Week of May 31

We were able to come home on Sunday afternoon. All morning Eric was saying when will the doctor be here, when. Then the doctor showed up and Eric said "Finally! When can we go home?" He was still in a fair bit of pain, but had a better night and was just so done with the hospital. A platelet transfusion was already in progress and the doctor let us go when it finished. We were so happy and relieved to be home. We were supposed to have a clinic visit on Tuesday for platelets, but I emailed the team on Monday to ask if we could cancel it since he had platelets on Sunday and they were happy to let us do that. 

It felt like such a long, in a good way, week of freedom, from Sunday afternoon through Thursday. Joel was home for some of it too, having caught the cold that landed Eric in the hospital. Initially, Eric was in a lot of pain. The pain meds were helping, but not enough. He was even waking up in the middle of the night in pain. A Nurse Practitioner from the team that did the pain consult a few weeks ago called me to check in and was able to tweak the plan a little. That helped for Eric to sleep through the night. He spent the week working on his LEGO set on and off as the pain would allow and was so pleased to finish it. 

Eric started to feel a bit better as the week went on. He is definitely still in pain, but not quite as agonizing as before. We went to clinic on Friday and I did get a wheelchair to make it easy and painless for him to get upstairs. He had bloodwork and a platelet transfusion. Unfortunately, the blast count was up a little on Friday, but his Oncologist says we won't make any changes from a one off. He would be more worried if it was a trend so he says we will see what the numbers look like on Wednesday. 

Eric spent the weekend resting his legs. Though on Sunday we went out to Camp Goodtimes. We were invited to their training weekend to share our story and what Camp Goodtimes means to us. It was so wonderful to share with the volunteers how their selflessness positively affects our family. One the way out there, we saw a couple bears and on the way back a deer! 

Week of May 24 + Hospital, again

We got to have a nice visit with the family on Saturday afternoon and Sunday was pretty chill, lots of chores around the house for mom and dad, and lots of video games for the kids. Eric was headache-y Sunday, so we prepared for a longer day at clinic on Monday. We arrived, access,  bloodwork, and, sure enough, hemoglobin was low. First he had the platelet transfusion and then the blood transfusion so it was a long day, though fairly uneventful. Liver inflammation is down again and blast count remains low, but not zero. Eric had yet another ECG and it was fine. On the way out, Eric was complaining of pain in his right thigh but I thought maybe it was just from lying down all day and he'd be able to walk it off. By the time we got home, his pain was worse and he asked for pain meds. 

It was a long hospital day and I figured Eric would need to rest Tuesday, but maybe could go to school on Wednesday. Unfortunately, his pain was worse, he wasn't able to put any weight on his right leg and he continued to need pain meds. He spent all of Tuesday on the couch in the fetal position and even though he couldn't put weight on his leg, I wanted to make sure he at least moved a little. He'd been chatting up a special LEGO set with a friend and she gave it to him as an early birthday gift. It had arrived at our house, but I hadn't told him yet and this seemed like the right time. He was so excited and immediately moved to a sitting position so he could build. He built on and off Wednesday and Thursday and it was nice to see him sitting up, happy and engaged in an activity. Thank you!!!

Aside from the pain, Eric was feeling fine. Thursday late afternoon, I took Joel to track and when I got back I noticed that Eric was flushed. I felt his forehead and he was burning up so I got the thermometer and he had a fever, which means we had to call the Oncologist on call and come into the ER. We were there for the fever, but his leg pain was so bad that I had to get a wheelchair to take him from the parking spot right outside into the ER. We got into a room immediately and actually saw the ER doctor before we even saw our nurse. We do appreciate the VIP treatment to make the ER a little less painful. Our nurse had a quiet confidence and Eric was really concerned about the port access, but she got it easily, thank heaven. They started IV antibiotics and took blood cultures, urine cultures and a nasal swab, which is the fever protocol. They also gave him some fluids and pain meds and ordered an x-ray for his leg. Four hours later we got a room upstairs on T8. It was late and Eric was so tired and cranky. His platelets had been low, so they ordered some platelets for overnight, but that means he had to have 3 blood pressures, which they call arm hugs, even though it is way more painful and much less comforting than a hug. With all that and the bloodwork and vitals overnight, Eric did not get enough sleep. The pharmacist came in at 9:40 to ask me a question and woke us up then. Eric had to stand up to pee which was agonizing and he hadn't had any pain meds, so we asked for pain meds and they brought the wrong form. Then Eric asked for toast with peanut butter and a cup of milk and the nurse came back and said there's no peanut butter, no jam and no milk. WHAT?!?! Between the lack of sleep and the pain, this caused Eric to lose his marbles. He also was saying all morning that he wanted to go home. He is so done with the hospital after 3.5 years and especially after this last season with so many stays, plus he has the LEGO set at home that he wants to finish! I was trying to cheer him up, so I went to the Gift Shop and got him a LEGO puppy to build. Also, since we forgot his favourite stuffy at home, I got him a chocolate lab puppy stuffy that he has named Charlie. I suggested he name the LEGO puppy too, but he told me you don't name LEGO. 

