Tyson's Brave Battalion

Tyson's Brave Battalion
Things don't go wrong and break your heart so you can become bitter and give up. They happen to break you down and build you up so you can be all that you were intended to be.” ~Samuel Johnson

Monday, April 30, 2012

Good Update

 Good news!  I think we are done with tests for now!  The eye doc came in and dialated his eyes which made him really mad cause he was asleep, but he let her examine them and there is no evidence of fungus in his eyes, a little hemmorage she said so they want to see him next time we come down for clinic, but she said that is common with such low platelets and to just make sure and call if he complains about his eyes.  His lip looks better and better!  I think it will heal up pretty quick now.
 The child life specialist brought in some I Spy books and he sat on my lap and we read them while he got his neupogen shot.  He was still really mad about it, but recovered quicker because of the book.  I told him he has to get a lot of pokies and so now that he knows he is resigned to it and not totally mad every time he sees the IV cart roll in...although he is still mad.  He is feeling much better right now than he has since we got to the hospital, he is talkative and laughing at the nurse and playing xbox.  It is SO good to see him like this!  Part of it is the oxycodone he is on, but he is definitely starting to feel better too! Yay!
 He held really still for his echocardiogram to see if his heart has fungus on it, we don't have results yet from that.
And a cancer kid and his mommy came to visit and bring Ty some fun stuff to do.  We didn't get to see them cause Ty was getting his eyes checked at the time, but it was really nice of them to bring Ty some presents. 
I talked to the oncologist and she said she wants him to be fever free for at least a couple of days before she will let us go home, and they want the cultures to be completed and have negative results.  It takes 48 hours for culture results.  So we are looking at about 4 or 5 more days here if he continues to improve.
It will take several weeks for the fungus to completely clear from his lungs but that treatment we can do at home and then we would probably do another CT scan in about 4 weeks to see how that is progressing.  I also talked to the infectious disease person again today and he said it is pretty common to have central line infections and they can cause a person to be very sick which is why they got us down here and took it out quick.  They said the cultures drawn from the port came back positive for yeast, but the cultures drawn peripherally didn't so they think the yeast infection originated in the port, and even though it spread to the lungs he should improve well now that the port is out.  The fact that it isn't in the eyes, brain, belly, and sinuses is good news.  I read online that systemic fungal infections cause about 25% of the infection related deaths in patients with Leukemia so we are really lucky that they found it and are getting rid of it quickly.  Something that was pretty scary for a couple of days there is now having us count our blessings again and thankful for such good doctors and nurses.
So for now we just wait out the test results and see if his fever stays away.
 Click on the CureSearch button top right to join our team :)  and Thank You!!  We couldn't make it through this without your love and prayers.

I found this video below on Youtube and it is an awesome explanation of childhood cancer funding.  Please watch and visit their website at http://www.makenoise4kids.org/index2.php

A little bit more about the video: Joe Morton discusses the lack of research funding for childhood cancers. Help us make some noise and fund the cure research.
-- Produced by the Make Some Noise Foundation in memory of Jordan Plauschinat, Brady Wells, Sam Hutchinson, Max Mikulak, Jackson Schneider, Ricky James, Kayleigh Banfalvy, Brian Ernst, Paige Peterson, Willem Bolan, and all the children we have lost to childhood cancer. Thank you to Nonna's of Florham Park NJ for allowing us to film in your restaurant. Thank you to Joe Morton for sharing his talent and gracious friendship with the foundation, to Jeffrey Kubach for his skills as producer/editor, to Shore Fire Studios for their kind assistance, and to all those kind and patient souls who participated in this video. We truly appreciate the noise you help make.

