Recovering at home

Yesterday Beckett had an MRI, and since they have to use general anaesthesia with kids his age, it was his second day in a row getting knocked out at the hospital. Apparently he had some problems with the anaesthesia because he continues to be congested, but a chest x-ray showed no problems and he was allowed to come home.

So far this morning he has been cheerful and alert, but somewhat tired as well: right now he is snoozing peacefully in our bed. It's hard to say if the chemotherapy tired him out at all since so much else was going on, but as far as I can tell, the chemo didn't slow him down at all. I've got to admit that I was envisioning him being so worn out by the chemo that he would just lie in bed all day and not be able to move, but that hasn't been the case at all. He is happy, playing, bouncing around: his usual self.

I imagine that the chemo will get harder as the treatments continue, but right now it's reassuring that the treatments might not hit him too hard, at least not all of the time. He has occasionally been saying "owie" and pointing to the scar from his operation, but he hasn't been complaining about it very much, so I don't think it hurts much or at all. The port just looks like a funny bump on his chest; there are no leads dangling out of it unless they access the port.

Now he is on antibiotics and his regular breathing treatments for the infection. He has been taking some Zofran, which is an anti-nausea medication, but we haven't noticed any nausea or any change in his eating habits. He is also taking a laxative because one of the medicines in the chemotherapy can cause constipation, but so far he's been pooping normally, too. Or is that too much information?

Now we just have to be a bit careful about washing our hands more, using antibacterial soap, and generally trying to make sure he doesn't get worse or get sick again.

Home from the Hospital

It's after 11:30 PM, and we just got home a little while ago. Today was mostly tiring due to having to wait around all day, but everything went just fine. Beckett had his port placement operation at about 4:00 (we had been at the hospital since 9:00), and we got to the day hospital around 6:30 for the chemo. Beckett had a slight fever but everything went ahead anyway.

Beckett was in some discomfort when he woke up after the surgery, but after some morphine he calmed down and was fine. When we went to the day hospital, he was able to watch TV and movies while he had the chemotherapy. The chemo took about 3 hours, but it was almost 10 by the time that we left the hospital.

While it was an extremely long day, the hospital staff went out of their way to make sure that it could all get done today, since they knew that we had already had to reschedule a couple of times.

So far, Beckett hasn't shown any bad reactions to the chemotherapy. He is on anti-nausea medicine and hasn't been sick yet. He doesn't really even seem too tired or down considering that he's had a very hard day.

Tomorrow Beckett goes back to Stanford for an MRI. It's important that we get it done as close as possible to starting the chemo, since the point of this MRI is to see if the tumor has grown between the last MRI and the start of his treatment. Beckett's grandmother (Pockaw) Barbara will take Beckett to the hospital and Cassie will join them later.

Beckett in OR

It's 3:40 PM and we've been at the hospital since 9:00 AM, and they just took Beckett into the operating room. To say the least, a stressful day, since Beckett hasn't really been able to eat or drink all day because he is doing general anaesthesia. At least at noon they told us that he was going to be delayed until at least 2 or 3, so he was apple to have a cup of apple juice and half of a popsicle.

The plan is for him still to have his first chemotherapy today, but we'll see how late it is when he wakes up and gets to the day hospital. I'll write again as soon as I have a chance to give an update.

Rescheduled Again

So, Stanford called us again today to reschedule the surgery, this time to Wednesday. As Cassie said, this puts things in perspective: there are other kids who need help much more urgently than Beckett.

So, the surgery is now set for Wednesday at 7:30 in the morning. It might be a long day at Stanford. I'll update the blog again on Wednesday as soon as I have a chance.

Set for Tuesday

As far as I know, we are going to have Beckett's surgery on Tuesday and start the treatment, but we'll see what the docs say. I think he is fine: his nose is still a bit runny but he is otherwise OK.

I had a good first week of school and Cassie just started back, so we've been under a bit of stress just because of that as well, but I like my classes this year and it turns out I don't have to deal with the newspaper. Ordinarily I would be very bummed about that, but in the current situation it seems for the best. I just don't want my school to lose the newspaper.

Beckett is doing so well, though. He has been putting two and even three words together all the time, just when we were worried that he never would. He says things like "Pockaw house" (grandma's house) and "yellow bowl" (when he throws a fit and tries to insist on a certain color bowl). He is very two, but also very cute, wanting to sit on my "wap" when he eats. Well, that's sort of cute. And he continues to sign more and more words as well.

I'll try to post as soon as I can on Tuesday and let everyone know what's going on.

Treatment Delayed

Sorry we haven't posted sooner, but my first day of school is tomorrow so I've been busy with that. Beckett's treatment has been delayed because he has a cold. We didn't even go to Stanford today because we talked to a doctor last night who said that it was unlikely they would do surgery if he had a cold. Basically, they don't do surgery with general anaesthesia if someone has a cold unless it's urgent.

I spoke to Dr. Fisher today and he said that one week wasn't going to make any difference because this is a long-term treatment. Beckett is fine except for the cold, and he's now on some heavy-duty antibiotics so that he'll be ready to go next week. We have the surgery scheduled now for next Tuesday, the 28th, and the first chemo treatment will still probably be on the same day.

Thanks to everyone for keeping us in their thoughts and prayers.

Back to Work

Cassie and I are back at work this week, and Beckett has started back to daycare. He's got a bit of a cold, so we are worried that the surgery won't go ahead on Monday. They may tell us on Friday night if it is a go or not, or they might decide on the day depending on how he feels.

People at work ask how Beckett is, and I tell them he's starting chemotherapy. I keep telling everyone that, honestly, it's not as bad as it sounds, but that it still sucks.

Back Home

Stanford finally scheduled Beckett's port surgery and first chemo for Monday August 20th at 10 a.m. We'll post as soon as we can after that and let everyone know how Beckett did with his treatment. He's also going to have another MRI on August 30th just as a new baseline.

The trip was great, and we're very glad we went. It was wonderful to see everyone in New Jersey and England and to get a chance to play with his cousins Milly and Jed. For a two-year-old, or with a two-year-old, it was a long trip, but it was very worth it. Also, we probably won't be able to go anywhere for more than a few days for a long time. I loved walking and running around London, and I had just started to feel like I really knew my way around Hackney when we left. Cassie even got to play in a cricket match!

In England (edited to add photos)

After a fun visit to New Jersey, we got on the plane for England. Beckett did very well with the 7 hour plane flight, and Polly met us at the airport with Baby Jed, who is extremely cute.

London is a great place for families. There is a walled park in a churchyard not far from Polly and James's house, and we also visited Victoria Park, which is huge and has many nice features. We are planning some more outings, but we are also just enjoying relaxing with Polly, James, Milly, and Jed.



Beckett and Milly, who is around Beckett's age, have been playing together very well. Today Polly cooked pizza and let the two of them help-- one of the cutest spectacles we have ever witnessed.


See the video.