At some point during the day, I did learn that the nasal swab was positive for Enterovirus, the common cold, which explained the fever, but he still didn't really have any symptoms, maybe a bit of a cough, and that fever only lasted about an hour. Eric had an MRI scheduled for the afternoon. Good thing Eric had his new puppy to keep him company inside the ER machine, while I kept him company in the room, but outside the machine. It took forever and I was pretty bored, and sleepy, but Eric got to watch Big Hero 6 while he was in there. 

Eric's regular Oncologist came by to show me the MRI pictures and discuss the findings with me. It was fascinating to see the pictures and it definitely helped with the explanation, but I will do my best. Basically a clump of blast cells in the marrow restricted blood flow to an area causing an infarction (death of bone cells) and then the tissue all around that area is inflamed which is causing the pain. Eric's Oncologist had gone to MRI to review the images and, interestingly, while he was there, they asked about Eric's left leg because they can see the same thing healing on that leg, which explains the pain from 3 weeks ago. There is nothing we can do except manage pain and wait for it to heal. 

Friday overnight was tough. Eric was up numerous times in lots of pain and not getting much sleep. Saturday morning the pain has been much better managed. Saturday evening would be 48 hours fever free and without the cultures growing, we should be able to go home. However, the doctor that came in this morning said that this is some of the worst kind of pain you can have and he was concerned we wouldn't be able to manage the pain effectively at home. We do have the same pain meds they use here, but we can only administer them orally versus the much faster acting IV. We don't have too much going on today, but Eric is having another blood transfusion. He went 3 weeks between his last two, but this time he just received one on Monday. This is likely the enterovirus burning through his hemoglobin. 

Please wish Eric a less painful afternoon, evening and overnight so that he doesn't hurt but also so that we can go home! 

Week of May 17

It has been a fairly uneventful week, which is what we like! Eric was tired Tuesday morning and stayed home from school. We went to clinic on Wednesday and it was pretty straight forward, but Eric got overwhelmed early on and a bit cranky. He had 2 nurses because one was new to the clinic. He's actually a nurse we've seen in the ER a few times, and also on the inpatient side of T8. However, he has never worked in clinic so he had someone shadowing him. So they were in the room for awhile to do the access and bloodwork. As soon as they left, an ECG tech showed up, and as soon as she left Eric's Oncologist and Nurse Clinician showed up. Everyone of these people wanted to poke and prod Eric and he was done! 

Having an ECG is not a regular event for a clinic visit, but everything else is. That was Eric's 4th ECG since he started this new med 2.5 weeks ago, so he's also done with ECG. I told him if they are going to make you do something so often, at least it's easy. For an ECG he can continue to lay on his hospital bed and watch his iPad. They just put some stickers on his chest and connect wires to them and the whole thing is done in about 2 minutes. Eric's Oncologist has ordered so many because this new med can cause long QT which is basically a longer gap between beats. It seems like all these meds can cause this and he has been monitored for it before. As of Friday, the ECG looked great, but Wednesday's did show "borderline" QT so we do need to keep a close eye on it. The dosing of this med is a bit different, so that Eric takes 1 tab for 5 days and then 2 tabs for 5 days and then repeats. This is because his dose is actually 1.5 tabs, but you can't cut them. This last ECG was after 5 days of 2 tabs, so Eric's Oncologist is hoping that after another 5 days of only 1 tab, the ECG will be normal again. 

After all that poking and prodding, everyone left Eric alone. He got his platelet transfusion and his doctor reviewed the bloodwork with me. The liver inflammation is down again, though only a little this time, but the best news is: blasts are down to 0.7!!!! I mean zero would be great, but not 9 is also amazing. It seems like this new med is working 🤞🤞🤞 We don't know for how long, and while we have started steps toward transplant, it seems like we're going to get a little breather. 

