Day Four

Well, Charlie has had a pretty rough morning. Last night coming off the anasthesia we saw a side of Charlie rarely (if ever) seen: the cranky Charlie. Pretty fitful, itchy and downright uncomfortable. Coming off the pain meds and dealing with the new port in his chest, I'd say he dealt with it a lot better than I would have! He had his first systemic chemo last night, dripped in and uneventful, as they had told us it would be. Once he got to sleep he did get decent sleep for a bit. He also started steroids and this mornings orneryness may be attributable to that, or likely just the discomfort associated with the recent procedures. It is 10:00 am now and he just fell asleep. Lauren had them mute all the monitors in the room and we all hope he can rest for a bit. It is really impressive to see how Matt and Lauren hold themselves together and present a solid parental front for Charlie to pull strength from.

Matt and Lauren will be getting a Master's degree in Leukemia over the next few days. Learning to read and interpret the blood counts, how to discern the subtleties of good and bad days for Charlie, what to expect from the course of treatment and skills to manage the schedule that has just become their life for the next three years. Charlie will be under close observation to see that his response to the initial chemo is appropriate and there is a chance he could go home on Sunday.