It's been a busy week! So Graham's counts weren't high enough to start chemo last week so he started up again on Monday. I have been so hopefuly and optimistic that this round was really going to be good for him. I thought that he just got off to a rough start last time and that this round would be different.....
Monday he was doing so good and he started up on chemo about 9:00 that night. He went to bed around 10:00ish but woke up not feeling well around 2am. The throwing up began and it was ALOT. We checked his temp and he had a low fever....within 20 minutes it went from about 101 to 105. They immediately started him on antibiotics and it just got worse from there. He was shivering and really pale. His hands and feet had no color in them and were cold. He started turning a grayish color and when they took his blood pressure it was 50/22. He was immediately transferred down to the PICU in case additional drugs were needed. I felt so bad for him and was reminded how things can change in an instant. My poor little guy just can't catch a break. I'll attempt to briefly explain what happened, but for any reading who have a medical background....cut me some slack :-) He had an infection which was the reason for his high fever. The infection was so bad that he was septic...meaning that his body couldn't handle it or fight it off so little by little things start to kind of shut down. This is the reason his hands and feet were pale and cold. In a round about way the antibiotics caused his blood pressure to drop, but are absolutely necessary in treating the infection. Anyway the nurses and docs are so great here and so on top of it. I'm very grateful to them :-) We stayed a little over 24 hours in the PICU and once they felt Graham was doing good we were moved back up to ICS. So much for an uneventful start to round 2. They are going to let Graham recuperate and he will start back up on chemo this coming Monday....Happy Memorial Day Graham :-) He really is our little trooper!
So I have had alot of people ask me about Graham's little nickname of "True Grit". I'm assuming there are others wondering as well so I decided I would let you all know of how it came to be:
So the night before we blessed Graham, Nathan went and saw the movie True Grit. The next day while Nathan was giving him his blessing he blessed Graham that he would have True Grit :-) Afterwards we were laughing about it and he said he didn't know why the words came out....All of the brothers of course teased him a little and it became kind of a joke. So Graham became our little "True Grit". After we found out that he had Leukemia, it felt a little less like a joke and more like something that our little man really was going to need. We Love our little "True Grit"!!!!!
Some nights I feel like I have so much to write about that I am overwhelmed. Tonight is one of them. In the beginning I started this blog to keep so many of our friends and family updated....which is still my intent, but it's funny how it has started to become something that I feel like I really need to keep record of for little Graham's sake. He will never remember the countless times he threw up. He won't remember how bad he hated his oral meds. He won't remember how much it comforted him to be swaddled in his bouncer. He probably won't know how much he LOVED his little blanky covering his head while he slept. He won't know the faces of the nurses and doctors who took care of him and were sincerely concerned for him. He won't know how much his big brother Sawyer asked about baby Graham and where he was and if he was still sick. He will never know so many of the people who have prayed, fasted, sent gifts/cards, sat with him at the hospital, planted flowers at his house, mowed his lawn, cleaned his house, left sweet messages on facebook/emails/texts/blog posts/voicemails, took care of Sawyer so his mom could be at the hospital with him, brought him crib mobiles and toys for his hospital room, massaged his feet and did exercises with him, wrote him letters, brought his family dinners....the list goes on. This wasn't intended to be a thank you, but I guess in a round about way it is another THANK YOU to everyone. Graham will not remember these things, but I will and Nathan will. It really is amazing how the simplest things (not to say any of the above are simple) mean so much. I will always remember the many kind things that have helped me and my family cope and get us through this rough patch. We Love You!!!!
