Monthly Archives: September 2009

A Post from Cutler

by

6

Psalm 139:13-18
You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous – how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, you are still with me!

Thanks to everyone for following my fight against leukemia!  I am strong, I will beat this!!  Love, Cutler

Easy Day Went Left, Cutler Juked Right

by

5

Kammi got a kick, two stooges didn't

Kammi got a kick, two stooges didn't

So apparently Cutler may be a good running back in the future as he pulled a quick one over on us today.  After both Melanie and I left Cutler this morning, things turned a bit and Cutler had a bit of a rough day.  He vomited twice and blood pressure was a bit high and then this evening before I left again, Cutler was running a mild temperature.  After the first vomit episode Cutler was given Benadryl, which usually works but then he vomited a second time and so they provided a stronger medicine that I can’t recall the name of at this time.  This appears to have worked as he has since sucked down quite a bit of milk and successfully retained it.  However, I just checked in with Melanie and the fever is gone, which the nurse Kammi believes was potentially a reaction to the chemo as a side effect is a temperature spike.  Now I am happy to report that he is back to his happy playful self.  Unfortunately Mason is now limping pretty bad, he says his leg “feels old”, so we are taking him to the doctor tomorrow morning.

One positive thing to come from today is that Kammi got a kick out of the effects of the vomit attacks.  Apparently he took turns making sure he blanketed Grandma and Aunt Pat and is apparently an equal opportunity vomiter.  He got them so good that they had to wear hospital robes while washing their clothes in the family laundry facility.  Apparently Kammi got quite a kick out of this, which may have knocked her down a few rungs on the old ladies’ ladder, but has boosted her significantly up mine.  (Attention our nurse friends, the competition is on 🙂 )  But to be clear, we love them all as they are all tremendous people who take extra special care of Cutler and our family, which deserves a separate posting all on its own.

But the story for me that was the funniest is that while Grandma is walking back from the laundry facility and the charge nurse asked Kammi why “that patient” was on this floor.  If you ask me, it would have been more of a question of why the orderlies weren’t chasing after the crazies breaking from the loony ward.  (no offense intended towards the old mentally inept)

Despite the negative and positives from today, I think what today did most was really open our eyes that not everything is going to be peaches and cream and that we are going to have far worse days ahead of us.  I think sometimes, at least for me, with all of the positive steps Cutler takes and the way that he continually acts healthy I forget how sick he really is and today provided an eye opener for me.  Today was a minor blip compared to what we have ahead, but we are strong and Cutler will beat this.

An Old Pro

by

8

Cutler had yet another successful spinal tap.  Maybe 20 minutes after the start, Cutler was back in Melanie’s arms and ready to eat. 

Loving my mommy

These cords don't taste good, get me my bottle

Still awaiting the results, but the doctor did take the opportunity to inject a little more chemo for safe measure.  Dr Goldman, our original doctor, is now taking his turn on the floor and is still amazed at how good Cutler looks and acts.  He made mention that maybe in a few days when his immune system is up we could bring home for a few days.  While I welcome this as good news, I am so scared of infection that I think both Melanie and I would be on pins and needles every time he sneezes or coughs.  But it would be good to have a semi normal life for a few days.  We will see how it goes.

Not So Hot Blooded, No More Fever of 103

by

7

Big and Lil Bro

Big and Lil Bro

Can you tell I am running out of  witty titles?  I really enjoy typing up these posts, but I am really having trouble being creative as the number of posts grow.  Any way, Cutler still has no fever and so for now it looks like he has avoided an infection and his quick bout was more of a bacterial issue than anything else.  We still never heard on the culture results, or at least not that I am aware of, and so we will just go with the doctor’s assumption that it was indeed not infection but bacterial.  We’ll take whatever the doctor says so long as they keep proving themselves right.

Cutler continues to do well and his appetite continues to grow.  Unfortunately he does have another spinal tap scheduled for tomorrow morning at 9 am to test the fluid as well as to inject one more round of chemo to be safe.  I guess we are becoming so familiar with this now that my biggest concern is his crankiness to not being able to eat in the morning, especially now that his appetite has continued to grow at mass pace.

Are You Yellow?

by

3

 

Bigger they are...
Bigger they are…

Yesterday afternoon Mason tested and passed for his yellow belt in Tae Kwon Do.  Mason started taking classes six weeks ago as part of his after school program and he seems to really enjoy it.  We were able to observe the majority of his class prior to the test conducted with the older and higher belted kids.  It really is impressive watching the respect and self esteem the teacher tries to instill in the children at this young age.  As tough as Mason is getting, I may have to start taking classes to avoid him being able to take me down. 

