Setback

Well, as my title reflects, we've hit another bump in the road. Hopefully, we get over it quickly, but one just never knows about Avery!

His swallowing difficulties compounded by some extra mucus peaked on Friday during our Day Hospital appointment. I think he had his regular nurses and nurse practitioner a little worried. After seeing how miserable he was and the serious choking episodes he was having (which I have been complaining of for weeks now!), they were considering admitting him. I persuaded them to just give him extra steroids, antibiotics, and let me call in the morning for an update and decide from there. I was really hoping to avoid an admission. Shortly after that decision was made, he had a particulary severe choking episode which caused him to vomit all over me. I had to walk over to the Ronald McDonald House in a drenched jean skirt to bathe and change quickly. When I returned to the hospital, his nurses said he had spiked a fever. I knew what that meant: an automatic admission for at least 48 hours. So, I called Phillip so that he could come down since I had Bryson with me.

That brings us to the present where Avery has spend his second night back "home" in the Bone Marrow Transplant unit. I think he was happy to see some of his favorite aids and nurses, who almost all stopped by to check out his new hair he has grown. Tomorrow, his regular attending physician will be back in, and she will be making the decisions regarding a plan from here. I am hoping to be assertive enough and make my case that prolonging an esophageal dilitation surgery may be more risky than doing one with less than stellar counts. (His BK virus count is up to 1.6 million despite anti-viral infusions 3 times a week).

As always, we appreciate your continued prayers!! I am growing weary with this process. It's beyond difficult to see my little guy feel badly so much, and I am missing my other two kids and husband terribly! I know that it will take some adjusting, but I'm looking so forward when we can actually, as Bryson says, be a family again.

Bethany