Elan's Blog: All is well!

I meant to post over a week ago!...

Past month all is great!

Highlights of the last month:

1. Elan had his port taken out! This was put in before we left for Indiana for his radiation and so a big deal to have it taken out. For you all not in the cancer world here is a pretty good definition of a port:

In medicine, a port (or portacath) is a small medical appliance that is installed beneath the skin. A catheter connects the port to a vein. Under the skin, the port has a septum through which drugs can be injected and blood samples can be drawn many times, usually with less discomfort for the patient than a more typical "needle stick".
Ports are used mostly to treat hematology and oncology patients, but recently ports have been adapted also for hemodialysis patients.
The port is usually inserted in the upper chest, just below the clavicle or collar bone, leaving the patient's hands free.

2. Elan had to have a little eye surgery to basically close his right eye 1/2 way so his cornea can hopefully heal better. We have been trying through just gels etc to get him to avoid the surgery but it wasn't enough. The surgery was last week and on Tuesday we went in and it actually was worse! So today I went in to check again and we took one of the sutchers out. He did it just in my arms believe it or not! Saved us all a trip to the OR like almost every other kid. The doctor was amazed but knew if anyone would do it, it would be Elan (or EZ E :)) He did get 3 Thomas stickers as a reward. That saved us 3 hours of life outside a medical building!

3. We now have a wonderful young woman in our life. Her name is Shieterrik and she is Elan's CNA nurse. Elan has qualified for nursing care through a program for children in NC for a few months but we finally got our act together to interview some. We had a few come to watch him while I went to an ultrasound or something but no one great that we felt compelled to really use except in a pickle. Well the agency called and said they hired a few more and if we wanted to interview. Shieterrik came to our house and looked so familar... she ended up being Elan's CNA back in the hospital when he was originally diagnosed and had the brain surgery! She remembers Elan from the PICU and can't believe how great he is doing. She has been going WAY beyond anything we could imagine. She even wrote us a thank you note after the first week working with us! She even watches Finn too (she is really only to watch Elan) and brings her dog for the boys to play with... perfect! And she has her own organic bakery so all about food and gets what we are doing. She has seen several cancer kids and really sees a difference with Elan, so great to hear that.

4. Finn passed his swim lessons to level III today! Boy was he proud. We are starting the boys next week with them. I was going to just teach them myself but too hard with Elan and being pregnant as he always wants to kick my stomach accidentally. Finn really looks forward to it to and loves "Mr. Rob".

5. Finn has been saying some really cute things. today he asked if men have long hair. I said yes, some do. He then thought about it and said "that's right! They are the ones that are always drinking sports drinks". Also, a neighbor boy came over and was riding bikes. He decided using our tree would be a good idea for a restroom. Finn of course told me about it and we discussed that we use our bathroom. Finn wasn't terribly excited with my answer as he preferred the boy's method. So we compromised... if our house is on fire than he can use the tree. BTW we did also discuss not starting fires as well.

6. Elan has started accupuncture this month. His balance and language has vastly improved. Is it the accupuncture? Not sure, but worth continuing! I can't get over that he allows us to do it, but as long as I have one and we take the ipad all is good with the world.

some awesome Anti cancer goodies we received from a cool organization called MaxLove

Finn with 1/2 of our garage toys.

Elan after the eye surgery

Neighborhood "drinks in the drive" one Friday night we hosted. Everyone in our neighborhood has been so supportive! The least we could do is allow people to bring a drink and apps and use our drive for 2 hrs to socialize!