Still Going Strong

by

6

We have recevied a few inquiries about Cutler’s health because there is a lack of post.  First off, Cutler is still going strong and still without fever.  Haven’t heard anything back on the cultures yet, so no news is good news right now.  I apologize for the lack of post, but things are fairly hectic with running between the hospital, house, Mason, and work.  Please stay positive and don’t assume the negative when a post is not up in a timely manner.  We are also running behind in getting thank you notes out to everyone who has been so grateful with their time and donations.  Promise that those are on the way.  It is my night in the hospital, so I should be able to get more photos and information posted later tonight.  Thanks for everyone’s continued thoughts and prayers.

Oh, one last thing, the photo below for Guess Who is Mason.  I was looking through some old photos on Friday night and was amazed at how much they look alike.  I think we can now cancel the paternity test.

Infection? What Infection?

by

11

A quick update…Cutler’s fever broke about 12:30 this morning and so far has not returned.  The doctor believes the fever was probably due to some bacteria in his system rather than an infection, but he is still following through with the cutlure to be sure that we are covered.  For now it looks like Cutler will be on antibiotics for a few days unless the culture comes back with something new.  He also hooked up the iv again to be sure that Cutler doesn’t get dehydrated.  In a typical defiant move by Cutler, he continues to suck down the bottles.  I guess his way of saying “IV?  I don’t need no stinkin IV”.

Infection

by

5

A couple of hours ago Cutler started running a fever of 101 and just recently vomited quite a bit.  The fever is now up to 102 and he is being treated with antibiotics.  The nurses believe the vomiting is just due to the fever and are not concerned right now and have given him some anti nausea medicine.  Tests have been run to determine the type of infection and help determine how long he will need to be on antibiotics.  The doctor assured us a few days ago that it would be very surprising if he didn’t start running a fever, so this hasn’t caught us by surprise however we were hoping that he would continue to be the exception to the rule so it is a bit disheartening.  Regardless, he is in the hospital where he needs to be and is under good care and monitoring. 

On a positive note, Mason did get to hold his brother today and give him lots of hugs.  He really does love and miss his baby brother and Cutler continues to react as if a rock star just entered the room when Mason kicks open the door and shouts “CUTLER!”.  Pictures to be provided tomorrow.

What A Day…Bonus Pictures Today

by

3

Mason and his buddy Brodie

Mason and his buddy Brodie

Despite my job’s attempts, today has been a wonderful day.  First of all, Cutler was taken off the IV today and so aside from the main line, he is tube free and able to roam about the cabin.  He was so happy to roam that he quickly rolled over and over and over and over once he was put on the mat on the floor.  He has rolled over once or twice before, but this is the first time he has really proven his abilities so much so that you couldn’t leave him alone or he would roll out the door.  Unfortunately we had to hear about it from Aunt Pat as we were on our way to the soccer game.

Speaking of, Mason’s team got crushed had a lot of fun.  No goals this time and apparently Mason is looking forward to a career as a stunt man as he discovered that thanks to his shin guards it doesn’t hurt to fall and slide.  I know my parents will say that I used to do the same thing (so don’t), but every time someone would fall Mason thought that he needed to fall as well.  He is a team player!

Just call me Hooper

Just call me Hooper

We then went to a birthday party for one of Mason’s friends where Mason got to ride a couple of horses and I got to wrangle a run away pony pulling a buggy.  I showed just how cowboy I was as I reached out and grabbed the reigns and pulled him in.  I think it is time we pack up the house and move out to the country and get us some horses.  Change our last name to Douglas and become good friends with a pig.

We also discovered today that Mason is able to open the back door and sit down next to the pool and dangle his feet in.  He is really developing a mind of his own and his mother’s stubborn streak is shining through and now it is time to really keep the gate to the pool shut and locked.  The weather was so nice, that he thought it was a good idea to get in the pool and tried to convince me that it was a good idea for me to get in the pool.  Good thing he can entertain himself as he plays in the pool, because there was no way I was getting in.

We then took Mason on a shopping trip to pick out his Halloween costume, which was entertaining as he wanted to try on every outfit despite already telling us he wanted Iron Man.  Some pretty cute costumes out there and we let him try on quite a few, but in the end he settled with Iron Man.  He should be fighting evil very soon.

Now I am having the pleasure of sitting on a conference bridge for the past 5 1/2 hours being beat down by the same argument over and over and over again while hanging out with Cutler in the hospital.  Only 1 1/2 more hours before I can hopefully hand off to someone else before starting all over again at noon tomorrow.  As much as this all stinks, I really don’t care anymore because it was such a good day with the family and the smiles and hugs Cutler gave me when I walked in the door.  By the way, he is not in jail, the bars are just on the side of the crib.  Not very welcoming or aesthetically pleasing, but he sleeps just the same.

Loving my daddy

Loving my daddy