Happy to be home

Last night around 8pm the neurologist came to our room to tell us Carter’s brain scan was clear (even though we had already received the news earlier). He also wanted to do an exam on Carter and observe his walking, which we had mentioned was a wider gate (we thought it probably just helps him balance better because he is pretty weak). The doctor had all sorts of toys with lights he had Carter follow with his eyes, and he checked the reflex on his arms and legs. He said everything looked good, but Carter has lost all reflex on his lower extremities. This would affect his walking and running. One of the chemo drugs Carter is on weekly (Vincristine) has some harsh side effects which seem to be rare, but all affect Carter. This is the same drug that causes droopiness of the eyelids and crossed-eyes. Apparently, it also strips away at this outer layer which causes reflexes. He said it will come back after Carter’s treatment, but may take months or years. Luckily, Carter is young and active and won’t let anything hold him back. Matt and I know this will all seem so ironic in years to come when Carter is a professional athlete of some sort (a parent can dream!). The good news is the doctor said neurology will no longer be following Carter.

All morning we were waiting to be discharged and finally were around 11:30am. This gave us just enough time to drive straight to Bennett’s soccer clinic to pick him up. Carter was so excited to see him, and Bennett was pretty surprised to see his little brother in the car. When we got home Bennett couldn’t stop talking to Carter asking if he’d play with this toy or that game with him. It just shows us how important it is for him to have his brother around.

We had the nurse come over after dinner and explain how to give Carter the IV treatment of the GCSF drug. We now have a pump which allows the drug to slowly go in over a 15 minute period. This one drug requires two flushes of the line before and three flushes after. So, every day we’ll do this with 6 pre-filled syringes.

Aside from coming home today and all of us being together for lunch and dinner, the best part of the day was Grammy coming over after the nurse left to tell Matt and I to go see a movie and she’d put the boys to sleep. This was SUCH a nice treat!! Thanks Mom!