11:30 pm: Happy May! Today marks the first full week of Harvey’s consolidation stage of cancer treatment. Each day has started to feel more monotonous than the next: Scheduled medications, personal care, appointments, and cold/rainy weather. We’ve been mindful of trying to introduce new activities, games, and ways to stay active to keep this all (somewhat) exciting for Harvey. But…
7:00 pm: We are now 3 days into Harvey’s consolidation phase of cancer treatment. He is receiving 3 different chemotherapy medicines per day (consisting of 9 pills and 1 infusion) as well as medicine for nausea and elevated blood pressure. With the help of a daily in-home nurse visit, this full gamut of medications can be given right at home….
10:30 am: Harvey is awake after his spinal tap procedure. He is now getting hooked up for his next dose of chemotherapy. I took a few pictures and videos of what these visits look like for us behind the scenes. 8:40 am: We’ve arrived at the clinic. Harvey is in his procedure room preparing to receive a spinal tap and…
6:30 pm: Today was supposed to be Harvey’s first official day of the consolidation phase of treatment. For some reason, our scheduled procedure for this morning was canceled over the weekend. We instead met with physical therapy to focus on regaining strength lost from the first rounds of treatment (induction). We then reviewed latest blood results with Dr. Miller. Harvey’s…
10:30 pm: Harvey’s morning appointment went well. His ANC level rose to .500, up from Wednesday’s reading of .160. An ANC of .750 is required to continue his treatment and his medical team is confident he’ll continue trending up over the weekend and will reach .750 by Monday. Therefore, his next procedure is scheduled for 7:30 am Monday morning and…
7:15 pm: Now that Harvey’s induction phase of treatment is officially done and we have full bone marrow test results, we are preparing to begin his consolidation phase of treatment. Today, we met with Harvey’s care team to get labs drawn and discuss his specific treatment plan for consolidation, which will include the drug ruxolitinib. In (sort of) layman’s terms,…
7:45 pm: Harvey simply amazes me. He is solution-minded and logical. He absolutely HATES taking numerous crushed pills orally every day because, without a doubt, they have a horrible taste! After a quick discussion with mom this morning, he learned that it’s possible to swallow them whole without tasting them. And that’s all he needed to know. As of today,…
10:30 pm: We’ve been in survival mode since arriving home from the hospital with Harvey last Wednesday. Lindsey and I both have terrible, achy colds that have kept us masked, not sleeping, and distancing from each other. We’ve been especially vigilant around Harvey, only getting close to him when absolutely necessary. He has no immune system right now. It’s been…
7:00 pm: Cold. That’s the word of the day. It’s cold outside. We have a cold spreading through our home. Impeccable timing! Lindsey and I almost have to laugh (to not cry) when acknowledging our luck: The moment we arrive home with our immunocompromised child with cancer, we have sickness spreading from kid to kid to parent to parent. We…
11:40 pm: We’ve awaited this day since Harvey was admitted to the hospital nearly a month ago. We’re all home tonight under one roof as a family. Thank you all so much for everything! I mean everything. When it felt, at times, that we couldn’t make it another day, we were backed by the love and support to keep us…
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