23 Months Old Today!

Mom and Carter patiently waiting at the clinic

Munching on some "Cheese & Crackers"

Carter's BIG smile

Yeah! Carter turned 23 months old today. We find ourselves cheering for the small things in life now…eating a few bites of something, bowel movements, getting up and walking around the house, and turning another month older! It’s crazy to think a few weeks ago I thought Carter would be in size 3T clothing before he turned 2. Now, he has lost about 3.5 pounds and some of his 2T pants are sagging. I know this is typical from the drugs and we had been mentally preparing ourselves, but it’s still daunting to see your solid powerhouse toddler suddenly seem so thin and frail. The good news is Carter ate about 6 bites of omelet for lunch and a plate of fettuccine alfredo for dinner (and dare I say it…kept it down).

We had our CHOC clinic visit today. Apparently, this is usually a quick blood draw, check vitals and off you go. However, they had problems drawing from Carter’s lines today. Matt and I gave each other a panicked look as if we had been flushing the lines incorrectly at home. The nurse was so reassuring and said this happens and not to worry. First, they tried flushing and changing the caps of the lines, then they tried putting some Heparin in to sit for about 20 minutes. These attempts didn’t work, so they had to order a medicine through the hospital pharmacy that sits in the line for about 30 minutes and eats away at any clots in the line. Finally, after being there for over two hours this worked! We also saw one of the oncologists. We were hoping we'd find out the results of our most recent blood work and the current AFP counts. These counts will give us some early indication that the chemo is working but those results are not available yet. The doctor did look at Carter’s spreading rash and feels it is a reaction to the Bactrim medicine we give him to fight pneumonia. He will now be on a similar drug, and we are hoping the rash clears up. The oncologist also told us they are keeping a close eye on Carter’s weight, but they are not concerned about it yet. She was pleased to know he is showing some interest in some foods, and said this is typical. They would like us to go into the Outpatient Infusion Center (OPI) for Carter’s chemo on Monday (instead of Saturday) to ensure we see one of the rotating oncologists. So, a few of our appointments got moved around and we will most likely be readmitted to the hospital to begin our second round of chemo a week from tomorrow (instead of next Thursday).

Today was the first day we noticed Carter’s hair really beginning to shed. We will see if it’s a slow process or something that happens quickly, but Matt just cleaned off his clippers this evening in case. We could have a serious haircut within the week... We’ll see.

I just wanted to thank a friend of mine I grew up with, Leila Ettefagh. She is a great dermatologist in Newport Beach (www.islanddermatology.net) and made a gracious house call to us today. She had offered to come by and look at Carter’s rash, and she agrees that it is probably from the Bactrim. She also brought some creams for us to use to help relieve the itching. And she brought an Elmo gift bag for Carter as well. Thank you Leila!