The antibiotics seem to have lightened up Luis' cough. It's not completely gone, but at least it seems productive now. On Friday, I brought Luis back to the hospital to get checked out because he vomited a number of times since the day before. The doctor prescribed him an antacid because she believed he had too much acid in stomach. I think it's working! For the past several weeks, Luis' tummy hurt, he retched a lot and even vomited from time to time. Since starting the antacid, he hasn't really complained much and I'm not chasing after him with a glass of water and a vomit basin. Plus his appetite bounced back considerably.
Luis is getting more chemo this week. In this 'interim maintenance' phase, he gets chemo every 10 days and each time, one of the drugs, methotrexate, is given at an escalated dose. I am assuming that his side effects will escalate as well.
We're staying at the Ronald McDonald House like we do every time we have an appointment in London. I love this place. Seriously. It really is like a home away from home. Don't forget to buy your kid a happy meal to support RMH!!
Julien's update
Julien is home with my mom. Yes, he is finally on formula. It has been about a month or so now since he finally gave in. It took a couple months to wean him but we are there now. This is the second time I left Julien in Windsor when I came to London. He is crawling now and very curious so a hospital bedside isn't a good place for him to spend hours of his day. Plus, leaving Julien at home gives me some one-on-one time with Luis when he needs me most.
Julien is usually an easy going, friendly, cheerful baby. Last week, Julien cut his second tooth. It was horrible. He was cranky. Combine that with 4 year old temper tantrums and I was ready to pull my hair out. Thankfully, I have all kinds of support to help.
Finding sanity
Luis has a social worker who is amazing. We try to meet with her weekly. We also have a volunteer from Hospice that we met for the first time last week. She is going to come over and play with Luis weekly. I also met another lovely lady who is a retired pediatric nurse who volunteered to visit weekly. And of course, the grandparents have all been very supportive as well (including Grandma Marta). As you can see, I am taking the help that is there. I have to. I'd go crazy if I didn't. I've also taken up dancing again to get out for an hour a week among other adults. It's a great way to let go of some stress, but the hour goes by too quickly.
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