Just got home from our outing today.

At 2:15 Caleb had his appointment and I met with a really nice doctor, Dr. Mellick. Caleb really liked her a lot. He would smile and try to talk with her, and he allowed her to do what she needed to do. She was so attentive to him and me.

Anyway, the news.

Caleb's blood work have improved. His WBC was up to 5.8 and his neutrophils was up to 966. So, right now, he's in the moderate neutropenia range. Still not out of the woods yet, but he's out of the severe range and that's good news. Since his 18 month appointment on May 27th, he lost one pound total. You'd think by the earlier pictures he's lost like 10, but no.

Now, on to what he had. We're not really sure, other than it is a really severe viral infection. She had an idea of what he had, and she said she would bet money on it, but because we're not sure if the hospital did the test, we won't know for sure. But anyway, she thinks that he has Fifth's Disease or Parvovirus B19. Let me stress that THIS IS NOT A DIAGNOSIS, BUT A POSSIBILITY AS TO WHAT HE HAD!!!!!

He still could have Mono, or he could still have some other viral infection.

In any case, he's doing better. He's eaten a little bit, and he's drinking a little bit more, so there's big improvement. He even looks brighter then he has the past few days.

We're doing well, and we've gotten through the worst of it, and now we just wait until he starts to feel 100% percent.

We still have one more blood draw before this is all over with. He goes back Monday and then he's probably done with all of that. He can be released from all the other doctors until he's two.

So, we got some very good news today and I hope that this is one chapter in his book of life that we can close. This was a bad one and one that we won't have to revist. Ugh. I don't want to redo this one again.

Caleb's Daily Photo(s):

Caleb's Baby Forecast: Staring at Daddy

Caleb seems to be making progress over the past couple of days. He gets a good burst of energy, but then crashes immediately afterward. Right now, he's good for about two hours before he needs to sleep again.

He woke up around 9:30 this morning, and about 11a, he was ready for a nap again, but we kept him up until around 1145 or so. It was then that he slept for three hours.

By 5p, he was ready to go to sleep again, but we're going to try to keep him up a little longer - hopefully around 7p, before putting him to bed. He's currently got a burst of energy, but he'll soon crash, I'm sure.

He's eaten a little bit today and he's drinking a little bit, but nothing like he used to. I'm sure he'll build up to where he was at some point.

He's got some blood work tomorrow that he needs to get, and then he has another pediatrician appointment on Tuesday. So, we'll have more updates then.

Caleb has started a rash, and we've made the doctors aware of it. They said that if we were really worried about it we could come in if we wanted to, but I think we'll wait until Tuesday. So far, it's still the same, although it's gotten a little red today.

Picture Documentation of Rash 6/20:

On Face (this is new):

On right leg (this is new)

On Left Arm (old rash prior to getting sick, but has started up again)

On left leg (old rash prior to getting sick but has started up again):

Picture documentation of rash 6/21:

On Face:

On Left Arm:

On Right Leg:

On Left Leg:
 

Caleb's Baby Forecast: Fussing

Caleb is really an ill little boy.

It really all started Tuesday morning. He woke up later than he usually does (around 9:30 or so) screaming. I realized when I got in there that he had peed everywhere: his pillow, his sheets, his jammies. This isn't the only time he's done it as of late, but I didn't think anything of it until later. Anyway, I got him changed as well as the crib, and he just seemed really cuddly, so I went to the glider, and just snuggled him. He fell right back asleep. So, I put him in his crib again to sleep. I figured he's only sleep for an hour. Nope, THREE!!! He got up at 1p, but still was very lethargic and wanted to sleep, but I wasn't about to let him go back to sleep for fear that he wasn't going to sleep that night.

When I got him up, he just had his diaper on. It was a hot day, so figured he would be cool just being in his diaper. He fussed the whole entire time. I got him some juice to start off with, and then I was going to make some brunch for him. I had something that I needed to write down on the computer, so went to do that before I forgot, and I just so happened to look up and Caleb was standing near one of the kitchen chairs, stiff as a board, not drinking, his legs and his arms purple. I mean, this kid looked like he had just come out of a freezer. So, i got up there, picked him up, got some clothes on him, put a blanket around him, warmed him up. He seemed to feel much better. He perked up a bit, and his skin pinked up as well. so, I figured he was just cold. He didn't eat all that much but he drank quite a bit.

