Be Swift To Love

Nick had a good day today. He was in good spirits and seemed to feel a lot better and with renewed energy. His WBC count has continued to fall and his hematocrit is slowly climbing back up to where it should be. He will most likely receive a few more transfusions of RBC's with a goal of 30. Today his Hct. was 22 (much improved from his admit Hct. of 10!)
He also received platlets today as his were low (this was to be expected)
They took him off his monitoring today, so he was free to move about his room and use the "real" bathroom. He was also much stronger and therefore, able to get up and walk without concerns for falling. He still has his IV pole, with it's myriad of bags and tubing and IV pumps. He has come up with several names for this new best friend, "the birdies "(because they chirp and squawk all night and keep him awake) and his "dancing partner." He hopes to take a shower tomorrow ( and that is a good thing since he is starting to get a little ripe) They have a crazy shower in the bathroom. There is no shower stall. The stuff is on the wall and there is a plastic seat and a drain in the bathroom floor. There is a curtain you pull around and just start blasting away!

He still has his central line IV, so they will cover it with plastic. He also got permission to start walking laps around the floor and he can even go explore beyond that if he feels up to it. He must wear a mask whenever he is out of his room, due to the risk of infection from airborne crudballs. We did get to speak with his "medical" doctor (not an oncologist). He has been very helpful and is willing to spend a few moments to talk and answer questions . I will have to save my rant about Doctor/Family communication for another day, as I am very tired and need to go to bed.

Dr. Ostend was able to shed some light on the kind of leukemia they think Nick might have. However, sophisticated scientific hooh-hah is still taking place, so I prefer not to put it out there right now. As soon as we have a final and definitive diagnosis, I will let everyone know. Nick is still sort of in this "holding pattern" ....the proverbial calm before the storm. Nick spent sometime tonight talking about his outlook on this whole mess. He is definitely his father's child when it comes to the positive outlook and the ability to keep things low key and maintain and go with the flow attitude. He is very determined to get strong and keep a positive outlook on everything that is happening right now. He trusts in the doctors to do the right thing and make the right choices for the treatment of his illness. I am trying to find a balance between patient advocate and overwrought mother of an adult young man, who was, and will always be, my baby!

Today was easy...when things are good, it usually is easy. I got a big hug from my boy before I left to come home. I just pray that God gives us all the strength to get through the difficult times to come. I will close this post with a quote that I found to send to one my soldiers.

"Oh, do not let us wait to be just or pitiful or demonstrative toward those we love until they or we are struck down by illness or threatened with death! Life is short and we have never too much time for gladdening the hearts of those who are traveling the dark journey with us. Oh, be swift to love, make haste to be kind! " -Henri-Frederic Amiel