Colin Loves Tractors » tracheostomy

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 [...]

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 [...]

True North

Mom — Sun, 20 Feb 2011 05:24:41 +0000

Colin is in remission, and it now seems easier to utter the words aloud. His scan from January was still “stable,” with Dr. Gajjar now asserting that the sliver of “whatever” that cradles Colin’s brain stem is scar tissue. He further stressed that surgery would not help and would only cause more damage (duh!). All [...]

No, No, No, How are You Doing?

Mom — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 16:31:22 +0000

Perhaps I was naively unconcerned about Colin’s latest scan. We returned to Memphis after a month at home for a battery of follow-ups, most importantly the MRI of the brain and spine. The legendary furnace of early July in Memphis intimidated us, yet those first days turned out to be [...]

Happy Mother’s Day

Mom — Mon, 10 May 2010 05:51:57 +0000

Mother’s Day is billed as an opportunity for fathers and children to express their gratitude for the other 364 days a year that mothers devote to their families. However, I see it as yet another day to appreciate the two beautiful children that I have had the privilege of taking care of and getting to [...]

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 [...]

The Little Engine

Mom — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 06:15:55 +0000

Colin has made some big leaps ahead, and we can now really see the strength of his determination. He vehemently resists activities and treatments that he does not like and resents being subjected to uncomfortable procedures.

Unfortunately, we had to put him through two of those today. The first was the upper GI study, essentially a [...]

Iron Man, not Iron Lungs

Mom — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 07:15:05 +0000

Colin has finished the methotrexate infusion that kicked off the second round of chemo. Despite a very rough time the day before the chemo started, he has continued to improve neurologically. Arguably, he has made more progress in these days than we have seen so far.

Colin is getting more playful and aggressive with his brother, [...]

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 [...]