Wednesday, June 4, 2008

This week has been pretty uneventful (whew!). I am still concerned about Michael's platelet count though. He is still bruising super easy. Tonight he was swinging a small rope around, pretending it was a lasso, when it came back and hit him lightly on the side of the head. Within seconds, there was a nice little bruise. In fact Michael has so many bruises, even he is commenting on them. I called the school nurse on Monday so that she and Michael's teacher, Mrs. Adams, would know that the bruises are an expected side effect and they wouldn't get alarmed (and so they would know we really aren't beating him). My understanding from Dr. Kennedy is that if his counts are still low this week then that's a good indication his immune system has turned on his healthy cells. Keep your fingers crossed that isn't the case.

Michael started playing t-ball last night but they were rained out. They had practice just long enough to hand out uniforms - a color coordinated hat and t-shirt. Michael is on the "red" team so his uniform is red (of course). There are a couple of kids from his pre-k class on his team so Michael was pretty excited. Practice will be on Tuesday and Thursday evenings for 2 weeks and then they will play 4 games in the next 2 weeks. Of course, I will take lots of pictures and try not to bore you with too many.

This morning Michael was asking Jeff and me about what was going on the rest of this week (trying to keep his social calendar straight and all). When he got to Friday, he got a smile on his face and said "that is my treatment day". I was taken back a little and asked him if he liked going to his treatments. To my surprise, he said "yes". He added that he doesn't like "getting needles" but that the rest of his treatment was fun. Now before you think he has gone off the deep end, Michael's attitude is a testament to the wonderful doctors, nurses and staff in the pediatric oncology unit at University Hospital. They care deeply about each of the kids as individuals and it comes across to the kids and their families. I am sorry that we are going through this whole ordeal but I am thankful that we were directed to this wonderful team. Until Friday, please keep Michael in your thoughts and prayers, JoAnne

3 comments:

Unknown said...

Bless his sweet little heart. Im so glad that yall keep it normal for him as much as possible. My oldest was born with two holes in his heart and was unable to get around alot of kids. We got over that fast and just let him be a kid. I will be praying for his immune system to be in tip top shape come Friday. Please give him a little hug for me. I shared his story with my 15yr old daughter. I think she has fell in love with him too. She made me sit and show her every picture posted. Take care, Susie H

Deb said...

Hi Joanne, I'm so glad to see that Dr. Kennedy says that his low counts actually can mean something good. There's not a lot that I know about this, and my prayers are on the way up. I can't wait until the games begin, I'm looking foward to lots of pics.

Nikki via The Scarlett Rose Garden said...

Hi Joanne~ I found your blogs thru the porch party. I must say I skipped the porch and went straight to Michael's page.
My heart goes out to all of you. I sure hope these treatments are doing their job and soon the little guy will have just memories of the hospital visits. What a strong boy, and a strong and loving family.
I went back to the beginning, then read some in between. Loved his singing, he's a doll! Hugs to you all!
Sincerely,
Nikki