Prayer, I believe it is powerful stuff. We had more good news today.
Yesterday, I may have used the word dinner very loosely. Yesterday he tolerated clear liquids, so today he was moving on to thicker liquids.
His port was removed. Fortunately, the infection in his port had not gone to his heart. This was of concern because of the location of the port. He will have to have the port replaced for chemo, but this will be after he infection clears.
They are saying he may be released as early as Friday!
Thanks again for your support!
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Dinner
That's right, for the first time in over a week, Matthew got to eat dinner.
His blockage seems to have corrected itself. He responded well to the clamp on the pump, so the decision was made to remove it. Of course Matthew didn't want to wait to have it removed, so he pulled it himself.
Emily theorizes, from the pictures, that this is all actually an elaborate coverup of a rhinoplasty while Matthew participates in a CIA sanctioned makeover.
His port is infected, and will be removed until it heals a bit, and then replaced. This is probably what is causing he fever.
All in all this is great news. Thanks for the prayers!
His blockage seems to have corrected itself. He responded well to the clamp on the pump, so the decision was made to remove it. Of course Matthew didn't want to wait to have it removed, so he pulled it himself.
Emily theorizes, from the pictures, that this is all actually an elaborate coverup of a rhinoplasty while Matthew participates in a CIA sanctioned makeover.
His port is infected, and will be removed until it heals a bit, and then replaced. This is probably what is causing he fever.
All in all this is great news. Thanks for the prayers!
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
A kink in the line?
The doctors at MD Anderson have decided that the xrays do not show that warrants surgery at this time. They believe that it is not a tumor or a blockage, but rather a "mechanical problem"--possibly a twist or a kink. They are taking him off of the stomach pump to see if it will clear...basically, if it will push through.
He is in a lot of pain.
He has been running a fever (it was down at the time of this post), so they have him on two different antibiotics. The thinking is that the fever is caused by some sort of infection, but we do not know exactly where.
My understanding is that they are doing everything that they can to hold off on surgery. They really like for it to be at least 2 weeks, and ideally at least a month since chemo before surgery.
We know that he is the best place that he can be. I ask that you continue to pray for his healing, and for my parents. It is so hard to watch your child suffer.
I am sharing this video because Matthew once told me he liked it a lot...I think it suits him.
He is in a lot of pain.
He has been running a fever (it was down at the time of this post), so they have him on two different antibiotics. The thinking is that the fever is caused by some sort of infection, but we do not know exactly where.
My understanding is that they are doing everything that they can to hold off on surgery. They really like for it to be at least 2 weeks, and ideally at least a month since chemo before surgery.
We know that he is the best place that he can be. I ask that you continue to pray for his healing, and for my parents. It is so hard to watch your child suffer.
I am sharing this video because Matthew once told me he liked it a lot...I think it suits him.
Monday, April 8, 2013
Blowing smoke
Matthew was successfully transported to MD Anderson this morning. The doctor told Mom that it is not uncommon to wait 5-7 days before taking action in these situations. They have done many blood tests and many cultures. The waiting game continues.
He spiked a fever this afternoon, which of course, is bad. They are treating it, and it is down. Mom Is taking the first hospital shift.
He is feeling a bit more confident in his setting. I asked Matthew what the doctors were saying. He said, "Blowing smoke up my ass." I said, "is that it?" He said, "Oh yeah, acetomeniphen too."
I will try to update tomorrow.
He spiked a fever this afternoon, which of course, is bad. They are treating it, and it is down. Mom Is taking the first hospital shift.
He is feeling a bit more confident in his setting. I asked Matthew what the doctors were saying. He said, "Blowing smoke up my ass." I said, "is that it?" He said, "Oh yeah, acetomeniphen too."
I will try to update tomorrow.
Thursday, April 4, 2013
Back on the inside
Matthew is back in the hospital. He was having a lot of abdominal pain and vomiting this morning. They found that he has a blockage in his small intestine. They are not sure what it is. It may be scar tissue, it could be a twist, and it may be another tumor. However, he just had a scan at MD Anderson that (we think) should have shown any tumors that size.
There are a couple of things that complicate the issue. 1) Matthew has had a lot of surgery in the abdominal area. 2) Matthew had chemo on Monday-Wednesday, and one of the drugs in his cocktail acts as a blood thinner.
As a result, they have decided to put him in the hospital and keep him on complete rest. He has a drain that is draining his stomach and keeping the stress off his intestine. He is also on an antibiotic and fluids. They hope it may resolve itself and no further action will be necessary. MD Anderson is currently full, so he will stay at Brazosport. His doctor at MDA has been consulted, and the current course of treatment would be the same either place.
In addition, he had been experiencing back pain. They did an MRI to rule out more tumor growth. They found he has a bulging disc and vertebrae out of alignment by 25%. He saw a local doctor, who said he needed a neurosurgeon. At this time, there is no treatment plan for this problem.
As always, your prayers are greatly appreciated.
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Three month scan
Unfortunately, the news is not great. The scan showed a new growth in the ascending colon. I have included the picture for reference. This growth was roughly about 1/2 inch. In September, they removed a drug from his chemo cocktail because his liver function was starting to be impacted. The cocktail had previously worked to shrink his tumors. They will be adding this drug back to his chemo cocktail in hopes that his liver function has recovered and that is will help the tumor.
The fact that he had a 6 month period with no growth is pretty amazing. He seems to continue to be in good spirits. For now, he will continue to take chemo. Thanks for all of the continuing thoughts and prayers. And...since the Harlem Shake is the "thing" to do right now, I thought I would throw this in. Harlem Shake...chemo edition.....
The fact that he had a 6 month period with no growth is pretty amazing. He seems to continue to be in good spirits. For now, he will continue to take chemo. Thanks for all of the continuing thoughts and prayers. And...since the Harlem Shake is the "thing" to do right now, I thought I would throw this in. Harlem Shake...chemo edition.....
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Some catching up....
I apologize that this update is long overdue. Life has been crazy....sick baby, baseball, work, etc..... Sorry for the excuses, I will try to do better. There hasn't been anything really major to report.
Matthew has been continuing chemo. He has had to space a few sessions further than two weeks apart because of low counts. He has had low white counts, which needed a boost, and some additional recovery time between treatments. He went for a 3-month scan at MD Anderson yesterday...results to come. He has been having increased back pain, so that is of some concern.
He has been keeping busy with his spare time. For Valentine's Day, he made a gift for the nurses at the cancer treatment center in Lake Jackson where he gets his treatments (boy has he learned about being kind to the nurses.) He made a planter out of recycled materials. The planter box was made from an old pallet that he sanded and painted. The pots (I believe) were somehow made from plastic bags that he ironed?????? The "flowers" were boxes of candy. I thought it was really neat.
Matthew has been continuing chemo. He has had to space a few sessions further than two weeks apart because of low counts. He has had low white counts, which needed a boost, and some additional recovery time between treatments. He went for a 3-month scan at MD Anderson yesterday...results to come. He has been having increased back pain, so that is of some concern.
He has been keeping busy with his spare time. For Valentine's Day, he made a gift for the nurses at the cancer treatment center in Lake Jackson where he gets his treatments (boy has he learned about being kind to the nurses.) He made a planter out of recycled materials. The planter box was made from an old pallet that he sanded and painted. The pots (I believe) were somehow made from plastic bags that he ironed?????? The "flowers" were boxes of candy. I thought it was really neat.
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