An End in Sight??

My little Avery is still truckin' along here in Cincinnati. Since my last posting, he has had two admissions that lasted 3 or 4 days each. They were both related to fevers, and the reason for the fevers was never identified. But with his ANC around 200 for several weeks, any little bug would have been enough to get to him. His last hospital stay got a little more interesting when his central line broke in the ER. The nurse was flushing it, and it snapped like a rubber band. His is a double lumen, meaning it makes a "Y" a few inches down from his chest so that there is access through two lines, and he can receive multiple infusions at a time. It broke right at the "Y", so neither line was able to be used. The nurse who was flushing it when it broke nearly had a melt down. She was an ER nurse, and although she had handled central lines some, she wasn't nearly as familiar with them as the Hem/Onc and BMT nurses. She was pouring the sweat, trying to keep it clamped with her hands while I searched for an emergency CVC kit in the little room. I found one, and we got it clamped, but I was feeling the panic rise inside me. The nurse told me that he was going to need surgery to pull the old line and replace it with a new one. As I said before, his ANC had been so low along with his other blood counts that surgery would be incredibly risky for him. They started a peripheral IV on him, and called the vascular team. I immediately called and texted everyone I knew who would pray and asked them to spread the word that Avery needed prayer now. The vascular team attempted two repairs, and neither was successful. They were going to give it a few hours to see if it would work after sitting fo awhile, but Phillip and I weren't real hopeful. After a few hours, the team came back. They had done some research on the exact line that Avery had and had learned of another way to try to repair it. Phillip and I were both nervous and praying as they completed another repair on his line. They tried to flush it, but where the white lumen hadn't had heparin put in it properly, it had a clot in it. After a few hours with TPA, a clot buster, the lines both flushed beautifully. Thank God! By this point it was about 9:00 at night, and his line had broken around 8:30 in the morning. Talk about a long, stressful day! He spent the night in ICU, and then was moved to the BMT floor for a couple of days. I'm so thankful that his line was able to be repaired without surgery. I'm really not sure how that would have worked out for him!

Yesterday for the first time, the doctor said the word we've been waiting for a long time to hear: HOME! Dr. Mehta said that if Avery continues as he is doing, he may be able to be transitioned home in about a month. His counts need to be fairly stable for a few weeks, and there needs to be a decrease in his virus count. They began tapering his anti-rejection drug that he gets through his central line twice daily, and it will take 2-3 months to fully discontinue it. This is the drug that is also responsible for Avery's crazy, over-growth of hair, so I'm hoping he will slowly start looking more like my little boy and a little less like a werewolf! :)

Phillip took the entire month of February off of work through FMLA, so that really helped out with our schedule juggling. However, he went back to work a few days ago, and we're back to the old routine. Tonight, I have Bryson and Avery at the RMH, my mom has Emerson in Indiana, and Phillip is home because he is working this weekend. I'm already feeling the stress of the separation. Tomorrow, Phillip will come get Bryson after work so that he can stay at my sisters through the week and go to school, and I'll be here with Avery for the week. If it weren't for a little thing called money, I'd see if Phillip could take another month off!

I'm hoping and praying that this next month goes quickly and that Avery doesn't have any setbacks. Of course, as eager as I am to get him home, I don't want to rush it either.

Thanks for your continued prayers for our family!!
Bethany