Spinal Week

Hello everyone, and many thanks to everyone still checking in and also signing the guestbook to remind us how much you care!

Josh had a very good visit Thursday! Early start again (we left Erie just after 4, yes, in the morning) but we were home soon after 2. Josh is getting less and less anxious about his visits to Pittsburgh, and the biggest stress of the day was having the tape removed from his port when they were all done. In fact, I think he cried more when the nurse deaccessed his port than he did when she stuck the needle in!

He had another Spinal Tap this week, and it seemed to go so much faster this time around. Josh was in good spirits before he went in, and we hoped this was a good sign when he woke up. Sure enough, he wasn't nearly as groggy and cranky this time around, and we were out of the post-recovery room and on to our clinic visit before we knew it.

Once we were settled into one of the onc-patient rooms, a gaggle of people (Josh's doctor and child-life specialist and nurses) came in to sing Josh a Happy Birthday, complete with a colorfully-wrapped present. This has been one birthday that never ends! He was delighted to find a new (electric) Spiderman toothbrush and yet another, but still different, action figure toy.

Josh's counts were down *slightly* from the ER visits, but the doctor called the hospital at home and confirmed that the staph infection is gone. Looks like we caught everything early and beat that thing fast!

However; I woke up this morning to a feverish Joshy laying next to me. Jon informed me this morning that Josh was up getting sick in the middle of the night --- daddy fell asleep on the couch with Josh last night watching late-night movies. So once Josh was up I took his temp. Once again we are watching for it to hit that magic number, hoping it doesnt rise much more. Right now it is hovering over 99, but hasnt gone above 100.6 ..... We'll be sure to keep you posted as to what tonight brings. He's napping now. Hopefully he wakes up a new guy!

In other news... I have a little snippet I thought I'd post. A friend of mine (thanks Alina!) sent it to me, her witty brother had authored it as a joke to her, but with Josh's birthday just past, I thought this was too familiar and struck my funny-bone. I couldnt resist!

***names and places were changed to protect the inocent :-)

Dear Friends,

I hope you kept the receipts for the gifts you bought Josh. We dressed him in the spider man outfit and it doesn't work. I tried sticking him to the wall and he just slid down to the floor, quite fast actually. I tried throwing him up on the ceiling and again he did not demonstrate any spider like abilities. He just hit the ceiling and dropped like a brick. I even gave him a second chance to see if he would land gracefully.

Again no. Big thud and loud cries - no witty banter.

Also, whereas he does produce fluids that can shoot out, they are not sticky or web like. Some are more goopy and they stink. He can shoot others quite a distance but he had this ability before the suit was put on him.

I think we will be returning the suit. On another note, I am not allowed home alone with the kids anymore.