Max's Thoughts

While Max was sick, he never really talked much about what was going on with him. I have always just assumed that he just figured that when you turned 3, you start getting lots of blood tests and eventually have surgery and get lots of meds and transfusion etc. He has never questioned it. However, he has started talking about his thoughts in the last few weeks. The other day, he talked to me about how he thought we were taking his blood to give to other kids who needed it, which I wrote about already. Tonight, he asked me a lot of questions about his surgical experiences and also about when he got a CAT scan. We were reading Curious George Goes to the Hospital, which he choose from the Bookmobile on Thursday. That really is a pretty great book for kids going to the hospital, even if it is pretty outdated. All the kids (and George) stay in one big room with nurses and their caregivers leave them for the night. I can not imagine what it would have been like having to leave Max every night when he was hospitalized. Anyway, we talked about xrays and he asked about his. I realized just how many he has had. I mentioned the CAT scan, which is one of the really traumatic things he has experienced. He was terrified of it. He never brought it up after that one day, though. However, he described it and what his thoughts were about the different parts of it. It was interesting to hear what it was like for him. He also talked about blowing up the balloon before surgery. For his first of the three OR surgeries, the had him blow up a balloon that had medicine in it to make him sleepy. He really hated it. I still do not know why, but he talked about it a lot tonight. We have been lucky, and the anethesiologists have been willing to not use the balloon after that one time. He told me it tasted like candy. I asked what he didn't like about it and he would not say. But, then he got kind of small and scared looking and told me that the next time he had surgery, he wanted me to tell the doctors that he only wanted to practice blowing the balloon up, not blow it up with the candy tasting stuff. I told him that I hoped there would not be a next surgery, but he didn't want to hear that. So I told him that I would tell them. He gave me a hug and seemed to feel better.

I wonder if we will get more of this over the next few months, and I wonder why it is coming out now. I am glad that he feels like he can talk to me about these things.

Anniversary Great News: CBC - 05/02/2008

Well, after a week of stressing, and two weeks of having a sick Max, we had Max's blood draw today and the results were great. I was my typical stress case, but when Dr. Ebb looked at Max's shins and also after they took the needle out and he didn't bleed at all, I felt a lot better, so I was not all that surprised that his platelet count was good. But the counts were all as good or better than I could have hoped for.

We started the morning helping out watching a friend's daughter, and my friend was kind enough to offer to watch Lauren in the afternoon. I was planning on going to the Museum of Science in the morning, but that would have meant dragging all three to the hospital afterwards, so we skipped that. Instead, after Max's appointment, he and I took the T to the North End for a slice of pizza and then Maria's Pastries. A very sweet person sent us a gift certificate to Maria's, and we took advantage of it. Max hadn't ridden the T before, and it was a great adventure for him, though a bit stressful for me, as I still haven't mastered it, and it is hard enough for me to read signs, think and get to the right trains without keeping track of Max, but it was fun anyway. The North End was packed with new Northeastern grads, so it was full of life. Max enjoyed his pizza and cannolli. Then we headed back. We ended the evening with a trip to Max's favorite restaurant for sushi. Now, hopefully, he will be as tired as I am and go to bed.

We don't have to go back for two months. I can't believe how great that feels.

The counts:
WBC: 7.5
HCT: 36.4
HGB: 13.2
PLT: 224
ANC: >2800