This morning began with a 7am wakeup call from the doctors letting us know that the morning rounds would start at 7:30am and we would be one of the first stops. They wanted, as a group, to go over the details of his progress to date and evaluate discharging Naaman.
During the morning rounds, the doctors as a collective shared all their opinions of his progress which were all positive. Most of his levels are looking good and on target. His eye which had some droop, appears to be looking better, he had the previous round of hemoglobin which helped his color and built up his red blood count. He has however had a day of really gross poops starting the night prior but there wasn’t a concern. They all said he was approved for discharge! Post round, Naaman had a good appetite for breakfast which made me happy.
Nicole and Nadine arrived shortly after and Naaman began a 1.5hr platelet drip in anticipation of his Thursday spinal tap treatment. This helps aid in clotting since chemo kills those types of cells so you need to build up the supply. After the drip was complete he was disconnected and was free from all IVs once again! Freedom!
Naaman then had a really fun visit from Abuela, titi Mary, Ann and Meagan too who thankfully kept both him and Nadine busy while we began the task of cleaning up the room (how did one overnight bag turn into seven?) and having meetings to go over the many procedures for home care. The nurses then removed the line running to his port (while mommy held him) and he was now in home mode. With the connections to the port removed at home you can bathe him without fear of intrusion into the port connections.
While going home is very exciting at the same time it is very scary because you become reliant on the nurses and doctors and appreciate them being a button call away if there is an issue. In this case we have to be on top of making sure all the medicines are taken, signs watched and being vigilant for any signs of illness.
Naaman is going to miss the wonderful nurses and doctors who he came to like and who were such a huge help, the healing garden which we took many trips and his red wagon which he just called “car”.
At home Naaman is beginning to settle back in and we are beginning the new routine. Tomorrow begins another round of chemotherapy as well as a spinal tap. Wish Naaman luck for his first visit at the children’s outpatient oncology center at YNHCH. It’s going to be a long day for the little guy.
