient for chemo on Friday night, he will likely stay for at least 10 days if not more.

The better Colin feels, the more obvious it [...]

TPN at 10 P.M.

Mom — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 06:01:58 +0000

Friday was an eventful day for the whole family. For one thing, it marked the arrival of Kiyoshi and Perry from Connecticut! Aidan got to play hookie and greet them at the airport with Dad, which was a much needed boost for everybody.

Back at the hospital, Colin had a very busy day, kicking things off [...]

Putting the “P” in PT

Mom — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 05:03:49 +0000

Colin’s trip back to the hospital has been longer than we had hoped, though not for dramatic reasons. First off, his ANC has not yet bounced back. His ANC was zero on Sunday and Monday, then 100 on Tuesday and Wednesday, not enough of a gain to buy him a ticket out of here. Also, [...]

Home Again

Mom — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 05:45:51 +0000

Tomorrow, we plan on bringing Colin home again. After much planning and deliberation, St. Jude found another home health care agency to provide nighttime nursing. We met with three of the staff, including one of the nurses who would be taking care of Colin.

Following chemo, he was especially weak and tired, but every day he [...]

Hello, Neutropenia!

Mom — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 06:06:00 +0000

Initially, the reluctance to release Colin from the hospital was related to timing and the fact that we had still not worked out the kinks with managing his secretions. On Friday, though we were prepared to bring him back, the doctors were not comfortable releasing him with the weekend looming.

As it turns out, this was [...]

Putting the Fundo to the Test

Mom — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 05:48:40 +0000

After Colin’s sudden swelling on Sunday, Monday started off relatively placid. However, he remained generally puffy and his secretions continued non-stop. This was no great surprise given the tremendous amount of fluids he was receiving, but it was also exacerbated by nausea.

As the day progressed, Colin flagged. In the afternoon, he actually vomited for the [...]