infection

The chemotherapy continued until Friday afternoon. The nasogastric feeds were kept running as well. There were concerns about the high amount of fluid he was recieving but with some diuretics he handled the amount well. As a result his weight increased to a whopping 11.8kg. But as usual, to every up there is a down....the new port site was showing signs of infection. He was commenced on antibiotics and we were all keeping a close eye on it. By the end of the week it was looking worse and he was starting to have low grade temperatures. He was also pretty snotty. A snot test was taken and more antibiotics were commenced. This created a dilemna, how do we go home on antibiotics? It was decided to remove his access and start oral antibiotics. We were discharged on Sunday afternoon with a review Monday at the day oncology unit.

Sunday night at home was horrible. Ethan had a couple of vomits and diarrhoe. He has also started to sweat heaps. So only a few bed changes!

At the review we found out that Ethan had grown a little bug in his snot. Nothinig major but his blood counts are due to drop and the unknown is around the corner. So it could become something big. The port site was also looking worse. It had opened a little more and requires daily dressings for a while. It was decided to admit him rather than travelling back and forth.

He is still happy and active but at the end of these short bursts he crashes into a heavy sleep. This also happens when he is protesting about blood tests or procedures. Yesterday when they were reviewing him, he tried to protest but fell asleep for a few hours instead. During his sleep we managed to pull his dressing off and have a good look at what was happening without him stirring. His blood counts haven't even dropped yet!