Counts for the day April 30:  WBC .8 up a little, RBC 3.83 up a little, HGB 11.2 up a little, HCT 33.2 up, Platelets 74 down a little, ANC 0.1 same.  Fungal culture findings from port: Candida albicans

Good Morning

Aaaaaah  Okay, a good night's sleep does so much good for a person.  I also got a shower this morning and was able to put some laundry in.  I know doesn't seem like much, but yesterday was so nonstop it is nice to have a breather.  He already got one of his pokes out of the way today with a blood draw this morning and the child life specialist is going to try to help us distract him and is asking for some numbing cream for his neupogen shot later today.  He is so patient with everything else that goes on but pokies are just not his cup of tea. 
They will check his eyes for fungal today, and his heart but both of those procedures shouldn't be too bad.  He got a rash right after the CT scan yesterday so they are trying to figure out which med caused it, we are thinking it was probably the contrast which means he may be allergic to shellfish so if he has to get another CT done we'll have to watch it close.
He still has a fever so doesn't feel much like playing or anything which is actually easier when you are stuck in a hospital room, but also means that whatever is ailing him is still ailing.  I don't have a copy of his counts yet but the resident said they are up a little so that is good news. 
And we just found out the very bestest news when the nurse pulled off his dressing on his port removal site we discovered that they closed the wound after all and used steri strips on it which makes it totally fuss free.  We won't be having to pack the wound and change the dressing twice a day after all.  We are SO SO excited about that.
Dr Wright, his oncologist also popped in to say hi even though she's not treating inpatients this week, she just wanted to check in with us.  She said about his chemo, when he finally does recover she is going to start with one pill a week and then work our way up from there instead of adjusting down like a normal ALL kid does in maintenance.  She also said that when his infection is clear we will do a picc line which is a tube sticking out, probably from his arm, instead of his port for a while, just to make sure all of the infection is clear before they put a new port in.  That was awesome news cause we are already missing his port big time.  A picc line is kind of a pain cause they can't submerge it in water, and it involves dressing changes but it is better than stupid IV.  One of the residents when we first got here said the attending that night thought he probably didn't even need to put in another central line since he was in maintenance and momma bear was ready to put up a big fight on that one.  There was no way we were going to let them do an IV at least once a month for the next 2 years. So anyway it was a relief to talk to her.  We love Dr. Wright, she has been the perfect oncologist for Ty.
Sorry that was so long, I don't remember details very well so I like to have a record of what is going on when there is so much.  Thanks for all of the concern and prayers.  We are doing okay, watching Pink Panther and snuggling when we can.

Sunday, April 29, 2012

pokies

Recovering from one of his 'pokies' of the day with a little DS time

So after Ty woke up from surgery we pretty much had nonstop hospital yucky stuff the rest of the day.  He is at a disadvantage now that he doesn't have a port. They can't get blood to draw off of a normal IV so everytime they need a sample of blood now that means another pokie which entails him crying and writhing while I hold his whole body down and the nurse holds his arm and the IV girl draws the blood.  It is lame.  When you have a port everything goes in the port, everything comes out of the port so there are very few pokies involved.  So today he had two blood draws, a shot of neupogen, the IV in his hand taken out (they put another in his foot during surgery cause the one in his hand stopped working) involving some painful tearing off of a lot of tape wrapped around his hand.  In addition to that he has sever diahrrea now so we have had two bedding changes, about 20 diaper changes (he can't have a pullup cause of the IV in his foot), and about 20 trips IV pole and all to the bathroom. In addition to that we spent about 1 1/2 hours getting him to drink his contrast that he had to drink to get a CT scan.  It was a full cup of gatorade with the contrast mixed in and apparently the gatorade does not disguise the yuckiness of contrast cause he would drink a little bit, cry and yell that it was hurting his tongue and was yucky.  We aren't sure why his tongue is sore but he has cried about it a few other times today as well. 


