June 30, 2011

Ok...so yesterday was not fun...We were told by the doctor to flush his central lines every other day while he is home.  So, last night we got everything out and the first line flushed great...the second line would not flush no matter what we did...so the doctor had told us if we have that problem to call the hospital immediately.  When I called I spoke to the Hematology doctor on call and explained to him what was going on.  I then asked him if it could wait until Friday at his clinic appointment. (Jackson is not on meds through his central line, so it wasn't an emergency.) He said no you have to come to the ER right away.  We arrived at the ER at 8 pm last night.  We waited in a room as nurse after nurse after doctor came in spoke a few words and left.  Finally at 2 am the nurse came in and said, "the doctor says this can wait until Friday's clinic appointment...WHAT?!?!?!?!  Didn't I just ask him that a few hours ago?  AHHH...so we arrived home at 3 am.  Poor Erik had to go to work on 2 hours of sleep.  So, tomorrow we go to our clinic appointment to try and get the central line to work.  If they can't get it to work they will have to replace it again. We really don't want that again.  Please pray that they will get it to work tomorrow. 

June 27, 2011

YEAH!!!! Doctor's gave Jackson the all clear to come home!!!! We are currently awaiting discharge orders and then Jackson is out of here!!! (at least until his next round)  We have to return on Friday for a clinic appointment, just to make sure that his blood counts are still coming up the way they should.  I am so excited to be able to spend some time at home with my precious little boy and with my mom.  It looks like it is going to be a great week! :-)  Thank you Lord, especially for the little things!

June 26, 2011

Jackson is doing well today.  His counts have come up some.  The doctor told us today that they took him off of antibiotics and are hoping that he will be able to come home tomorrow.  We are trying not to get our hopes up but are praying that it will work out.  The walls of the hospital are starting to close in on us! :-)  Jackson is very excited that his grandma Craven gets to come visit in 3 days!!!

June 22, 2011

Jackson is doing well today.  He is full of energy today and playing like he is making up for lost time. :-)  His counts are still low but are starting to go up slowly.  The doctor said today that it will probably be another week here...he could come home sooner if his counts really start to pick up.  Praying for a speedy blood count recovery.  His onesie fits his mood today...Tigger...bouncy bouncy...:-)

June 21, 2011

Jackson was on two antibiotics through the night (His fever went up to 102 in the middle of the night).  He will continue to be on antibiotics for the next couple of days. They seem to be helping because he is a different baby today.   He is still a little mellow but at least he isn't crying or fussy like yesterday.  I realized yesterday how spoiled I am with a happy baby.  I don't know what I would do if my baby cried all the time.  The doctor said his counts are status quo, not much difference.  The cultures they took yesterday are not growing anything yet, so they don't think it is an infection...just a result of low blood counts.  I am so thankful for medicines that make my baby feel better.  We really appreciate everyone's prayers. Thank you!

June 20, 2011

Today Jackson was very cranky...very unJackson like.   He is showing strong signs that he is teething.  I kept asking the nurse to come check his temperature because he felt so warm.  Jackson had a temperature of 101.  The nurses say this is to be expected because his counts are so low.  They took cultures of his lines to make sure that there is no infection and that the fever is due to counts.  They are going to give him Fortaz (an antibiotic) and some fluids to help with the fever.  Please pray that Jackson will feel better soon and be back to his normal happy self. 

June 19, 2011

Jackson is having a wonderful Father's Day with the best daddy in the world!!! (Alyssa is writing this :-) Jackson is doing ok today.  His counts are still low but no transfusions needed today.  We are all just having a great time hanging out together. 

June 16, 2011

Please pray that Jackson will eat more.  He is eating, but not as much as he normally does.  I still think it is because his blood counts are so low.  The nurses keep telling us to feed him as much as he will eat, and I think they are concerned too.  The doctor's tell us that this weekend is when Jackson is at the most risk to spike a fever, because that is when his blood counts will bottom out.   Jackson was visited by two occupational therapist this morning and seemed to really enjoy playing and practicing holding his body straight.  He really liked this toy...it lit up and played music...he was fascinated!!!

June 14, 2011

Jackson is having a good week so far.  He is active and happy.  Yesterday he had sweet potatoes for the first time.  The look on his face was priceless.  :-) His blood counts are dropping fast.  He has to bottom out before he can come up.  It has been nice being out of school so that I can spend more time with my baby!  I think he is going to cut a tooth soon.  He drools a lot now.  Jackson is so much fun to be around now that his little personality is coming out. 

June 10, 2010

Jackson had a rough day today.  His central line got a crack in it and it was not able to be fixed.  So the surgeon decided that the whole thing needed to be replaced.  So back to the operating room to get a new central line. For his surgery they had to put in an IV and again they had issues finding a vein. They stuck him 10 times and finally got one put in his head.   His blood counts were also very low which was to be expected and he received blood yesterday and platelets today.  He still greeted us with smiles and giggles. We got the ok from the nutritionist to start solid foods with him.  This will be interesting! :-)  Jackson enjoyed spending time with his Grandma Lundquist for the past week.  He is done with chemo for the second round but will remain in the hospital for the next couple of weeks as we ride the roller coaster of blood counts.   

