A Good Visit

Max had an appointment at the clinic today. They drew blood and gave him his antibiotic. His counts were great. They are still pretty far off "normal" but way out of the danger zone. Dr. Ebb said that his platelets were practically high enough to play hockey (with a helmet, of course). It sounds like winter activities like sledding and skiing are not out of the question after all (of course, it is going to be back into the 50s this weekend but that is a different conversation). They are moving him to blood tests every two weeks now. They are not 100% positive that the insurance will continue to cover the home nurse, but I think we are okay for a few more visits, as we just got a letter saying they approved 4 visits. If he only needs tests every two weeks and goes into the clinic every other test, that should get us through until April. I can't believe I am even thinking this way. It is amazing. We actually made an appointment when we left, for a checkup and more pentamidine. We haven't made a normal appointment since this started back in July. It is like walking into another world.

We sat in the waiting room for quite a while today, as it was really busy and bed space was at a premium. Normally, they would have had him wait in the room between weight checks and getting started. He had a great time playing with the toys in the waiting room, and there were other children in there for him to play with. He spent a lot of time playing "Treasure Boat" (it was a pirate boat) and kitchen with a 5 year old boy and trains with a 2.5 year old boy. It was nice seeing him playing with other kids again. The 2.5 year old seemed pretty intrigued with him. His mother told me that he had been pulled out of daycare when he got sick and misses playing with older kids. It is hard to see all these children who are so sick, whose lives have been so interrupted. There was a 7 month old baby with bladder cancer there today. He was diagnosed two days before Christmas. I can only imagine how devastating that must have been. We received such an amazing Christmas gift. They had the opposite happen. The 2.5 year old boy has a brain tumor. He and his parents are from Foster City, CA. MGH apparently is the best place to go for pediatric brain tumors. I recognized that look in his mother's eyes. Fear, exhaustion, disbelief that your child is going through this. And all around us, children who are so sick were playing and laughing.

WBC: 4.6
HCT: 28.8
HGB: 10.5
PLT: 75
ANC: 1196