Sunday was a good day for Cutler; as you can see from the picture above.  Dr. Lenarsky continues to be pleased with Cutler’s progress.  As Aaron mentioned, it has been a few days since we’ve had to push the pain medicine button, so they may start to ween him off completely.  Hopefully, in a few days Cutler will again be interested in eating.  I think right now he still has pain in his throat so the idea of suckling just isn’t appealing.  When he cries or “talks”, his voice is very hoarse.

Mason and Aaron put together a gingerbread house tonight…hopefully we’ll see pictures tomorrow!  Here’s another picture of Cutler, reaching to get his mommy 🙂

Thanks for your continued prayers and dedication to the blog.  Additional prayers would be greatly appreciated this week as we plan to celebrate Christmas, Cutler’s first, with him at the hospital.  I would by lying if I denied being sad, as I want more than anything to be together as a family.  But I know God has bigger plans for us once Cutler is 100% healthy, I just need to be patient.

Right now I need sleep, and Cutler is showing no sign of falling asleep!

Another great day for Cutler as he woke again full of laughter and play.  I don’t want to sound like a broken record, but it seems like every day another piece of the old Cutler is restored.  This morning he started to rediscover his voice again as he sang away while playing.  He is also starting to make it longer in between naps and at times is starting to show his mischievous side as he sometimes tries to destroy everything in his path.  We were blessed with the fact that Mason was always a very well-behaved baby that never tried to get into places he didn’t belong.  I have a feeling that we are now blessed with a baby, that once home and crawling, will be trying to get into everything he shouldn’t…and I can’t wait for it to happen.  He is definitely a head strong baby that is constantly looking out for what is coming up next and what is within his reach.

Back to his recovery, this morning his platelets jumped to 34K!  Quite an odd increase considering he was at 2K the day before.  You could tell that the platelets were already hard at work as a lot of bruising was starting to fade including the blood blister on his tongue which appears to have disappeared.  Dr. Lenarsky did say that they will probably drop again tomorrow and that the sudden increase is a bit of a phenomenon that you rarely see.  He also mentioned that while we don’t see an increase in his white cells via the blood tests, the fact that he is feeling so much better is a good sign that they are possibly being generated.  He said that you usually see the recovery in the patient before the blood work, so hopefully this is a good tell tail that the sails are hoisted correctly.  As we have now gone at least 48 hours without having to press the magic button for increased pain medicine we will start to ween him off the pain meds while continuing the same for the steroids.  As the steroids do often mask the fever, there is still a chance that his fever will return, so it is a wait and see now as we continue to decrease the amounts over the next couple of days.  For now, all looks well and it is still a wait, pray, and see game.

Just a friendly shout out to my incredibly beautiful and loving wife, happy 31st birthday!  Ok, I am jumping the gun as it isn’t until tomorrow, but I figure it is late enough for me to post this knowing she probably won’t read it until the morning.  🙂

Awhile back I asked that everyone keep a friend’s daughter in your prayers and your thoughts and prayers have definitely come through.  Below is an update provided by Jason…

Hello,

As you see by the picture, our family is where it belongs…All together and at home.

Samantha got home from the hospital on October 27th, and we have been able to get things to as normal as they are going to be until her kidney transplant.  She has to get to 22 pounds before she is eligible for a transplant, and this is show she can actually receive an adult kidney and will increase her chances for survival.

Therefore, we have to plug her into a peritoneal dialysis machine on a nightly basis that performs her peeing function until she gets her kidney.  It is actually humorous, because UPS has to make so many deliveries to our house, you would swear we are running a business out of our garage, but it is just the supplies.

Samantha is also on several medications that help regulate her body.  Currently, she is getting a sodium injection and a calcium injection.  This is on top of her normal epogen, phenalbarbital and some medication for her thyroid gland.

However, going back to the beginning, Samantha has been home and is progressing wonderfully.  We are very happy to be together as a family.  As always, I want to thank everyone for all the thoughts and prayers.

Jason