Building up strength (Day +15)

Aaron had lost most of the strength in his legs from being in bed a week and a half. The physical therapist brought in a Spongebob table. Aaron did not want to sit in the chair at first. He screamed. We moved his trains to the table and then he became very interested and decided to give it a try. Now he loves sitting in the chair.


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Aaron is Robust (Day +13)

Definition of Robust: full of health and strength; vigorous

The BMT doctor on rotation this week came to see Aaron for the first time. He said with slight amazement, "he is really robust." I can't think of a better compliment. For this stage of transplant, Aaron looks great. Other kids are frail and subdued. Not Aaron, he is talking, laughing, and looks great. Always a proud Mom.

Napping with Mom (Day +12)

Aaron and I have been hanging out a lot the past few days with Daddy gone. Watching TV, playing trains, doing flashcards, and taking naps. We are the best of buddies. I love my little man!

Fluid Retention (Day +11)

Aaron is still retaining fluid. He looks cute with his bald head, chubby cheeks, and double chin. He has gained over 2 pounds in 5 days. He can't even fit his shirt over his belly.

Cells Are Growing (Day +10)

Yesterday Aaron's white blood cells started increasing in numbers. The doctors look at these numbers to see if the transplant is taking and how well Aaron's immune system is building up again. His numbers doubled from yesterday. He is still far from a normal immune system, but things are going right on track.

Aaron's fevers are subsiding, but now he is retaining fluid.

Fevers (Day +9)

Aaron has had some horrific fevers. Starting Tuesday night, he started getting fevers up to 108 degrees. He maxed out on the amount of Tylenol he could get. The only other option was to use wet washcloths. The fever lasted through the night and began to wear off Wednesday afternoon. Then we started all over again Wednesday night, this time reaching a high of 109.4. None of the doctors have seen a fever this high before. They weren't overly concerned, but ordered a cooling blanket to help. Finally, by morning his fevers wore off again. It is 9:40pm and his fevers are starting all over again. Yikes! Poor little kid.

The fevers could mean two things. First, he could have an infection. Every time he gets a fever they take cultures. The cultures take several days to grow out. However, the doctor said that as bad a Aaron is, if he had an infection it would probably show pretty quickly. So far, no infections have grown out in culture. The second possibility is that he is having "engraftment syndrome." This occurs as his new cells start growing and can cause fever. His numbers have started to increase a little. This is good news!

Nothing But Compliments (Day +7)

Today was great! Aaron woke up himself. He was talking and wanting to play.

He had compliments all day long... Wow, he looks like he is four. I can't believe it has only been 6 days from his transplant and he is up and looking good. He is really smart for his age. What a handsome little man, we say that to all the parents but we really mean it for Aaron.

Aaron ended the day with a fever for unknown reasons. They will do labs to see if he has an infection. He is covered up here in his favorite blanket because he was shivering.