You Just Have to Laugh...Right?!

Nate woke up this morning and immediately asked for a cookie.  He had a few bites of cookie and some milk for breakfast and that was about it, then we headed to the clinic.  Nate had blood taken, was examined, and I told them what had gone on over the weekend.  Nate's oncologist thought the vomiting was most likely due to the fact that he recently had such a major surgery.  I guess, "motility issues" are not uncommon.  All Nate's numbers came back great and he was cleared to start chemo.

I decided to take Nate to Target to pick out whatever he wanted to decorate his hospital room.  I also thought a little "non-hospital" lunch might encourage him to eat something.  Liz was out running errands with Jack and Lucy and met us at Target for a little shopping and lunch in the food court.  Nate picked out a silver tinsel tree, we got brightly colored lights and ornaments to hang from it and a red (Nate's favorite color) bow for the top.  We also picked up another set of lights, a mini stocking (and some candy to go inside), some gel window clings and an LED snowflake that changes colors.  I then took Nate down every food aisle and bought everything that he pointed at.  We ended up with breakfast bars, pretzel sandwiches, hot dogs, mac and cheese, yogurt, and cheese.  He never eats very well in the hospital, so I want to have lots of options for him if he feels like eating.  We headed to the food court and Nate ate one bite of an apple (because I begged him) and drank some juice.

Nate and I then headed to the hospital for Nate to be admitted.  Nate fell asleep in the stroller and I transferred him to the bed when we got upstairs.  He had a nice nap and when he woke up, we decorated his room.  We ended up switching rooms (they were nice enough to let us switch to a room with a bench, which is so much better than the chair to sleep on) and I decorated a second time...what else do I have to do.  Nate did end up throwing up this afternoon, and still won't eat anything...really, anything.

Fluids were started and not surprisingly, one round of hydration wasn't enough to start chemo.  They have to make sure his urine is really dilute and fluid is running right through him so that the chemo doesn't sit in his bladder and do damage.  So, he's on his second round of hydration and hopefully it will do the trick, so he can start chemo around midnight.  On another note, I mentioned that Nate had a kidney test when we were in New York to see if chemo had done damage to his kidneys (one of the major side effects).  The test showed no damage!  Thank you God!  Normal GFR (kidney filtration rate) for his age is 70 and Nate's was above 100!  Go Super Nate!

This evening I got a call from Daddy...Ellie is throwing up all over the place.  So, apparently this is a bug...not surgery related.  Something Nate picked up in New York or on the way home and passed on to Ellie.  I had the nurse call the on call doctor to make sure it is still safe to start chemo, and it is.  Ellie was supposed to go to Liz's house tomorrow, but we don't want to purposely expose their family to this bug.  Our wonderful family comes to the rescue again and the Grandparents will switch off taking care of Nate tomorrow, so I can go home and take care of my baby girl.  Please pray that Nate wakes up feeling like a million bucks tomorrow and starts eating...a lot.  Also, please pray that Ellie recovers from this thing quickly and the rest of our family is spared.  Honestly, a stomach bug seems like such a small problem right now, though I'm sure Chris isn't feeling that way as he takes care of our vomiting baby by himself.  Thank you, everyone, for your support, love, thoughts and prayers.