Everything seems to be going okay so far. Isaiah was running a low grade fever yesterday and had several dirty diapers by noon, so Erica called his Oncologist at Duke who recommended we take him to the ER. I stayed at home with Levi and Sarah while Erica took Isaiah to the hospital. Isaiah's doctor at Duke had called our local hospital to tell them that they were coming ... and that Isaiah was neutropenic. Isaiah had a room waiting for him when they got there. The ER doctor & nurses took some blood and gave Isaiah some antibiotics in case he had an infection. Because he was neutropenic and was running a low-grade fever Isaiah was transferred to Duke University Hospital late last night via ambulance (hospital protocol). Erica came home and grabbed some clothes and drove up to meet him. Once at Duke, more blood was taken to run cultures/tests.
This morning Isaiah's blood tests came back negative for bacterial infection, his fever was gone, and he was no longer neutropenic. His blood counts were on the rise ... not sure why, I believe someone at the hospital told Erica the anti-biotics could have played a part. This morning we were all going to drive to Duke for Isaiah's scheduled hearing test and CT scan.
The hearing test came back normal. We'll get the results from the CT scan tomorrow. The hearing test and CT scan are part of Isaiah's mid-point check-up since we're done with his third round of chemotherapy. Etoposide, one of the chemo drugs, can damage hearing - reason for the hearing test. The CT scan will check Isaiah's brain and eye orbits for any cancer growth. All normal protocol. Isaiah will have his fourth round of chemotherapy next Monday & Tuesday along with another EUA Monday morning to make sure his right eye is still cancer free.
Beyond all the medical appointments, Isaiah is doing great. He runs around and plays. He looks sick - probably from all the chemo, but continues to act normal. Erica and I regret cutting his hair. I was tired of people thinking my son was a girl, but cutting it all off doesn't look that great right now. His hair will be able to grow back shaggy once all his treatments are over. Levi and sarah are doing great. Levi will finish his first year of preschool at the end of May. Sarah is getting big and smiling all the time. She now prefers to sit up and look around instead of laying down. Bills continue to pile up ... we're praying that our tax refunds will come in soon ... we're also praying that our bankrupt state will be able to pay refunds.
We're looking forward to my Aunt to fly in on Saturday and stay to help while Isaiah gets his 4th round of chemo. We also heard back from the Make-a-Wish Foundation that Isaiah is eligible to receive a wish. Folks from the foundation should be contacting us in the next month or two. We've tried to explain to Isaiah that he can pick anything that he want (to do, receive, etc.). He doesn't quite grasp the concept of getting anything that he asks for at the end of his treatment. He loves the movie Cars and plays with cars all the time ... maybe a Nascar race or DisneyLand.
