On the upswing

Aaron's doctor came in this morning with the good news that his count was at 280 today! This is wonderful news as it means that his stem cells did their job. He needs these infection fighting cells as he contracted C. Difficile bacteria (aka c-diff) at the hospital a few days ago. It's something you can get (mainly at hospitals) if you are on antibiotics. Unfortunately it causes bad diarrhea, and the medicine to treat it has some painful side effects like cramping and mouth sores. So far no mouth sores but he is having the cramping so he has needed some morphine for that. Now that his body can start to fight it he should be rid of this soon.

We got a bit of a shock as we were informed yesterday from one of the bmt doctors that it is recommended that Aaron get radiation. Unfortunately our oncologist has all of the facts on this and we haven't been able to reach him. After we get his recommendation we will get more opinions and look into the proton radiation. This type has fewer detrimental side effects and is unlikely to stunt the growth of his leg. It was a big like being near the end of a marathon only to find out there are an extra ten miles being tacked on to the end! The nurse practitioner told Damon that it is a good thing there are additional tools to make sure that Aaron stays cancer-free and I agree, but it was a big of a shock.

Tomorrow is the benefit concert, and I wish I could be there! Damon will be and Aaron and I will visit via Skype and webcam if everything works right! I am so thankful to everyone that has helped with this, from planning to playing to the support people that will be working there.

That's all the news for now!

Barbara