Northeast Gardening: Coffee Break # 80, 1 by pixie62560

pixie62560 wrote:
Haven't given an Adam update in awhile....it's not all that great. :(

SAT. May 26th, 2012
Megan and I both have been feeling a little under the weather. Baby Adam has been feeling very sick from the chemo, with fevers that come and go, nausea, pain issues, skin breakdown, and a bacterial blood infection. He's taking it like a champ though tough little man that he is. His blood counts are way down and it makes it harder for his body to heal from the skin breakdown and harder to fight the bacterial infection in his blood, the blood infection is called "Alpha Staff" and is treatable with the right antibiotics but it will take a few days or so because of Adam's low white blood cell counts and lack of a strong immune system, this type of infection usually affects the respiratory system creating alot of excess mucus that the nurses have to periodically suction out. He has been getting lots of rest and has been somewhat comfortable the last few days, they have him on a continuous Dilaudid Drip(morphine) for right now to keep him pain free. He has a few spots where the skin has corroded and is missing layers of skin and looks very raw and sore...we have been keeping fresh vaseline strips on it to keep it moist and unexposed as the wound specialist recommended. Still trying hard to get him moving and doing physical therapy when he feels up to it. They gave him a new kind of chemo on Thursday it is similar to an epidural where they put chemo directly into the spinal fluid in his back and we will be alternating between that type of chemo and the "intrathecal chemo" (into spinal fluid in his head) as well as "Systematic" (I.V.) chemo. We are waiting for his blood counts to get back up so he will feel and heal better then when he is doing really well again they have to give him more chemo and he gets sick again :( poor little buddy. PLEASE KEEP PRAYING FOR BABY ADAM AND THAT THE CHEMO IS EATING UP THE REMAINING SPOTS OF TUMOR!!



MONDAY:
Baby Adam is feeling o.k. today he is laying on his mama cuddling and has been comfortable, still pretty congested with mucus rattling in the back of his throat when he breaths...Megan and I have been taking turns holding him and doing chest P.T. patting his back to loosen up the mucus and trying to suction it out. Just changed the dressing on his neck sores and they are starting to look a little better and growing back some new skin thank god. They added some magnesium and potassium to his "T.P.N." (I.V. Nuetrition) because they were a little low. Still treating the blood infection and we expect it to take a little time because of his low white blood cell counts and lack of immune system. Hopefully within the next couple days we will start seeing his blood counts come back up and he will HEAL much better. Still hoping that we can get him home for a few days toward the end of the week before his next systematic chemo treatment. Try to keep you updated in the mean time.
Thanks for our support and prayers, have a good memorial day.
PLEASE KEEP PRAYERS GOING FOR BABY ADAM

LAST NIGHT: May 29th, 2012
Today the nuerosurgeon came in today to take out the stitches in Adam's head and we found out the shunt system in his head is not working now, but he had a c.t. scan on friday and it showed that his "ventrics" (pockets of spinal fluid in his brain) were enlarged, so most likely it has been that way since friday and his body is tolerating it well so far. We are hoping that the precedure that they tried before the shunt to open up the drainage system naturally in his head is able to work now and that the chemo has cleared up the small pieces of tumor that were blocking the drainage before. His body doesent have enough white blood cells or platelets right now to do any surgery to fix the shunt without putting him at HUGE risk for infection. We have to watch him closer that ever for signs of increased cranial pressure and if that were to happen then we would have to take the risk of infection and he would have to have emergency surgery. Needless to say Megan and I are nervous recks this morning trying to process this new information. PRAYERS FOR THE DAY SHOULD BE FOR ADAM'S HEAD TO DRAIN THE SPINAL FLUID AND FOR THE BLOOD INFECTION TO GO AWAY!! THANKS FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT AND PRAYERS

These are his parents, my Great Nephew... Big Adam & Megan @ the fund raiser on May 19th.