Stomach flu??

MOMMY:

What a crazy weekend. Luis went for routine chemo this week. We learned that he is still neutropenic (i.e. weak immune system) and his hemoglobin had dropped again. Luis had to get a second blood transfusion a week after the last transfusion.

Second blood transfusion to date

After his lumbar puncture to administer methotrexate, a chemo drug, he cried inconsolably for about 2 hours. I think the nurses and everyone around was on edge because of the crying. You want to help, but don't know what to do. He eventually calmed down, but it came back. This time, he cried of tummy pains for hours. The doctor examined him and said his tummy was soft which was good, but Luis was still in a lot of pain. He was admitted to the hospital for testing and they did an x-ray that night. The next day, Luis was noticeably better. The x-ray seemed ok, except they weren't sure about one spot in the abdomen where they thought they saw 'a sliver' of air. Unfortunately, with every extra concern comes lots of waiting in hospital rooms. Another x-ray was ordered and was clear. We were discharged around dinner time.

The boys when Luis started to feel better

Very soon after being discharged, Luis started to feel warm. Over the evening, his temperature ranged from 37.2 to 37.7 C. This prompted a call to the oncologist who told us to stay in London, just in case and to call her back if it went any higher. That day, Luis barely ate anything. At night, he couldn't hold down a cheese stick. He threw up then, in the middle of the night, and again twice in the morning. We were told to head to emergency to get it checked out, considering the concern with his temperature, and the fact that he is neutropenic. Another x-ray was done looking for something in the bowels (to be honest, I forget the details, but they said it could be there today even if it wasn't there yesterday). That was clear too. They suspect it could be some kind of stomach virus, however, he has no diarrhea so it is hard to say.

In the end, we were sent home today. Luis has had very little to eat in three days but he has been drinking enough to stay hydrated. He has lost weight during this time. His attempt to eat dinner today was followed by more vomiting but at least his temperature has been normal. His temperature needs to be carefully monitored. He still complained about his tummy this evening. Luis has even complained about his back hurting which may be related to the lumbar puncture from the other day. However, this is probably his 4th or 5th "LP" and this is the first time he has complained about his back. It looks like a rough week lies ahead. I hope I'll have better news to share soon.