Pesky Bacteria!

106 days of fighting leukemia.

We are still in the hospital. Carson is in great spirits and he's responding well to the antibiotics. His blood cultures have come back clear of bacteria since late Friday and he's been relatively fever free since then, too. However, his pesky ANC is still below 100...which means he really has NO immune system. Zippo. So, if we can keep the bacteria clear, the fever away, and get the ANC to come up (which it will in time), then we can go home. Hopefully that's not too far off.

Not as Fun

Our stay in the hospital this time around hasn't been nearly as "fun" as our stay in July. The flu epidemic has changed everything. Because Carson is so vulnerable, we are basically on lock down in our room. Although we did do a few laps around the ward today, we've been strongly discouraged from leaving the room. (In fact, we were basically told not to, but we did anyway.) And if/when we do leave the room, we are all sure to wear our stylish surgical masks.

In addition, visitation rules have changed. Visitation is only for a few hours each day, and younger visitors are not allowed. Even Francesca has been dis-invited.

The make up of the patients on the Hematology/Oncology ward is somewhat different. With an overflow of flu cases in other areas of the hospital, part of the ward is now home to non-flu pediatric cases. I guess if you think about it, this is a really good thing. If there's room for other not-so-serious pediatric cases, that must mean there are fewer cancer cases. That's definitely something to be thankful for!!

Paul.