On Thursday, Eric went to school for a half day and was recognized at Baker's May Recognition Assembly for his positive attitude 💖 

It is Friday morning and Eric and I are enjoying a nice slow morning. Tomorrow we are going to Granny's to celebrate the May birthdays and Sunday we are free!

Back to clinic Monday and Friday next week. 

Week of May 10

Eric and I have caught a little cold. Luckily it's quite mild, especially for him. I had a nice and relaxing Mother's Day, while Chuck worked his butt off. Eric entertained me - and himself - by eating an apple like a goofball.

Eric had a platelet transfusion on Friday, so usually his clinic day this week would be Wednesday, however, since he started the new medication/treatment on Friday, the team wants to keep a close eye on him, so we had to go in on Monday. Since he didn't need platelets or his port accessed, we had to go to the blood lab first and then to clinic. Eric has been taking daily pain medication proactively because of the pain he was having the last couple of weeks. However, I forgot to give it to him Monday morning, after being away and out of the routine. He mentioned in the car that we'd forgotten but said he was fine. I asked him again when we got to the hospital and he still was fine. Blood lab went smoothly, though slowly, which is normal. In clinic, Eric saw his NP. She mentioned he was looking a lot better. His numbers were all good, including his blast count finally being down significantly. This could still be from the IV treatment finally working in his system, or from the new med or maybe both. We were only at the hospital a total of just under 2 hours and got home before lunch. It was nice to have the afternoon free. When it was time for Eric's afternoon meds, I asked him if he needed the pain med and he said "does it look like I need pain meds?" while dancing around the living room. My heart burst with joy. He said this is the best he's felt in weeks and it's definitely the best I've seen him in weeks, even months. Always the opportunist, I said if he was feeling so well, perhaps he should try a half day of school on Tuesday and he agreed. He was a bit nervous to go to school after being away for so long, but he made it the half day as planned. When I arrived at noon to pick him up, he had clearly had a very good morning and was grinning from ear to ear. 

Wednesday we went back to clinic for a scheduled platelet transfusion and also another check in to see how things are going with the new med. His blast count was down again and his liver inflammation still dropping. A good visit! Thursday Eric said he was too tired to go to school, but he's still feeling great. 

Way back when BC Ferries opened up their reservations, I booked a ferry to the Sunshine Coast and back for May long weekend, so that we had the option to go if we chose. A couple of weeks ago, I don't think we could have done it, but with Eric feeling better, everyone was up for a little vacay. The long weekend makes our clinic visits a bit challenging. We opted to go in on Friday, 3 days this week if you are counting. The idea was that Eric could get topped up with platelets before the long weekend and next week we can go back to our regular schedule, if all the numbers continue to look good. Clinic was pretty straightforward. Most of our team was away but we saw another doctor that we know well. Eric had an ECG to check in on his heart with the new med and it looks great. His blast count was up a tiny bit from Wednesday which I don't like, but I know Eric's Oncologist would say that it is not a statistically significant difference. His liver inflammation is down again. It has come down leaps and bounds this last week and is now close to the slightly angry that we've been tolerating for a year. Most importantly, Eric is still feeling great and is excited for a weekend on the Sunshine Coast. 

Our ferry wasn't until late, and visiting Granny's cabin is easy, so I was able to have a nap before packing. The family was excited to go, but I was exhausted. Between my mini cruise, 3 hospital days in one week and a cold, I was beat! However, I knew once we get to the cabin, it will be super relaxing. The ferry was uneventful and we got into the cabin just before dark. Granny wasn't available to join us this weekend, so it's just the 4 of us and the dog. The weather turned out to be beautiful on the Sunshine Coast over the long weekend, which I wasn't really expecting. We spent a lot of time relaxing, napping, playing family board games, poking around the beach, and we even toasted s'mores over a campfire on the beach. 

Back to reality (home) this (Monday) afternoon and back to clinic Wednesday. 

