Monday night was a little rough. Every time Clark’s Benedryl and Tylenol wore off, he ended up with hives on his face and arms as well as a fever. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised since Clark was getting Chemo for a total of 8.5 hours yesterday, plus a 4 hour blood transfusion last night. Clark has been such a trooper. Even with his interrupted sleep, Clark woke up at 7:30am today (Tuesday) ready to play! I on the other hand, could use a long nap or a very strong cup of coffee.
Clark continues to have a big appetite. This is one thing the nurses are looking out for since loss of appetite is very common in chemo patients. I need to remember to give him lots of variety, and not only feed him “comfort foods” because he might end up associating those foods with his hospital visit. Thankfully the hospital menu has a nice variety and also contains organic, all natural, local and healthy options. If Clark does end up loosing his appetite, he will be given TPN and lipids in IV form (or as Patrick likes to call them, ‘Gatorade’). These contains all of his daily nutrients, fats, calories and electrolytes.
Today was a relatively quiet day. Clark only had very mild hives and low grade fever, all of which was controlled by his pre-meds. He also had 2 long naps with some playtime in between. This gave Mama time to read, and work on the blog. :) Clark’s platelets dropped to 6000 (they were 34,000 yesterday), so he also had a platelet transfusion.
As for now, Clark’s playtime consists mainly of driving his fire truck, cars and trains, reading books and playing peek-a-boo. The hospital has a “Child Life” specialist. From what I understand, this team will bring some toys and a play mat for Clark to play with for a couple of hours. We are going to try to take advantage of this whenever possible. I have also spoke with the pediatric physical therapist, and she would like to spend some time helping Clark progress (or at least, not regress) while in the hospital. Spending 6 weeks in a hospital crib can affect childhood development, so the goal of both of these specialists is to address this proactively.
Daddy has been coming to visit every night after work. This is a time that both Clark and I look forward to. Patrick comes in like a knight in shining armor, here to play with Clark and to give Mama a break. He also usually arrives with supplies, like clean laundry and dinner. :) Thank you Patrick! We love seeing you.
I love to hear that the hospital has a Child Life specialist and that they’ll keep the variety of toys changing to keep Clark engaged and happy. Cuddles to Clark and Connor. Great work Mom and Dad!