Around 6:30p, he was just cranky, so we kept him up for another half hour then put him to bed. He did great until 2a. He screamed bloody murder. I rush in there. He wasn't wet, but his cries just weren't right, so I picked him up, and rocked him in the glider, where he fell asleep within 10 minutes. I put him back in his crib and went back to bed myself. Two hours later, he did the same thing, but this time, he was scorching hot. He was so hot that when I picked him up, he literally made me hot. I took off his clothes, went downstairs to get some Motrin to bring the fever down (didn't need a genius telling me he had a fever), rocked him and put him back down. Two hours later, he did the same thing, but this time, he was laying down crying.

I just thought he was teething because he's done this before when his molars were coming through.

I told Jordan to tell my mom and dad about what happened and to keep a watch on him. He did great for them for the most part, although they said he was very quiet. He didn't seem to have a fever. he ate ok, but not great, but drank a lot. So, i thought the worst was over. It was just his teeth and that was it. Wednesday night, he got cranky again about the same time, and we put him to bed around 7:15p. this time he slept all night.

Yesterday, for some reason, I thought it was Friday (trash day), and got up in his room quickly to get his empty his diaper champ. I woke him in the process, and he wasn't happy. I changed him though and tried to rock him to sleep and he did for about 15 minutes, but he didn't want to go back to sleep. So, I brought him in our bed, and he rested for about a half hour and woke up. He didn't act right. He looked like he just wanted to go back to sleep.

I got him up, dressed him, and went downstairs to get his breakfast ready: oatmeal and some juice. He took two bites of the oatmeal, and on third bite he had to choke it down, but he vomited everywhere. So, no more breakfast for him. He fussed for a little bit and just wanted to cuddle. I cleaned him up, put new clothes on him, and just thought maybe some air would do him good, so we went for a walk to Gramie and Grandpa's house. He was exhausted by the time he got there and no sooner did he get in my mom's arms, he was asleep and he stayed that way for three hours. At around 2:30, I went downstairs to check on him, found him up, grabbed him, and brought him upstairs. He got on gramie's lap and fussed and wanted to go back to sleep. It was then that I called the pediatrician and got an appointment for today. After awhile, he just started fussing, and I got the idea that I didn't want to wait until today, so asked if we could get him in that afternoon and they were able too.

So, we got in, had a quick interview and I explained to the nurse everything above, and she got really cocnerned. We got him temp (99 degrees), weighed him (lost about .1 pounds - but it looks like he lost more), and took his pulse ox which was 86% (BAD NEWS). The nurse and I looked at each other and decided to wait a bit (about a minute) and it finally got up to a steady 92%. The doctor came in and assessed and had us redo the poulse ox and he got up to 94-95%. She wanted to get some lab work and a chest x-ray to make sure that there wasn't anything underlying that they can't see or hear, so we had to go to Children's Mercy clinic (an off shoot of the main hospital). The doctor said that she would call us either way to tell us what the results were. We left slowly, got some dinner to bring home for the boys and had our dinner. At around 7:35 the doctor called, but we were just making our way to the house. I saw that she called, but I was going to call her back because at least in our family, we get the weird stuff, but EVERYTHING comes back normal, so I figured this was going to be the case.

NOPE!!

The doctor somehow got my cell phone number, and got a hold of Jordan while i was getting Caleb ready for bed. Jordan came up to me and said, get him ready, we need to go to ER now. I brought him out and said, what/ Why? that's when he gave the phone to me.

The doctor said that his WBC (white blood count) and his neutriphils were extremely low and the most concerning factor in all this is that if he was to get some sort of cold or bacterial infection, he was not going to be able to fight it off. His WBC was 1.8 (the normal is 4.3-10.8 x 10 to the ninth power per liter) and his neutraiphils were less than 300 (normal is above 1000). So based on these numbers, he's extremely sick and at risk for any infection. I wasn't too worried about it because at the time, it really wasn't all that life-threatening, but in the back of mind, I kept thinking that I'm missing something. The doctor said that they were expecting us and that he would be a direct admit into the ER and potentially admitted for further observation.