Week of May 3

As planned, we went to the hospital Saturday morning. Since the clinic is closed on the weekend, we got outpatient treatment on the inpatient ward which means a comfier bed for Eric and comfier recliner for me. Eric had to have his port accessed. He had numbing cream on and said at least the inpatient nurses are good at it (as opposed to the ER) but when it came time to access, he freaked out a bit. His nurse did a great job and the access went very smoothly. She did the bloodwork and platelets arrived quickly. Eric's Oncologist was working this weekend so he came by to review the bloodwork with me. Blasts were about the same and liver was slightly improved again. After the platelets, he had the chemo. This is a more intense chemo, but his doctor has ordered a low dose so it is actually done as an IV push over one minute. The whole time we were there, Eric was excited to go to Balding for Dollars and get a snow cone! It is a fun event with games, prizes, mascots, and food, but Eric's favourite part is the snow cones. We walked over and... no snow cones this year!!! Eric was so sad. He'd been looking forward to that for months. They did have ice cream, but Eric didn't like the flavour choices so he had a cupcake and then we left pretty quickly. It was very hot out and standing/walking has been difficult for him. He is having a fair bit of pain in his side and shoulder blade. It seems to be like the leg/groin pain of a few weeks ago, so his Oncologist thinks it is probably the blasts causing him the pain. Shortly after we got home Uncle Jon and Auntie Becky arrived from Prince George for a visit.  

Sunday morning Chuck took Eric to the hospital. Eric usually won't let anyone but me go with him, even his dad, if he has to be accessed. However, since he was already accessed from the day before, he was happy to go along with his dad. As long as we (Uncle Jon & Auntie Becky) didn't do anything fun without him. They were there a little over an hour. He really only needed the chemo on Sunday, but they were waiting for the bloodwork results. Eric's Oncologist needed to make sure everything looked good because if it didn't, he would be admitted. 

Monday morning Eric let Uncle Jon and Auntie Becky take him to clinic, since he was already accessed. His hemoglobin had dropped a little over the weekend, so he was planning to get a blood transfusion, in addition to the chemo, which made for a long day for them. It was amazing for me to get a day back and I puttered around the garden and the house all day. Unfortunately, Eric's blast count has not dropped, after 2 doses of the chemo and we had expected it to. Eric is still very ache-y and even woke up in the middle of the night from the pain. Grandma arrived via airplane mid-day and was able just to Uber to the hospital and catch a ride home. 

Tuesday morning I am back on duty. Grandma came with Eric and I to the hospital to keep us company while Jon and Becky took Millie out for a walk. Eric did suggest that Uncle Jon walk Millie and Auntie Becky stay so they could play on their iPads together. After getting platelets on Saturday, we were off schedule, so had planned ahead to get the platelet transfusion on Tuesday, along with the chemo. 3 doses of chemo and the blast count is still not dropping. It feels like this round of treatment is not working at all. As a stronger chemo he hasn't had in 3 years, I just assumed that it would work and that it would take Eric's aches and pains away, along with the blasts. It is extra hard to have your kid pumped full of poison when it doesn't even work. My pity party was short lived though because after clinic we went for pedicures with Grandma and Uncle Jon and Auntie Becky. It was Eric's first pedicure and, despite the picture where I surprised him, he loved being pampered. He and Uncle Jon got matching blue toenails. 

On Wednesday Uncle Jon, Auntie Becky, Grandma and MAMA (!!!) got on a cruise. It's just a wee little cruise; 3 days from Vancouver to Seattle to Victoria and back to Vancouver. But first...back to clinic for the last day of this round of IV chemo. It was a bit chaotic because Grandma was with me to head to the cruise and Granny met us at the hospital to take Eric home and look after the family for a few days. It was just bloodwork and chemo so we were done pretty quickly but had to wait for the bloodwork results before we could leave and the team wanted me to speak to another Oncologist who specializes in pain management. We had a good chat and she gave us a plan to help manage Eric's pain. The bloodwork arrived and finally the blasts had come down the littlest bit. 

Thursday I was docked in Seattle where it was quite warm in the sun so I hung around the pool and drank the best margaritas! Meanwhile Granny took Eric to the Lego store and spoiled him rotten. I know because he texted me progress updates. By the next morning, he had finished the 2000+ piece set. 

It seems like it was a good way to celebrate his first day off from the hospital after 6 days in a row there. I am also pleased that he was able to sit up and build that long. It seems like the pain management plan was working. 

