Enjoing time with grandparents, Pike Place Market, inpatient…

It’s been a busy and exhausting week.

Friday

After filming on Thursday, Friday was a much calmer day and we only had to go to Children’s for a dressing change. After we went to the Seattle Premium Outlet Mall up north in Tulalip. Liam enjoyed shopping some Polo shirts. After a quick nap, he got excited when he saw Mickey Mouse in his car.

Saturday

Saturday we were on the hunt for pancakes, but the place we wanted to go was too crowded, so we ended up in EUREKA! for breakfast, but no pancakes.

To satisfy his craving for pancakes we stopped at QFC and bought some ready made pancake mix. He really enjoyed them and they tasted good.

In the evening Katie and Matt came by and brought Chinese food. We enjoyed the evening together and the plan was to leave Liam at home with grandma and grandpa, but because he didn’t feel so well, Tiffany stayed home with grandma and grandpa and I went out for a drink with Katie and Matt. We had a great time.

Sunday

We had to be at the hospital at 9 am. First labs and while we waited for the results we had some great breakfast at the canteen.

He needed platelets after and while they were being prepared, he entertained the nurses and received some stickers as reward. He also showed off his new look.

In the afternoon we went to the Brooks headquarter to buy Tiffany some new running shoes, as she seems to wanting to get ready for the next olympic summer games. 😉

Monday

We would have had the day off, but Liam didn’t feel that well, had a rough night and he was on the edge of a fever, so we let the study team know and they wanted to see Liam. They put him on antibiotics and mentioned that his cancer is traceable in his blood again. But he was due for chemo on Wednesday. After we went to Pike Market Place as we to go for a long time. Great place with all the fresh things you can imagine.

Tuesday

Liam was very tired from all the medication and we decided it’s better for him to stay home. So Liam and I stayed home, he slept through the whole day. Tiffany and her parents went to the Northgate Mall. Grandma made dinner which we really enjoyed.

Wednesday-Sunday

Wednesday turned out to be a much longer day than expected. We went to the hospital for a bone marrow puncture to check his cancer cells. Further he received chemotherapy. Because his oxygen saturation was low after the anesthesia. So they wanted to have an eye on him overnight, so we were admited. He was still in very good shape.

The saturation got better over night, but he got a fever and if you get a fever you have to stay 48 hours without being above 38 Celsius. In the mornig he had to throw up and they were a bit worried about that, so they ordered a CT scan and a X-Ray. Both showed that there is a blockage in his bowel. The team was afraid that it could turn into a full blockage or that the bowel stopps being supplied with blood. That’s when the surgeons came into play. They told us that there are two options, wait it out or operate. They didn’t know what was causing the blockage, is it scar tissue, is it a twist in the bowel. So they were very cautious. Operating on someone with active leukemia is not something you want to unless you really have to. Your cells are so low, that the wound healing is very slow. So over the next days Liam had numerous X-rays and ultrasounds. And it looked better and better over time. So the surgeons backed off and were pretty happy with his bowel. Yesterday he had another X-ray which assured them, that there no blockage anymore. But Liam had now other problems, his electrolytes were very high Friday night, towards the mornig they got better as they flushed him with a lot of fluids. By the evening we had the problem, that the electrolytes were to low. Which is better as you can supplement it. So he got lots of fluids during the night, we warned them, that he will be very puffy in the morning, but they were concerned about his electrolytes. There is a mediaction which helps you pee, but they were afraid, that he will pee out the electrolytes he needs. So he was very puffy this morning and got puffier throughout the day. We stressed that this is something, that worries us and our nurse was very helpful and shared our concerns with the doctors and then he got the mediaction which helped him a lot. He is still on oxygen, but very little, he just needs that little bump of air. We hope he improves further and hopefully is a little fitter tomorrow, as he slept the whole day. They are taking very good care of us and are watching Liam very closely.

Today Tiffany’s parents left after 10 days and will be missed dearly. Until Wednesday they got to spend a lot of time with him, which is great.

After they left, we got some other visitors. Katie and Matt stopped by and brought us lunch, which was delicious. Time was flying. They are just awesome and help us on everything they can. They are just there if we need them. We are very lucky to have them as our friends.

So, hopefully the coming days will be less thrilling and stressing and were are able to continue the treatment we are here for.