 The highlight of the day was definitely getting to see Grandma and Grandpa and the kids!  They made a day trip down just to see us! 
Here's Ty holding really still for the CT scan.  He did a great job holding still while that little bed he is on went back and forth through the 'space ship'.  He was happy to get two stickers for doing so good.  He has been such a trooper today and we are both worn out.  He slept for a while after the CT scan and now thinks its time to be awake.  Here's to hoping we get more sleep than we did last night.  The CT scan did show a little fungus on his lungs, but the resident said the meds he is already on will treat it so we are at a watch and wait and see basis.  Hoping tomorrow entails less pokies and trauma.  I'm trying to help Ty cope with the whole pokie thing since he will be getting several while we are here.  Hopefully in the next few days he will get used to it and realize it isn't as scary as it seems.  It totally stinks that I have to even try to teach him that.  Right now I am hating IV poles, residents, medicine, pokies, and everything else that has to do with hospitals.  We can't wait to get out of here...too bad that aint happenin anytime soon.  He still has fever of 102, even though he's been on nonstop Tylenol all day.  Good night.  Thanks for the prayers. 
Oh, and he also had another blood transfusion today.  His labs today: WBC 0.5, RBC 2.54, HCT 22.3, HGB 7.2, PLTS 101, ANC 100.  He ended up only having one platelet transfusion last night instead of two, and I think i already mentioned that he got blood last night.

Surgery Done, Doing well

Okay, whew!! Surgery is done, that was tough watching him be rolled away with no platelets, no ANC, low red cells, and infections. I will admit I spent most of his surgery crying in the waiting room until Brady called and we talked and he distracted me from all of the crazy worries I was having.   Don't worry about the blood, that is actually from a bloody nose.  They said he was pretty mad when he woke up, pretty agitated and he was rubbing his nose.  They put some medicine in it to stop the bleeding and gave him a little more sleepy juice so he could sleep off the agitation so I am using this little window to do a quick update before he wakes up.  The port site is pretty clean and smaller than I expected, although since it was infected they can't close the wound for several weeks to a few months they said so that will entail packing the wound and dressing changes twice a day. Heinous. 

The docs finally came around on rounds and I feel so much better now that I have talked to them.  They are going to do a chest xray to see if they can find out why he is needing a little oxygen and ct scans to see if the fungal infection is hiding out anywhere in his body.  They will also do an ulstrasound of his heart to see if any of the fungus attached itself there.  I am so relieved that they are being really thorough to try to figure out why his fever was so high and why his oxygen is low sometimes.  A doc from infectious diseases came to talk too and she was very thorough.  She is starting him on another antifungal just in case, and then after they have results of the CT scan and the heart ultrasound and see what his lip is doing (which as you can see has gotten a little red again) and see how his fever is and see if the cultures grow anything else then they can determine what meds he still needs to be on and will have a better estimate of how long we will be here.  They won't even take a guess right now so we have no idea how long we will be here.  They are being super cautious because he is neutropenic and has been regularly.  He just woke up so I am off.  So far he is in a good mood!  The pain meds must be doing their job. : )  Oh, and they are giving him neupogen to boost his white cell count to see if that will help too which they don't usually give to A. L. L. Kids but in this particular case they think it is necessary.

Saturday, April 28, 2012

Booo for Pokies, Oxygen

I forgot to mention how scared he was to ride in the ambulance.  When the guys came in our room and told him he was going for a ride he freaked out and started crying and saying 'I want to go in our car!'  He wouldn't get on the stretcher.  The ambulance guys left the room for a minute while I calmed him down and doc McInturff came in and talked to him a little.  He finally let me get him on the stretcher if I was holding him and I held him all the way down here.  It was a looooong bumpy ride. He slept pretty much the whole way. His nurse Marc rode with us and gave him his IV fluids and meds on the way and gave the nurses here his info and stuff.  I don't blame him for being scared, it was kind of scary for me too, I'm glad Marc came with us...I wanted to tell him thank you before he left but I didn't get a chance.  The ambulance guys were really nice too.
So they have to draw peripheral labs which means they had to put an IV in his hand which he is going to need after they pull his port out tomorrow anyway.  He was not happy about it, and still isn't.  It is tender and he can't really use that hand now.  He cried about it for a long time until I fished a 'pokie prize' out of my hospital to go bag that I stashed in there a long time ago for such a time as this.  It is a gun that shoots little spinny discs.  He had a little fun with it.

