Thursday, August 2, 2012

[Thursday, August 2, 2012] Day 49

7 weeks ago tonight Kenton was brought by ambulance to PCMC with a preliminary diagnosis of acute leukemia.

Over the past 7 weeks, we have learned that he has AML (acute myeloid leukemia) with an FLT-3 mutation which will, indeed, require a bone marrow transplant.
Potential donors have been identified.
The chemo is working quickly and his body is adjusting to all of the changes.

We've prayed harder, cried more, grown stronger, and been more blessed than we could ever have imagined.
Are we ok?
Absolutely.
Is this easy?
Not even close.
Have we experienced miracles and had our faith strengthened?
Daily.
7 weeks.
49 days.

Today was a good day.
Kenton threw up last night about 9:30.
They added Ativan to the anti-nausea cocktail which put him on Kytril, Ben-Phen, and Ativan.
Too much?
Nope.
He slept amazingly well, waking only to use the bathroom.
Hasn't thrown up since.

Did I sleep well?
Ummm. . .nope.
Every time Kenton moved, I seriously flew out of bed headed for the bucket.
Just in case.

Here's my Kenton this morning.
Peaceful.
So grateful.

Breakfast was 2 blueberry pancakes with buttermilk syrup and a Sprite.

Lunch was a bbq chicken breast, dinner roll, watermelon, and a Sprite.

Snack before a 3 hour nap was a peanut butter cookie and glass of milk.

Dinner?  1/2 turkey, bacon, cheese hoagie, chips, and a caffeine free Diet Coke.
Bedtime snack (I'm super jealous of this one, actually!). . .chocolate ice cream with 3 little serving cups of peanut butter.  And another caffeine free Diet Coke.

In all, Kenton has had enough liquid today that they actually turned down the IV maintenance fluid a bit.  That's good.  :)
(Mostly because it means he only pees every FOUR hours instead of every two!!).

What did we do today?
Played Nerf guns.  We had a little battle.  I think I lost.  But I did get a few good shots in!
Kenton had target practice.  I was the Nerf dart fetcher.  Pretty good workout for the thigh muscles, squatting to fetch those dang things for an hour.

Kenton made some sweet "sunglasses" and did a little embroidery.
Bonnie brought him a little cross stitch sampler that he's going to try next week if I remember to bring him a little hoop.

Tommy came to play for a few minutes.
He's training tonight and couldn't stay long, but they had a good time shooting guns.

Skyped with Daddy, Grammy, and Goosey.

What did McKayslin do today?
Let's see. . .cheer camp with Cassidy, and then the Tree House Museum with Margaret and family.  She had a great day and came home dang tired.
So grateful for friends that are willing to include her in their activities.
Sure makes this a lot easier for my little princess!

I went down to have some dinner and picked up the first Rainbow Cafe gift card from the Kenton's Cards sales.  Can't wait to have someone deliver it to a family in need tomorrow.  Thank you for helping Kenton do this!

Our cute night housekeeper came to empty garbages and as she was cleaning, in broken English, with the most tender spirit said, "I LDS, and tomorrow, I come, you give me paper with your name.  I put it in the temple when I go.  I pray every night for you.  You look good! Much better than before!  You remember.  Paper.  Your name."
It's so awesome how even the housekeeping staff is so involved in the care and treatment of the patients at PCMC.  Every prayer helps.  Every kindness makes a difference.  It's amazing how Kenton lights up when his favorites come by.

And now it's bedtime.
Just waiting on night meds and then it's off to dreamland.

Tomorrow Luke is coming to trade off for the weekend so Goosey and I can go to Skeeter's baptism.  Kenton's excited to see Dad and Sis!
I'm excited to go home and sleep in my real bed.
And eat real food.
2 days in and my stomach is yuck.
How did I do this for 26 days?!

And that, my friends, is Day 49.
Pretty much uneventful.
Thankfully.
We sincerely appreciate all the prayers for Kenton and our family.
Miracles happen.


3 comments:

Jessie said...

You are such an inspiring family! It's no wonder my nephew is friends with Kenton.
I'm wondering if you have a donation account set up anywhere? I'd love to donate proceeds from my little online boutique to help with expenses and making things a little easier. The Lord has blessed me with my little business and I would love to 'Pay It Forward', for lack of better words :)

whitesilkpurse said...

Hi Jessie, This is Dana, a friend of the family. YES!! There is an account at Wells Fargo named, "TEAM KENTON." Donations can be made at any branch with just that information. I know each amount is appreciated and put to good use.

There will be a Karnival for Kenton on August 10 from 5-9 at the Hyrum City Square. It ought to be tons of fun and ALL the proceeds will benefit this good family.

Robert said...

good to see things are progressing. Love dr barnette, tommy and irish. Im sure you have your favorites. as I recall there are only 2 rooms (i called them suites) with pull out beds. You can request to be moved any time. We always "needed a room with a view". And D pod was always a favorite. it was by far the quietest. Hang in there and consider ready to eat (heat and serve) meals from Harmons deli. They were a great chang of pace.

forever strong
Robert Smith