So, I called mom and dad because they wanted to know, and we made our way slowly to the main hospital of Children's Mercy in downtown KC. After finally figureing out where the new ER is, we parked and got to the ER and informed them that we were direct admit and that we were here. We signed in, and we got in within five minutes.

The nurses there took yet another interview and I had to explaine verything above again, and she just looked at me bewildered and said, "He's neutropenic?" It hit me then, and I said, "Yeah, I guess so".

Caleb is neutropenic. We have people in neutropenic isolation at our hospital. They are all cancer patients. OMG, they think he has Cancer.

Of course, this was going through my mind, and I played it cool. I didn't discuss this with Jordan because honestly, I forget sometimes that people don't know the terminology, so I just figured he was with the program.

Well, the doctor came in and assessed him, took yet ANOTHER interview of the symptoms above [insert eye roll here], and she wanted to repeat the labs from earlier just to make sure that they were indeed correct, and honestly i agreed with that. So, they came in, started an IV (had to hold Caleb down and that was so hard to watch because he was trying to grab for me and couldn't). I had tears coming down my face, Jordan was looking away because he's afraid of needles and our poor baby is beside himself going ballistic.

After that was done, I held him for awhile, and finally turned off the lights so that he could sleep, and he did for about an hour or so.

At around 11:45p, they came in and talked to us about the blood work and that they were a little discouraged. They talked about his WBC and his neutriphils again and how they were very very low (in other words, severe) and that they had their hemotologist (doctor speciallizing in blood diseases) and oncologist to make sure that everything was ok because with these numbers, there is a threat of leukemia. But, when both doctor's on staff took a look at his hemoglobin (hb) and his platelets, they were normal, so the risk for leukemia or other cancers is gone for now, but because of his counts so low, they are going to have to treat him like a Cancer (CA) patient. She said that he was cancer free, but they are going to have to really keep an eye on him. there were some atypical cells that were not cancerous, but needed to be watched, so they did another blood test for antibodies (basically to check to see what's going after him and why he's trying to fight his own cells) and for MONO because apparently MONO gives the same characteristics as leukemia (but the platelets and Hb are normal). Those tests come back in about a week.

So, that's a good piece of news. No leukemia. No Cancer - at least for now (that's a troubling sentence isn't it?).

Once the doctor left, Jordan looked at me and said, "Where in the world did CANCER come from???" I told him everything that I knew, and that I knew that's what they were referring to when they said, neutropenic. I really thought that Jordan was on the same page. Looking back, that might have been a good thing for him not to know until that moment because it kept him from getting even more worried and stressed.

His CXR (chest x-ray) was normal and clear, so that's one good thing.

By 12:30a, we were out of the hospital and on our way home. All of us were in bed by 1a, and we slept through the night, for the most part.

Today, he had a follow up appointment with his pediatrician and we went over everything that happened yesterday and last night. Caleb perked up a bit, and that encouraged them, but they want to keep a close eye on him. Because he is being treated as CA patient, he can't be near any sick people, pets, public places, etc. If he does go out, he has to wear a mask around his nose and mouth (which at the moment, he does very well with).

He did have a little bit of lunch today and so far he's drank 9-12 oz of juice today. so, it's encouraging. He looks emmaciated really. He's so thin, but it will eventually come back up.

The doctor told me that we have to take his temp twice a day, we have to force fluids on him. If he wants to sleep, let him sleep. Don't force food on him. He'll eat when he's ready or able.

If his temp is above 101 we have to call the hospital and take him, and if he isn't producing 3 wet diapers in a 24 hour period, we need to let the doctor know as well.

Thankfully, my mom is hear because as a CA survivor, she had to go through this in the beginning so between Jordan and her, we can make sure that he is safe and well.

Currently, he's at my mom and dad's sleeping and as soon as I write this novel of a blog, I'm going to sleep a little bit too. And on top of that, I have to work tomorrow. Blah.

So, for the moment, his condition is serious, but in now way serious than what he could have had, and that's one thing that we all need to remember. I have a lot of friends, family and co-workers who are praying for him right now and I know that God is listening to me and I know that he is going to heal our son and make him better.

I have faith that he's going to be ok.

Caleb's Daily Photo(s):

Note: You can't tell that he's sick, can you? But he's thinned down a lot.