His temp when he got here was 104 and it got up to 105.4 before the tylenol kicked in.  It is down to about 101.  The nurse said ' we usually don't like to see 38.4 (101 ish) but it's a lot better than 40.8' (105 ish).  His blood pressure was a little low and his heart beat still averages around 160, but sometimes goes up to 170's which makes the monitor beep.  They are keeping an eye on it.
So they drew labs and cultures and his WBC is down to 0.2.  Platelets are up a little 27, and HCT went down from 21 this morning to 17 now.  They will give him a blood transfusion tonight and two platelet transfusions tomorrow before he goes in for surgery to remove his port.
They are starting the anti-fungal medicine tonight and continuing the vanco and zosyn and acyclovir.
He has not had a good day, and probably won't tomorrow either, but hopefully in the next few days things will start to improve.  I think we will be here a few days. 
and Good Morning...
 The nurse was very busy all night hooking up meds and transfusions and trying to keep his oxygen level up which made for a very beepy noisy night
For some reason he couldn't keep his oxygen level up on his own when he was sleeping.  Don't know why yet cause it is 6:30 and we haven't seen anyone yet to ask.  He didn't like the oxygen thing blowing in his face, so he would move, his oxygen level would go down, it would beep the nurse, he would come in and adjust it, Ty would move again.  He still doesn't feel good, fever is still there.  I'll update more when I can
Thanks for the prayers for Ty.

Update

Okay we are here.  We are on the 3rd floor ICS overflow.  I talked to the resident and she said they will start his antifungal meds and continue his antibiotics tonight.  Tomorrow morning they will do surgery to remove his power port and he will use IV's in the arm until his infections are clear.  Then they will put a central line back in, probably a picc line (booooo) but we don't know for sure yet.  They don't seem too concerned about the fungal infection right now, the big thing is getting the port out I guess.  They said infections can be a little unpredictable but for now since he looks pretty good they aren't overly concerned. Thanks for the prayers, thoughts, and concern.  We are settled in and doing pretty good.  His lip is already improving on the vancomycin so that must be a bacterial infection.

Fungal Infection too

So Ty had a reaction to something.  Probably the platelets, but they don't know.  He got a rash all over and his face swelled up and he started coughing and saying he couldn't breathe.  His heart rate went up to 174.  He is breathing fine now but still has the rash. His temp stays at about 102 now.  They stopped the platelets and watched him.  Right after that the doc came in and said the lab called and one of his cultures came back positive for yeast which means he has a fungal infection in his blood and needs to be treated for that and will probably need a new central line which means surgery.  We are being transported to Primary Children's.  Please keep our buddy in your prayers.

Infection

So Ty's lip oozed clear yellow liquid all night, which woke him up a few times cause it would drip into his mouth.  He still has a fever and the lip went from this yesterday afternoon...
 to this last night...
 And  below is what it looks like this morning...
 The doc cultured it and is ordering some nubain for the pain.  I won't lie, this is scaring me a little.  His body has no way of fighting this infection off...and it is obviously resistant to the zosyn.  I'm glad the doc was here already cause I'd be going crazy right now if we were just waiting while this thing spread.  :( 
So they are starting him on another antibiotic called vancomycin and starting acyclovir just in case it is herpes.  They did a swab for that too.  He is also getting platelets today, and his hematocrit is lower today too so he'll probably get a blood transfusion tomorrow depending on how low it goes.  Hopefully the vanco takes care of his lip.  Doc McInturff also talked to PCMC oncology to make sure they agreed with what he was doing.  Sooo glad Dr. Mcinturff was on this week. : )
Counts today: WBC 0.5, RBC 2.37, HGB 7, HCT 21.3, (they usually transfuse when its under 20) PLTS 13, ANC 10 (anything under 100 is considered zero)  He got his nubane and he's sleeping now, hopefully I can get him to eat something before the nubane wears off.    Thanks for the prayers.


