Update on c scan

Came back and all looks good!  He is eating and has been pumped iv fluids and us much perkier!  We are staying overnight for observations but fine!  He does have puffy under eyes so could be sinuses too- i have them too so could just be the weather.  

Hospital....

Quick update.. Elan is now admitted to hospital.  Past 2 days just not himself and acting lethargic .  We had his regularly scheduled oncologist appt yesterday and not too concerned as still playing etc but he had woken up with a bit of a puffy face and had thrown up at breakfast.  I attributed the throwing up to me pushing his food through his tube too fast (still feel that was the case for that one :)). 

When we went to his regular appointment Dr. Bell didn't feel too concerned and attributed the puffiness to possible diet from the day before (I didn't buy that).  But he did get better throughout the day even though not his perky laughing self.  He didn't want to nap - just whimpered in his crib but Finn was in and out annoying him so could have been that too ;).  I did give him some ibuprofen and it seemed to help.  He went down at 7:35 and slept soundly until around 10:30 PM

My parents are still with us until they close on August 15th so we have been switching off who goes to our congergation meetings on Thursday night and who stays home with Elan so he can sleep a regular night's sleep.  Erik stayed home since Elan was just in a funk and he wanted me to take Finn so we can continue or regular routine as best we can.  When I came home to check in on Elan he had a poopy diaper so I woke him up to change him.  It was  a bit loose and he was so cranky.  I nursed him and put him down in our bed and he threw up - not cool!  This is because it could be a sign of swelling - now this isn't too concerning since we have been prepared for it. It could just be a bit of a bug as well since he is having the loose stools.... both are normal reactions to the radiation treatment but still not what we wanted since he has been so great and the first 2 weeks are the most critical.

WE put him back down and went to sleep.  Around 3 we heard him and either he had a mini stroke or a night terror - we are not sure since he was in his room and in his crib.  We brought him into our bed and he was just not himself but still acting as if it was a nightmare.  we put him down again to bed and he didn't wake until 9:15 AM.  He just was so clingy and a bit puffy in the face again so Erik called Dr. Douglas in Bloomington to get his read.  He thinks it could be pre seieure activity so advised us to head to the ER.  SO Erik called Dr. Bell and she said to come up to Hemby (the Children's hospital).  We are now in the room waiting for the C Scan.  Thankfully we hadn't fed Elan (i only nursed him a few minutes) so we don't have to wait forever if they think we need an MRI after that.  Honestly he is acting just like a sick kid with a bug as he isn't touching his head or acting like he did back in February when this all started.

Erik is in bed with him reading books and streaming Courious George on Netflix on his cellphone (Netflix rocks now!).



Please keep us in your prayers.
xoxo

Tuesday - Photos Galore! - IU health and PT gals!

Boy, have I been slacking!  So sorry!  Everything here has been great though!  Tomorrow marks 1 week home - can you believe it? Monday was Erik's first day of work since the last week of May - he said it was super surreal (and glad his badge worked!).  He even had to think as to which floor he was on since they moved his department a few months earlier - just goes to show he really enjoyed his time off :).

We have an appointment scheduled with our local oncologist - Dr. Bell on Thursday.  This is just to check for brain swelling and an overall wellness check.  From there we have a MRI in 4 weeks to find a baseline and see how much the Proton Beam did.  We have been told to expect some actual growth due to cancer sometimes expanding before dying.  As to next steps?  We are looking into a few things and Erik has a few doctors to contact regarding trials Elan may qualify for.  Elan is just so happy and healthy right now, we just thank everyone for the ongoing prayers for him.  These days are just so wonderful!  He is not able to talk much but we pick up on his "language".  Last night he really, really didn't want to go to bed in his crib.  So I made him a deal - "you start walking again on your own (no hand holding) and we will put you in the "big boy" bed - the toddler bed.  You should have seen his smile!

Finn has really grown up too.  He has been helping my mother in our yard all day and gets bummed when he has to come in to eat - so cute!  He has been so much happier lately too - I think all that time with just the 4 of us really was transforming.  Talking with the play therapist helped too I am sure.  It was only 2 sessions but she was able to let us know all was well in his life.  He even acted out something with my mom and the person needing rescuing was saved!  This is huge!

My parents bought a townhouse about 9 minutes away from us and close on August 15th. It will be great to have just the 4 of us again but it has been awesome having them here to help all the time.  I am going to miss having my dinner made and dishes all done!  They are going to be the ones watching the boys while I work going forward but still won't be the same thing.

Speaking of my parents - they were super busy on our house while we were gone!  As an FYI we bought a house in October and moved into it in November so not ideal time for redecorating etc.  It is a 60's house which we purchased from the original owners.  A great house but needed a facelift with paint and carpet removal (hardwoods underneath!).  Well while we were gone my parents:

- painted the whole living/dining area
- hung light fixture!
- had electrician fix several things which took a day and 1/2
- dad painted outdoor trim
-mom organized all of the kids things to make certain items "disappear" before they were noticed
-oiled ALL of the walls (we have wood walls in a few rooms including the kitchen so quite an undertaking - they were scrubbed when we moved in but needed oiling too which made a HUGE difference!)
So basically they rock!

Here are photos from our last days in Bloomington I didn't post before that go with previous posts...- some from our trip

2nd to last day in Bloomington - Finn's Noah's ark

Finn being the "rain" and Erik being God - too cute!

Finn washing the rocks at the house in Bloomington before we left.  I think they will be surprised by the waterbill :)

My son... a plumber perhaps?  Maybe a superhero plumber?  Notice the batman lego underwear.

Elan playing while i was feeding him.

Eating peas on his own - loves those peas!  He is eating on his own but we also tube feed him still.

LOVE this one!

Here are photos from Columbus IN on the last Sat. in Indiana.

The ice cream parlor....

Kind of a bad photo but he totally ate the whole bowl (not on his cancer free diet but did great swallowing!)

One of the homes.

Elan hair salon - Aveda of course :)

check him out with one hand!!!!  super stable too.

Isn't this so cool??? And free??? No wonder a top town for kids!

I love this picture!

This is at the Kenser's house.  Such great toys!  Elan loves dinosaurs!

We had such a  fun night at the Kenser family's house (somehow we didn't take pictures of them!  And they are so cute!

Here is a pic of them again from earlier during the trip - but not the boys unfortunately!  They are in the group pic of the pool party though:

 They have the coolest boy's bedroom too... So wish i took a photo of that!).  They are one of the families in Bloomington that really took such good care of us!  The Shaw family did too.  Here are some pictures of them the day before we left when they came to pick up the toys they let us borrow.  Such cute kids!

ONe of the best people on the PLANET Natalie!!!

Last day of treatment bell ring!  Elan sooo not into it.

big cookie for special day!  who cares if it was 9 AM?

Nancy on the right, Kenny who is also getting treatment (JoHanna is his mom)  (who is the concierge and helps with housing, toys etc) and adorable intern Julia on the left.

With Jeff!!! One of the other AWESOME nurses.  HE is the one who usually gets Elan in the morning.  We are in the playroom at the center.

With LISA!!!  Another AWESOME person at the center.  She ran out to say goodbye.  She is also the one to tell me about the Zappos outlet - so a doubly awesome gal.

We love all of the people at the center.  Bummed we didn't get Vicki or Jen in our blog! We didn't get to say bye to Pat either but all three are so super.  Honestly all of them are Elan's favorites!

Here are the PT ladies!  We went once a week while there.  THey had an awesome place - a full tree house!

Elan had so much fun towards the end.  He loved playing with the doll house.