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The days of being apprehensive of leaving the hospital are gone. Home is so much better.

Aside from Adam’s fever, the ER doctors were also very concerned about his lethargy, elevated heart rate and labored breathing, so we were on hold in the ER until they could determine the cause. We were potentially being considered for admission into the ICU. They did more blood work to see if there was any indication of respiratory issues in his blood chemistry. Adam also spiked a fever last night of 100.3F around 6:45 pm, but the Tylenol and blood transfusion seemed to help him regain some energy, lower his heart rate and decrease his temperature. After seeing this change, the ER doctors were comfortable with sending us upstairs to Oncology rather than ICU, realizing that the respiratory issues were a result of his anemia and low hemoglobin.

We were admitted to the oncology floor around 9pm last night, and he was able to sleep from about midnight to 8:00am with only one interruption. The doctors aren’t sure what caused the fever. The virus swab came back negative for all viruses that they test for, and the blood culture is negative for bacterial infection so far. He is not eating much, and vomiting occasionally, so he’s on some maintenance IV fluids to keep him hydrated. Each child reacts a little differently to chemo, so it’s possible these are the side effects that manifest with him.

The areas that need to improve before we can be discharged are:

• Eating
• ANC (neutrophil count- immunity, WBC)
• No bacterial growth in blood culture or recurring fever

In the mean time, Adam will be kept on antibiotics until discharge. He was very energetic and didn’t nap all morning, but is sound asleep right now.