Friday, April 27, 2012

Yep, I was right, Hospital day 1

Did I call it or what?  If you follow my posts you may recall that in the post called 'Back on Chemo' I predicted that his ANC would be back to zero between April 24th and May 1st.  Well it's the 27th, he has a fever, and here we sit at the hospital with ANC a big fat ZERO.
 They are busy up here!  We had to hang out in the observation room for a while until they could get him a room cleaned.
 He got his first dose of zosyn at 2:00 and his fever is still hanging on between 101 and 102.  His lip is totally weird.  Last night he had a tiny spot on his lip that was bleeding and bleeding.  Nothing else, it wasn't swollen or anything.  It finally stopped bleeding so I didn't worry about it.  This morning he woke up with a fat lip and started the day with a temp of 99 that just kept on rising.  The fat lip has continued to grow and get redder throughout the day, and has what looks like a blood blister on it.  Like I said...weird.   He doesn't feel good at all, wants me to sit and hold him in bed
so here we sit.  weight 16.4, 36 pounds.  WBC 0.3, RBC 2.57, HCT 23 which is borderline transfusion level, PLTS 16 which is almost to transfusion level too.  I wouldn't be surprised if they decide to transfuse especially if counts are lower tomorrow.  Lymphocytes are at 90 % which is high so I wonder if he is trying to fight off some kind of virus.  I'll update soon I'm sure.  Thanks for the prayers, rides, babysitting, etc!!  

Monday, April 23, 2012

One Year of Treatment in a Nutshell

One year of treatment!  Ty was diagnosed on April 21st, but started his treatment with his port placement surgery, chemo in his spine, and BMA on Saturday, April 23rd.  I can't believe one year has already passed since Ty was diagnosed.  We have been so blessed and learned so much!  I have a friend who messaged me right after Ty was diagnosed, her daughter has a brain tumor, boy was she right when she said we were about to get on a roller coaster.  There have been many lows and many highs, many fears and many faith building experiences. We've made friends, witnessed miracles, and heard of many tragedies.
Here are some stats:
Over the past year Tyson has...
Taken 28 trips to the 'horsey doctor' Primary Childrens in SLC...
Been on steroids 5 times (the first one was definitely the worst though, he was on them for 28 days straight) We call them the little devil pills...
Been admitted to the hospital for neutropenic fever 5 times, staying between 2-7 days...
Taken over 300 pills...
been sedated for 13 lumbar punctures (chemo injected into the spine) had 2 bone marrow aspirates, and surgery to place his power port...
 46 doses of IV chemo...
6 platelet transfusions...
and 6 blood transfusions...
had his port accessed over 40 times...
been on IV antibiotics 7 times, he even has his own IV pole...
 has had at least 65 blood draws for a CBC...
And lost all of his hair for a while.

Whew!  See the smile?  Ty has been such a trooper during this whole thing.  He has been so patient and cooperative with nurses and doctors even though he won't say much to them.  He still lets them poke and prod and examine.  He doesn't like his mask (who does?) but still wears it whenever he is in a public place with a low immune system.  When he's not allowed to eat cause he is going in for sedation or cause he can't eat within two hours of taking his nightly chemo pill he understands and seldom throws a fit about it.  He gets tired fast and often has 'headaches' in various parts of his body, but still runs, plays, rides his bike and laughs.  He stayed home from many reunions, parties, church classes, activities, and Sunday dinners because of a low immune system and understands why...but he LOVES it when his counts are high enough to fully participate!  I was trying to decide Sunday if I should let him go to his Primary class cause his counts were headed downward...but quickly decided he could go after he begged and begged!  We are so blessed to have him in our family.  He is our little buddy and we are so thankful that he is still here with us! 
What would we do without our Ty Ty? 

