Colin Loves Tractors » VP shunt

Parallels and Contrasts

Mom — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 03:32:40 +0000

It is all too easy to feed off of birthdays, anniversaries, and other meaningful demarcations of time. How long since, how long until? In the x days since returning home, we have done y activities and Colin has achieved z milestones, giving us something to plot and chart in three dimensions.

In Memphis, I had imagined [...]

Predator vs. Alien

Mom — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 06:08:38 +0000

Since finding out about Colin’s blood clot, we have settled into a normal non-medically intense lifestyle punctuated by the possibility of crisis. On Superbowl Sunday, Colin became inexplicably agitated and then very spaced out, eyes unfocused and suddenly falling asleep sitting up. The pseudomeningocele on the back of his head had become an even larger, [...]

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 [...]

Home Sweet St. Jude

Mom — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 06:44:36 +0000

Life doesn’t offer real do-overs, but there are times when an experience follows the parallel track of something that has come before. Returning to St. Jude after less than a week at Le Bonheur, I had the feeling that I was given the opportunity to completely repeat the past but improved in every way.

Rewind

When we [...]

Rising Storm

Mom — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 15:24:53 +0000

On Sunday afternoon, I left Le Bonheur to pick up a few things at the grocery store, walking out of the sterile air into the openness of a springlike day. The sun was bright and the air a pleasantly neutral temperature, but the sky betrayed another mood in the dark gray distance.

By the time I [...]

Twelve Hours

Mom — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 08:11:45 +0000

Colin has set a new record for readmission, though fortunately not because of a sudden deterioration of his condition. On Wednesday afternoon, I drove Dad and Aidan to the airport for a quick trip home to see family and friends. After returning to the hospital, I packed up Colin and brought him back to Target [...]

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 [...]

Breakdown Lane

Mom — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 08:10:32 +0000

St. Jude is a superhighway of cancer care for children. Colin ends up in the breakdown lane, much to the chagrin of his team (including his family). He is a patient who constantly challenges the staff and the system, ignoring all of the assumptions and common pathways.

On Monday morning, Colin went in for surgery to [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]