Best liver levels yet…

Big smiles for great levels

We had an early morning heading out to UCLA for blood work and the liver clinic. At least this time we stopped before getting on the freeway and got bagels for all of us to eat during our ride. Carter was so much happier being able to eat breakfast on the way up. We arrived about 5-10 minutes later than usual, and we learned our lesson. It opens at 8am and is first-come-first-serve (more or less), so arriving 10 minutes after 8am makes a big difference. Luckily, Carter got his blood drawn fairly quickly so we could administer all his morning meds on time. However, we were in the waiting room for what seemed to be a long time! Carter entertained Matt and me during our wait, so it wasn’t all bad.

The doctor thought Carter looked great, and we discussed some of our goals as we go into CHOC for chemo next week. We told her now that we are in the final two rounds we are hoping to address some of the “side effects” that have happened to Carter through his treatment. We have also told CHOC we want to have a physically therapy consult, and hopefully we can get some ideas on improving his strength and his wide-gate walking. Also, we want to have him be seen by an ophthalmologist and maybe start taking measures to correct his left lazy-eye. And finally, have a hearing test done. The doctors had told us Carter would have a hearing test after every other round of chemo because one of the chemo drugs he is on causes possible hearing loss. We had our baseline test after round 1 and have not had another test since. We’re hopeful CHOC will address all of these issues next week.

Before we left the clinic, Carter wanted to say goodbye to our transplant coordinator, who we hadn’t seen yet. In the process, we got to see two other doctors Carter loves. It’s funny a lot of Carter’s friends now are doctors and nurses. Anyhow, our transplant coordinator looked in the computer to see if Carter’s blood work came back yet and it had. All of his blood work looks great, and more importantly, his liver levels are the best so far! He is finally in the “normal range” and will hopefully stay there. Keep up the good work Carter!!

Today is Denny’s birthday! We know Denny didn’t “sign-on” to do a lot of the things he does with my mom now (ie: help take care of Bennett), but we are so grateful he does. Bennett loves spending time with you, and you are a significant part of our lives. Thanks for everything! We hope you have a great birthday and we love you!!