We've also learned a lot of medical terms, learned a lot about Childhood Cancer, and learned a lot about cancer charities and cancer research funding, been able to participate in some fundraisers, and with friends have been able to start our own grassroots way of helping local families. We are so thankful that we are in a place to be able to help other families, even if it is just a little bit. 

I know I've said this many times, but we are also SO thankful for all of you who are a part of
 "Tyson's Brave Battalion!" 
 Thank you for the concern, prayers, dinners, house cleaning, visits, presents, donations, cards, babysitting, rides for our kids, participation in fundraisers, treats, friendship, the list goes on and on.
We have received way more attention and love than we deserve
but this is definitely a battle we could not endure alone so Thank you!

Last but not least, we know the Lord has been with us in many ways and we have truly come to understand what Elder Wirthlin's mom meant when she said, "Come what may and love it."  We have learned a little bit more about what this phrase means:  "Pain comes, misery is optional."  And we only have one bit of advice that I think will work in any situation.  Pray. 

  "How can we love days that are filled with sorrow? We can’t—at least not in the moment. I don’t think my mother was suggesting that we suppress discouragement or deny the reality of pain. I don’t think she was suggesting that we smother unpleasant truths beneath a cloak of pretended happiness. But I do believe that the way we react to adversity can be a major factor in how happy and successful we can be in life.  If we approach adversities wisely, our hardest times can be times of greatest growth, which in turn can lead toward times of greatest happiness." ~Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin

Diagnosis Anniversary Continued

After the triathlon we went to the 'fishy Arctic Circle' cause Ty's been begging to go there, and then we went for a little hike at Cherry Springs.
 Climbed our favorite tree...
 Stick races...
 We wore Ty completely out, but he did awesome for being on day five of steroids!
 Can you see the steroid effects?  The top half of his body gets puffy and round...even after only five days.  It goes away fast though.
 Spontaneous play in the sprinkler...a couple years ago I might've been ticked that they got all wet in their clothes, but this day I am just so happy that he is outside playing and laughing I recorded and took pics instead of scolding.  Such a happy day!
Ty was coloring and said 'mom let's play guess the picture.'  I said, "ummm a mountain?"  Ty said, 'nope, scribbling.'   : ) 
Yesterday I went through Ty's treatments and counted all of the 'stuff' he has done over the past year.  I'll post it all when I get a chance. 
We can't mention his one year diagnosis anniversary without saying a
 GIANT THANK YOU
 to so many people who have helped us and prayed for us. 
And especially thank you mom and dad for taking care of and loving the kids when we couldn't be there.  You saved our sanity. 
Thank You