Caleb's Baby Foreacast: Sleeping

I don't plan on going anywhere today, except maybe to the store later on if I want to get some groceries. I might get Caleb's new pool ready, but I'm not sure. It all depends on when the little guy decides to get up.

Caleb is still sleeping. He woke up screaming about an hour ago, because he had completely soaked through EVERYTHING. I got him changed, and just held him and he still seemed rather tired, so I just rocked him and hugged him and he eventually got into the sleepy zone. I put him back in his crib and he went to sleep. So, he won't be getting a nap today, obviously.

Poor little thing hasn't really napped too much the past few days so it's caught up with him again.

I uploaded a bunch of pictures on our main site today. June 1-16 (not literally starting on the 1st), so be sure to check those out. This includes the trip to Powell Gardens yesterday.

Caleb's Baby Forecast: Sleeping

I simply love this place. It is so pretty and so different from when we went at the end of February. Everything is blooming and the fountains were turned on. Unfortunatly, I took like TONS of pictures, and I'm just too tired to resize them right now, so you'll have to wait until tomorrow morning.

Caleb had a great time there today. He walked just about the entire time he was there. He had about a 30 minute nap on our way home, so being in the sun and walking all day should really get him to bed and sleeping quickly.

Haven't been sleeping well the past couple of days. My back has been really painful. I've never felt so happy to be going to a chiropractor. Seriously. I'm sure I've raised a few eyebrows, especially those of my husband. You know I have to be in a lot of pain to be GLAD to go to a doctor. I went today, and got adjusted, so I really hope that I can sleep well tonight, otherwise, we might have to rethink getting a little higher end mattress. So, we'll see.

Anyway, I will resize this one picture. I find it extremely funny.

At the end of our day, we had a drink at their cafe, and they didn't have juice or milk for little tots, so I got him gatorade. I didn't give him too much because that's all he needed was to get super wired (which he didn't, surprisingly enough). We asked him where his mouth was, and this is what he showed us. So, on to Caleb's Photo of the Day:

Caleb's Daily Photo:

Caleb's Baby Forecast: Eating Dinner

Happy Father's Day to you all the men out there. I hope you all had a good day and that you were able to spend it with your families.

We had a good day. My mom took Dad, Jordan, Caleb and I to Houston's downtown, where we had a nice lunch. AFter that we came home and opened presents. Dad got a new watch and a new LCD monitor for his computer, and Jordan got a pencil/pen holder that has a picture of me and Caleb on it, a cap with a light on it, and he got a digital photo frame. They all really enjoyed their things.

To make this even sweeter, Caleb and Daddy had a nice moment together:

Caleb, Dada

It was so sweet to watch it live. Still brings a smile to my face.

Caleb's Baby Forecast: Sleeping

Caleb LOVES elevators.

Today, Jordan was out and they both stopped to see me at work. Caleb loved running at the elevator, getting in, and going all the way to the back. Once the doors opened, he high tailed it out talking to himself and being so proud of himself. It was simply hilarious to watch. Everyone at work got a kick out of him. He's just go so much personality and the little infant that we had has truely become a little boy.

It's a very bittersweet moment.

Caleb's Baby Forecast: Staring at Daddy

Yep. Gramie taught him a few more words this week. Why he will learn it for her and not us, I have NO idea. Seriously, I have tried to get him to say them, and he says something entirely different. I told my mom that I must be just boring or something. LOL

So, here's the new list:

Mama
Dada
Bear
Duck
Dog
Hello
Bye
Hi
Girl
Bird
Hello Dog
Ah Me!! (Look At Me!)
Ah dat!! (What's That?)
Uh Oh!
Grandpa
Wow
Daddy
Pease (please)
Milk
Sock

Caleb's Daily Photo:

Caleb's Baby Forecast: In his crib for the night

Hair Salon...

Before:

After:

A treat at the end - a lollipop:

Caleb's Baby Forecast: Helping daddy make a salad

Yeah, had to do it. Between Caleb having parents from TX and MD, this kid is really going to be confused who he's supposed to route for. It's either the Astros or the Orioles. I vote, Orioles.

Caleb's Daily Photo(s):

Yeah, I manged to get him upset, because I interupted his Mario Bros. Game. LOL

Caleb's Baby Forecast: Giving me a book