Home Again...Again

A terrible, great weekend

So, sooner than expected, there is a bit of news to share about Noah.

After coming home on Wednesday, things started out pretty well. Thursday was also a fairly good day and, besides the regular pain, Noah was adjusting back into home life.

On Friday morning, Noah returned to McMaster for his first clinic visit. This was to check on his blood levels and to run some other quick tests to make sure he was recovering well. The worst, we thought, would be that he might have to stay for a blood transfusion, if that were necessary.

Once again, things did not go as we expected. To start, his blood counts were very, very not good. Right away he was given platelets and a blood transfusion. Worse, though, was that Noah had a slight fever. This meant that Noah would have to be re-admitted to the oncology ward so that they could run a round of anti-biotics, just to make sure that he didn't have an infection.

And, even worse, the Covid test. Because Noah was being admitted with a fever, he had to have a negative Covid test result before he could be admitted back into oncology. What this meant was that Noah had to wait indefinitely at the clinic and then in the Emergency Room before he we be able to settle down. He couldn't go home, he couldn't go to oncology.

It was a rotten day.

A better day

But some big things were worked out over the last two days in the oncology ward and they have really helped Noah to bounce back.

The first and biggest thing that happened was that we've gotten a much better handle on Noah's pain management. When he came home on Wednesday, he was pretty fragile and touchy. His movement was hesitant and full of complaining - something we had sort of gotten used to and assumed was just his normal. Now, after being put on a good regiment of morphine, that pain is mostly gone. At this point in time, the cancer and lesions in Noah's bones just give him too much pain to move freely and the morphine pretty much takes care of these issues.

We've also got a much better handle on Noah's diet. Though we would rather see him eat and drink his nourishment, we've had to accept the reality that he is just not in much of an eating and drinking mood these days. I'm sure the chemo has a lot to do with this, though it could be the other medication or just the cancer that is taking away his appetite. Either way, he is a much healthier and happier dude when we just give him what he needs through his feeding tube. I'm sure things won't always be this way, but this is what works for now.

Another positive thing to come of the visit was good news and action steps in regards to the nagging cough Noah had been struggling with. This dry cough had been really bothering Noah and was causing him quite a bit of chest pain. Thankfully, the chest x-ray Noah had on Saturday showed that the fluid that had been pressing on his lung was mostly gone and that he did not have pneumonia. The most likely cause of the cough, then, seemed to be acid reflux caused by the feeding tube. Again, thankfully, the oncologist was able to prescribe an antacid medication that has cleared up nearly 90% of this coughing.

For the first time in weeks - weeks! - Noah slept through the night last night.

But, the best thing - the absolute best thing - to come out of the hospital visit was that, for the first time in weeks - weeks! - the old Noah started to come back. He played on the floor, he climbed into his bed, he threw a football, he laid on the ground and he walked. All on his own, he walked up and down the corridors of the oncology ward pointing at things and saying "hi" until his newly rediscovered legs were too tired to carry him along any further. So, we just laughed and played some more until it was time for bed.

Because Noah was doing so great, he was allowed to come home again early this afternoon, a full day ahead of schedule. The blood cultures showed that he had no infection and that the fever was most likely caused by the cancer. As well, blood counts this morning show that he is on the bounce back from his chemo. He is almost back to normal levels.

Best of all, though, he is smiling and bossing us all around once again. All is right with the world, for now.