June 7th, 2011

Jackson's past few days have calm and peaceful for the most part. June 1st and 2nd he received round 2 of chemo treatments and was released from the hospital as expected for 5 days. His appetite has decreased a little, but he still seems strong. This morning he was readmitted into the hospital for the follow up chemo treatments of this 2nd round. As commented in the earlier posts, He was to receive 1-3 days of chemo go home for 3-5 and return again for the next 3 days of chemo. He then will stay in the hospital for another 3 weeks minimum which again is followed by another break. After this round he only has 4 more rounds to go. His counts are down as expected. His platelet count during his break from round 1 of chemo to round 2 reached 400,000.( excellent number) (normal- 150-450 in thousands) Today his platelets are down to 74,000 and will progressively decrease through the next few weeks.  Through the past 5 days however,  Jackson has been able to enjoy sometime with his Grandma, who has been a wonderful help to Alyssa and I. God has given us a great blessing in Jackson, however He as also blessed us with so many others who have shown God's grace through their actions and words.

June 1, 2011

Well here we go...Round 2...Jackson was readmitted to the hospital yesterday.  His counts were all the way back up to normal so they can proceed with the second round.  The doctor's gave him one dose of chemo today and tomorrow he will get two kinds of chemo drugs.  If he doesn't spike a fever he will get to come home for a couple of days and then go back next Tuesday for the rest of his chemo.  Don't ask me why they do that...I asked and never really got a straight answer as to why he comes home during treatment.  Please pray that Jackson responds just as well to this treatment as he did with the last. 

May 27, 2011

We received a phone call today from our Doctor at Egleston.  She called to tell us that the bone marrow test they did on Wednesday came back GREAT!!!! The chemo is doing its job and she said that she is very pleased with the way his bone marrow looks.  The blast from earlier this month was just a recovery blast and that was confirmed by the bone marrow test!!!! Yeah!  I am so excited about tomorrow.  Some very sweet friends from my school in Bethlehem decided to do a car wash to raise money for us.  It started out as just a car wash but now they are selling food, face painting....there is going to be clowns...they had it advertised on two radio stations...there is a huge banner, people are wearing T-shirts with Jackson's picture on it...people and businesses from all over the county donated supplies for this.  We feel so blessed that so many people care about our baby, even ones that don't know us.  It will be awesome to see how God works tomorrow.  I hope to get lots of pictures to post!!!

May 25, 2011

Just wanted to give everyone an update on what happened today.  The bone marrow test went fine...he didn't sick today from being put to sleep.  We met with the doctor after the procedure and confirmed that his blood counts were improving.  They are expecting him to be readmitted May 31st for his second round of treatment.  This round is a little different.  He will have 3 days in the hospital with chemo, then he will go home for 3-4 days(for a break before the next set of chemo can take effect) and then go back for 3 more days of chemo and then he will stay for several weeks.  So far so good...thank you for your prayers and please continue to pray!

May 24, 2011

Please be in prayer for Jackson tomorrow.  He has to go in to the hospital for his bone marrow biopsy and spinal tap.  He tends to get sick to his stomach after being put to sleep. Also please pray that we will get some answers based on his blood work about when he will be readmitted.  Jackson sends out smiles and giggles to everyone!!!

May 21, 2011

Erik and I are enjoying our weekend at home and thankful that we don't have to drive to the hospital.  Jackson is doing well.   I still look at the baby monitor more times than I can count during the night...someday that may pass. :-)  We are looking forward to taking Jackson to church tomorrow!  

I'M HOME May 19, 2011

Round 1 Complete!!!!  Jackson is finally home from the hospital for a little while.  So happy!!!!  He is now playing on the floor with his toy and having a good old time. 
Prayer requests while he his at home:
1.  Pray he doesn't spike a fever.
2.  Pray that something doesn't happen to his central line.
3.  Pray that Jackson does not pull his central line out.  ( I know this is crazy, but the doctor says it has happened before.)
I only have 4 more days of work before summer break, and we are very thankful that someone has offered to stay with Jackson at home until I can be at home with him. 

"Every good and perfect thing is from ABOVE!!!"

May 18, 2011

We got GOOD news today!!!! Unless something changes, Jackson's counts have come up enough for him to go home tomorrow!!!!!! :-)  So we will go to the hospital after work tomorrow and bring him home.  He has to return to the hospital for a bone marrow biopsy next Wednesday the 25th.  They think he will probably be readmitted to the hospital on May 31st to start his second round of chemo, but as with everything else, it could change.  Thank you Lord!

May 17, 2011

Jackson had a good day today playing with friends from church!  His counts are all steadily going up.  His platelet count is up to 400,000 (normal is between 150,000 and 400,000), his Hemoglobin is at 9.2( normal is between10.5-13.5), and his white blood cells are at 2.66 (normal is between 6.0-17.0).  We are hoping that his counts will come up enough that he can come home this week.  Jackson also had a dressing change by mommy and daddy today.  Jackson is doing better at sitting up in his bumbo seat and he is still eating very well. 

May 16, 2011

On this Monday, Jackson continues to be the star of the show as the nurses tell us again that they seem to fight over him.  His smile, that lights up his whole face, draws a smile from those around him every time. His counts today came back better than yesterday. The blast that we were watching disappeared today. As we talked with the Dr. today, we were reassured that it was more than likely was a premature blood cell which is a recovery cell, however we will not know for certain till the 28th day after his chemo started. It is nice to come in and hear that his counts are up again and that the doctors are excited that he might be released soon, therefor round 1 of chemo would be complete. Yesterday he got to experience an interesting treat. The hospital did an event which involved the release of multiple butterflies. It was a nice sight to see.