Since I was still on the boat, and Eric had chosen to remain accessed, Chuck took Eric to clinic that day. First thing I got a text from Chuck about an antibiotic resistant bug they'd found earlier in the week. Luckily, while Eric was at clinic that day, he didn't use the affected washroom and they were able to clear him. That's the first time that has happened to us and it was terrifying, even though it was short lived. Eric had a platelet transfusion and his Oncologist reviewed the bloodwork with Chuck. Blasts were down a little more but liver slightly angrier. He was asked to reduce the dose of the oral treatment that we had increased a few days before. We also finally got our hands on the additional treatment that had been approved almost 2 weeks before. We'd been waiting to hear from the special pharmacy for awhile and of course I got the call as I was waiting in line for security and customs for the ship. Luckily they deliver directly to the house so Chuck was able to bring it in Friday to review with the Oncologist and Eric started it that night. This is the one that is supposed to treat the mutation that was recently discovered. Eric's Oncologist is very optimistic about it. Despite that, this last few weeks have been very tough and his Oncologist has started talking seriously with us about a second transplant. We may not be able to put it off much longer, but I am still hopeful this treatment will work and allow us to be in a better, more stable place than we have been recently. 

I arrived home on Saturday afternoon, just in time for Mother's Day on Sunday. During our time in Oncology land, I have learned that there’s no one way to experience this day. Some people are celebrating, some are grieving, some are holding hope, and some are just trying to get through. Whichever you are, I wish you love and healing today and everyday. 

Week of April 26

Our weekend was good. Eric scooted around a bit on his scooter, but the rest of the week has not been great. Eric has been lethargic and has lots of aches and pains. We went for bloodwork in the community on Monday, so his Oncologist can keep a close eye on the two big concerns we have at the moment: liver inflammation and blast count. Eric's Nurse Clinician called us on Tuesday to let us know the liver inflammation was slightly improved, but blast count had quadrupled in only 3 days. This explains why Eric was feeling generally poor. As a result, they asked that Eric start his oral treatment that day and suggested we pack our overnight bad to clinic the following day. We went into clinic on Wednesday and I was expecting the blast count to have significantly increased again, despite the treatment, since it was only one dose. His Oncologist came at the beginning of our appointment to let us know his thoughts. If the blasts were taking off, as anticipated, then he would admit Eric for a different chemotherapy that is administered by IV every 12 hours, to get the blasts under control. Luckily his blast count was actually slightly down from Monday, not enough to be statistically significant, but not up which is a win. Additionally the liver inflammation had decreased a little as well. We didn't have to stay, but they did ask us to come back again on Friday for another check in. In the meantime, his Oncologist asked us to double the dose of his oral treatment. That had always been the plan for this round, but with the liver inflammation it was not something we'd been able to do. 

We headed back in on Friday and since Eric had platelets on Wednesday, he didn't need them again, so no need to have his port accessed. Instead we went to the blood lab at the hospital first. Unfortunately clinic was packed and we waited in the hall for 40ish minutes before getting a room. We had hoped for a quick in and out and this was not it. At least the bloodwork results were back by the time we got a room. The liver inflammation was down again, and since Eric's now had 3 doses of treatment, 2 of them at a double dosage, that is actually really good. Unfortunately, his blast count hasn't dropped. His Oncologist says these numbers: 8/7/9 are essentially all the same and its making him nervous. As a result, we will be going back to the hospital tomorrow for IV chemo. He did say we could be inpatient and have the chemo every 12 hours or we could do outpatient and have the treatment only once a day. We have opted for that, but there will be a very low tolerance for admitting Eric. The Oncologist expects we will do this for 5 days, but we should see results in a day or two. Surprisingly, Eric's platelet count was only 9 today after getting the transfusion Wednesday. Eric said no platelets today so he will get platelets tomorrow as well. On the plus side, we'd been planning to go to the hospital grounds tomorrow for the Balding for Dollars event anyhow. 

While Eric hasn't been "well" for many years, he has been stable and able to enjoy a variety of activities. These couple weeks of instability have been very stressful, especially following on the heels of this latest virus. However, this rough spell has really been since Christmas. Eric has had 3 viruses during that time, plus changes in treatment all requiring hospitalization and generally leaving him feeling quite poorly. He's barely been able to go to school and is currently spending most of his time hunkered down in my bed watching tv or playing on his iPad. 

Week of April 19

Eric was discharged from hospital Tuesday afternoon. It was a long few days from Saturday because he was feeling good, but trapped in his room. Chuck came into the hospital Saturday evening so I could spend the night at home and see Joel and Millie. Back at the hospital on Sunday and Eric is BORED! We were allowed out on the T8 patio for a bit and Eric enjoyed being outside. Our nurse sat with us for awhile and they chatted thrill rides at Disney. 

Even after getting some fresh air, he wasn't able to sleep Sunday night which was really rough; he was so frustrated and upset. Surprisingly, he had no leg pain at all over the entire weekend. It was so weird the way it was agonizing and then completely gone. 

