April 1, 2011 in Uncategorized with 20 Comments

Well…there’s not too much to say besides that Gray is unfortunately beginning to experience side effects from his stem cell transplant. On Wednesday, he actually got sick in the afternoon but it was a one time event and he didn’t begin to feel sick again until last night. The doctors did tell us that the fact that Gray had thrown up, even though it was only once, was probably a sign that Gray was developing the “mouth sores” in his stomach. These sores are only called mouth sores because that’s the only place they can be seen but they typically occur all through a patients digestive tract. We believe they are first developing in Gray’s stomach. This morning, that speculation was pretty much confirmed. Late last night, Gray began complaining of a tummy ache and he whimpered and cried all through the night. Then this morning he continued to complain of a stomach ache and also said that his mouth was hurting. The nurses said that most definitely this is the beginning of mouth sores developing. Gray is also running a fever today. We expected an infection at some point. When they took his blood counts yesterday his white blood cell count results came back at zero. That was the goal with the high dose of chemo last week but it’s still shocking to hear. The nurses have said that if Gray’s fever reaches 101 they will have to access his port and take swabs from various locations to try and find what type of infection he has so that they can treat it right away. As of yet, though, his fever has stayed right at around 99.9. Please continue to pray for Gray and please pray for us too. It was a very long day today and we’re unsure how many more days this will last. The nurses have told us it will probably last at least a week. We have also been reassured that everything Gray is going through and all the side effects he is experiencing are “normal” and expected for what he has gone through. Although, being told it’s all “normal” doesn’t bring us much comfort. It’s still not “normal” for us. It’s not “normal” for anyone to have to care for their baby with cancer. We will do our best to keep you posted on Gray’s progress and any new side effects over the coming days. Please just continue to pray. Some days it’s all you have.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7