Day -2

Hello from Che Hope,

Tom is slowly seeking sustenance (no time is a bad time for alliteration) from a bowl of oatmeal and a banana. He just showered, so between these two morning rites of passage I think he's perking up and he looks great. Tom had just received his last drop of chemo last night when it all finally caught up with him. He developed a fever that just a bit ago broke and, at about 12: 15, got sick five times in rapid fire succession along with which came some dizziness and disorientation. Up until then he had only brief encounters with symptoms: chills, fever, stomache ache, headache and chest pain (probably bone pain from the marrow loss) were all addressed swiftly and effectively. Tom was really pleased with his relative lack of symptoms until last night. To top it off he hasn't been able to sleep the last few nights due to lots of trips to the bathroom and constant taking of his vitals. Getting sick has been a little discouraging, he really hoped/thought it wouldn't happen. But, he now has empty bones and 0.1 units/ml (usually 140.00/ml) of white blood cells.

He also receives a number of visits, in addition to his ever present nurses and Patient Care Assistants. Each day Doctor Chen visits to check on Tom and to make any adjustments to Tom's medications, tests, etc. He is also visited by his Social Worker, Recreation staff, his Physical Therapist, his Occupational Therapist, his Nutritionist, his Transplant coordinator and various Lab technicians (blood draws, chest x-rays). Tom will not leave his room until his white blood cell count goes up, so even the chest x-ray is done in his room. They are taking good care of Tom.

Tom hasn't felt he needed much. He asked for a t.v. guide-life without DVR is so challenging =o), and a couple of personal care items that are less harsh.

Yesterday Tom also received his first designated donor platelets. Tom feels really good about all his blood and platelet donations, as he hopes not to use any of the hospitals general donations and would like to leave the hospital with a surplus from his donations. Thanks, all!

Gabriel is doing well. He and I talk a lot about being a team - a team that takes care of Daddy by being cooperative with each other, talking about how much we miss him and looking forward to him coming home. He took Chemo Duck and his calendar to school yesterday for show-and-tell and talked to his classmates about his daddy's trip to the hospital for a bone marrow transplant. Each night he crosses off one of the days on his calendar. He likes doing it, even though one day the number of days still ahead were disappointing to him. Tonight we will also decorate Gabriel's March calendar page with a picture of Tom in the hospital so Gabriel can visualize how healthy and comfortable Tom looks right now. Today he starts a yoga class at Celebration Kids, which we hope will be fun and hopefully give him a few tools for coping with any stress or sadness he may feel. He's looking forward to the aspects that I told him were good preparation for gymnastics, which he will start in the Fall and to which he is so looking forward: balance, flexibility and strength. Everyone at Celebration Kids, from the teachers and directors to the parents have been so supportive of all of us. We are very blessed that he goes to preschool at a place that really is a second home for him and a support network for us.

Finally, the calendar is working very well! It's been a great comfort to check out the calendar and know that no matter what happens with Tom there'd be a way for me to be with him. Thank you, all. Because things are going relatively smoothly right now and because I took this week off of work I haven't called in any of you reserves yet, but I'm sure I will.

Thank you! Much love, The Highland Park DuBranskys