We saw the doctor Monday morning and she said she'd like us to stay one more night, ahhhh! MRI didn't give Eric an appointment and instead said they would give us a call if they could squeeze him in. Additionally, Eric's digestive system wasn't quite back to normal yet and he'd been on supportive fluids. She wanted to take him off fluids and see if he could drink enough. During the day, every time someone came in the room we asked if they had any news, but nope! The doctor had said that we could go out on a day pass, so at 3:30 I figured we were probably out of luck for MRI and we decided to escape for a bit. We started at a toy store on Main Street where Eric was very happy to pick out another Ninjago Lego set. We drove past our old townhouse on Sophia and then were driving by D&R's, but D was on the front porch so we stopped to say a quick hello. Next we headed to Queen Elizabeth Park. The Patient Parent Advocate on T8 has a pass to the Bloedel Conservatory that we were able to use. We just did a quick lap because Eric was a bit uncomfortable in there with his mask on. It was cool for him to see though because you can see the dome from some of the rooms at the hospital. 

Walking around the park, we saw people enjoying the patio at Seasons in the Park so we decided to check it out. Eric was thrilled to discover they have a kids menu so we joined the people on the patio. We got a great table with a wonderful view of the city and mountains as well as the people walking through the park. 

It was a great date with my mini and so nice to get out of the hospital for a few hours, and when we got back, he had new Lego to build! 

Tuesday morning MRI called our nurse when she was in the room so we heard them say they wanted to get an appointment on the books and the earliest they could do was Thursday (!!!!) at noon but they'd keep trying to squeeze Eric in on Tuesday and Wednesday. Eric was still feeling well and so done with the hospital. He was not impressed that he might have to stay there until Thursday. However, his doctor came in the room shortly after and when we relayed this info, she said forget it. Since the pain had resolved, she figured by Thursday there would be nothing to see anyhow. She said if we were okay with it, she would cancel the MRI and we could go home. We were definitely okay with it!!! She did order platelets prior to our discharge and said we needed to come back on Friday for an appointment in clinic. We made it home early afternoon and it was amazing!!! I unpacked and went directly to bed and a lovely friend brought us dinner so I didn't even have to think. 

Wednesday the plan was to rest and recover from the hospital stay, but Eric did go to school for an hour because people came from middle school to do a presentation for the grade 5s and he didn't want to miss that. Thursday morning he was feeling like he still needed more rest so decided to stay home again. 

Friday we headed back to clinic for a later appointment this time so we got to have a nice relaxing morning at home first. This was only the second time Eric's port would be accessed since it did the weird flippy thing. Eric was nervous, but it went quite smoothly. Platelets were ordered and I ended up talking to Eric's Oncologist on and off for most of the appointment. He had some fascinating things to say about research. Or at least they are fascinating if you can divorce it from your kid. Once Eric's bloodwork came back, we had a more relevant conversation about Eric's current situation. First, we learned Friday that we were getting access to the drug to treat the mutation that was discovered. BC Cancer denied the request, but the drug company came through and approved compassionate access. A few pieces need to fall in line until we actually have that in our hands, but it should be soon. Meanwhile, we've been watching Eric's angry liver. It is functioning fine, but is inflamed. It has always been a little angry which we tolerated, but earlier this month it became very angry. Eric's Oncologist said it could be from a few different things, one of which was a virus, and then Eric started vomiting later that day. However, the virus that he had doesn't usually cause an angry liver, though it can and we all know that Eric's body likes to be special. As a result of his angry liver, we haven't been able to restart the oral chemo that we usually do at the same time as the IV one. While in hospital, the liver numbers did improve and Eric took it for a couple days, but then the liver got angry again so he stopped. I am concerned about him not taking it because his blast count was rising in only 5 days off treatment. On Friday I had hoped with the virus behind him that the liver numbers would decrease and we'd be able to restart the oral treatment. Unfortunately, his liver numbers are still really high and, as expected, his blast count is rising again now too. His Onc wants to give it a little time to resolve, in case it is the virus, but can't give too much because of the rising blast count. We were given a requisition and asked to go for bloodwork in the community on Monday. If the numbers drop then we can restart treatment, but if they don't, then we'll have to treat it with steroids (ugh) so that we can restart treatment at the same time. 

For now, we just wait and see. Eric is feeling good and we're enjoying this beautiful sunny weekend! Next clinic visit is planned for Wednesday, but I guess that might be changed depending on the bloodwork Monday.