Saturday, April 21, 2012

Diagnosis Anniversary, Bengal Triathlon

 Ty was diagnosed April 21, 2011.  One year ago!  Today we went to the Bengal Triathlon who donated the money they raised to local children fighting cancer in honor of Ty.  What a perfect perfect way to celebrate one year of beating cancer! 
 We got to see Bristol who fetches the tee for ISU's football team during games.  Ty went to a game and helped Bristol as their special guest a few months ago.  You can see that story by clicking on NOVEMBER 2011.
 We got to cheer for Bristol's owner Smitty as she finished the triathlon.  I've been thinking a lot about how even though the battle against cancer is super crappy, there is a lot of good that comes from it too.  A lot of that good comes from other people.  People like Smitty.
 We got to hang out with daddy who has been gone training for work for two weeks.
Thank You Thank You Bengal Triathlon!!  And Thank You KPVI for telling Ty's story and mentioning our blog Idaho Fighters!!  We are so greatful that you are willing to help us!
 Over the past year our eyes have been opened to a world that we knew nothing of. 
We are so thankful for the organizations, doctors, and nurses who put so much into Childhood Cancer. 
They have come so far over the past 40 years, raising the survival rate from 10% to 78%.  Even so that means that over 1 in 5 kids diagnosed will still die from the disease, and the suffering they endure to try to survive!
 It is heartbreaking to learn of the burns, puking, mouth sores, rashes, constipation, relapses, feeding tubes, pokies, transfusions, surgeries, kidney stones, infections, fevers, hair loss, (endless side effects) and siblings who cry on the phone cause they miss their mama.
 I hate giving Ty little poison pills every day and watching him be sedated for procedures and seeing the side effects of it all...but Ty is considered to have the 'good' kind of cancer!  When the docs and nurses say that they are indicating that the treatment is much much worse for the other types of childhood cancer and they are right!  Most of the children that do survive suffer medical effects of the 'treatment' the rest of their lives.  They are more likely to have heart problems, and more likely to have cancer.  Yep that's right, the treatment for childhood cancer causes cancer.
 I could go on and on but I will just say Thank You Smitty, Thank You Ainsley, Thank You Bengal Triathlon organizers and participants.  The money you earned today will help some families in our area with the expenses of driving back and forth to Primary Children's.  It means a lot to us cancer families that you are aware of us and are willing to help alleviate some of our burden! 
THANK YOU!!
*We did more fun stuff later today and I have other thoughts about Ty's diagnosis and the past year but I will save it for another post.

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Ty on the news, and chemo today

I know! I know! But at least this time his lips are owey because of a normal little boy thing!  He tripped on the front steps at my sister's house Sunday night and fell on his lip.  As you can see it hurt a lot but it is already looking a lot better, it is a big scab now. 

 Today was clinic day.  When I told him we were going to horsey doctor he said, "yesssss, can I play Kung Fu Panda?"  So here he is picking out the next game after he played kung fu panda to his hearts content.  We waited for about 1 1/2 hours to go back to sedation.  They had to get his medicine from the pharmacy and see if his counts were okay.  On the way across the hall to the sedation suite he said, "mom, I don't feel like I need to go to sleep."  : (  He always hates this part, it makes him nervous.
 Today was a lumbar puncture day (chemo in the spine) which is what the sedation is for.  He also got vincristine IV and today he starts his five day round of steroids.  He is also on a new steady antibiotic to prevent a certain type of pnuemonia called Dapsone.  He takes a pill every night. It replaces the Septra that he was on because they felt like maybe the Septra was adding to the problem of consistent low counts. 
 His number one buddy dad couldn't come today so we brought daddy doll instead.  As soon as he was awake enough he hugged his doll and held it up so he could see dad's face. 
 He also played playstation as soon as he was awake enough to hold the controller.  He has to stay lying down for 1/2 hour to let the spine heal to prevent headaches.  And they monitor him for an hour after he is sedated.

He fell asleep holding his frosted mini wheats about 5 minutes into the ride home and slept the whole way home.  Sedation makes him sleepy and woozy so I was glad he could sleep it off.  Thankful today that everything went smoothly!  ...and thank you for dinner...again!  : )  On another note...guess who was on the news last night...click on the link to see the story...
Bengal Triathlon: Competing for a Good Cause  The Bengal Triathlon is on April 21st which is Ty's diagnosis day anniversary.  What a great way to celebrate one year of beating cancer!! 
oh oops, I forgot to post his counts, I like to have them written down somewhere.  WBC 1.8, ANC 800, PLTS 65, HCT 31.1.  His counts are dropping faster than I thought they would.  His oncologist dropped his dose of methotrexate even lower from 6 pills to 4 pills to see if that would make a difference.  My prediction remains the same, I think he will be close to or at zero within the next two weeks.  I hope I'm wrong, we'll see.  He weighed 16.6kg today (36.5).  He is getting really close to diagnosis weight!  And he is taller too! 95 cm. yay!