Colin Loves Tractors » fungemia

Chemo Vacation

Mom — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 14:47:22 +0000

Colin is taking a little chemo vacation, though it may be more theoretical than real. Of course, we don’t want him to actually take a break because the whole point of being here is for him to control the cancer with drugs. However, the endocarditis has forced us to put the scheduled Day 8 and [...]

Pushing Through

Mom — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 07:44:46 +0000

Colin is back on track with chemo, eliciting a big sigh of relief for us. As dreadful as chemo can be, it is also our purpose for being here and it is the current modality for treating his cancer. The recent sidetrack chasing down his fungal infection has been disruptive at best and potentially lethal [...]

Trick or Treat

Mom — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 06:41:19 +0000

The children of St. Jude are now asleep, comatose in the aftermath of an orgy of candy consumption. Halloween is the biggest holiday here, bigger than Christmas (when the doctors presumably arrange for many of the patients to return home). This year’s celebration was toned down, presumably from infectious disease concerns; inpatients and outpatients were [...]

Third Eye Patch

Mom — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 16:41:30 +0000

Today, it seemed that the eye patch gods had finally smiled upon us: the arrival of a nice bundle of pediatric eye gauzes. Also, incongruously (so it seemed), a bag for capturing urine. Well, all of it related to the same thing: urinalysis before and during the methotrexate infusion that started on Saturday at around [...]

Levy Butt Paste

Mom — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 04:44:38 +0000

The weekend has been eventful in many ways, and Colin now hovers at the brink of the next step in his treatment, installation of the shunt and replacement mediport. Medically, he is stable yet not trouble free. The most pressing issues are terrible diaper rash from continued diarrhea and fluid/chemical imbalances.

The diaper rash is the [...]

Kiss Your Baby Now

Mom — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 04:10:22 +0000

Life in the hospital always has an underlying tension, as the situation can change dramatically over the course of days or moments. We watched Colin’s condition deteriorate gradually over several days, with a mounting sense of urgency from the floor pediatricians. We later realized that he was seen by the “pediatric response team,” which is [...]