Day +12: Counts Are Looking Up!

Kal's night wasn't too bad. He only woke up twice again to throw up/cough up bloody mucous. It's been helping him sleep better now that we have been rolling up a blanket and putting it behind his back to bring him on his side a little, letting some of the mucous dribble out or stay away from the center of his airway. 

So, more good news today: Kal's counts are continuing to increase! His white blood cell count is at 500, and his ANC (neutraphils, the number that's most important for knowing engraftment) was at 200 today. Woot woot! Remember, they need to be consistently at 500 or above for 2 days to be considered engrafted. We're on our way! This has been to the pleasant surprise of many nurses and doctors that his ANC count have started on it's way up already, especially for someone who received cord blood stem cells. Perhaps the placental stem cells from the study he's in have helped/are helping? Who cares! We're taking it... and I'm calling it a small miracle. Let's hope he stays on this path of his counts continuously raising. This will also help his mouth sores and mucous issues begin to resolve. Keep the prayers comin'! God is hearing those prayers and answering them in his own time and all-knowing will.

Today, Kal is still facing issues with water retention. They continued with the diuretic, which helped a little, for a short period of time. When that wasn't working the best as possible, they switched him to a different diuretic tonight. Let's hope this one works better and gives Kal some relief. He's still my adorable, little Asain marshmallow anyway. I love 'eeemm!

Not lookin' or feeling too hot this morning.

That swollen wrist crease though...!

 Kal has a little bit of a new heat rash popping up on the back of his armpits. They'll keep an eye out for any changes in it. In addition, he got a good mid-day nap in.  After his sponge bath, he perked up and decided to play with some of his toys again. It was so cute! This was a small miracle in itself. Kal hadn't felt up for playing with his toys really once his serious pain rolled in. It made me so happy to see him playing, even if it was short-lived. This was a tender mercy that helped me imagine the sweet spirit that is still underneath that swollen face.

Look, Mama! It's a cool toy!

Why, hello there, toy!

Well aren't you interesting??

Hey toy, I mean business, okay?

Soon after that, one of my best friends from college visited with her girls while they were in town. It was so good to see her and talk with her. She is so spiritual and a great example to me in so many ways. We had a conversation that was really awesome, discussing various topics, that strengthened me. It made me realize even more how everyone has their own, great battle or trial they are facing, have faced, or will face. Also, it was a good reminder how God really does have a plan for us, and there is a divine reason for everything we go through. I believed this before going through this with Kal, but I have a more deep-rooted faith in it now. Looking back reminds me how Heavenly Father has aligned so many things in order so we could face this challenge. I know I still have much to learn from this trial, but I know it has strengthened me and many more aspects of me life. This visit with me sweet friend sincerely brought back new energy and life into me.

After my friend left, Kal was a little bit more congested. The nurse made several attempts to suction mucous out, but soon after he would sound congested again in his nose and throat. It sounded like he was trying to close his mouth to sleep but the air isn't getting through his nose very easy, like he was snoring loudly. After that, he threw up some blood and mucous, which is a common, multiple-times-a-day thing, except it doesn't usually have that high of ration of blood in it as it did that time. Because his platelets were on the lower end, we were concerned that his mouth was actively bleeding. Therefore, the nurse ordered some platelets to give him later, during the night. 

After he fell asleep, yet while I was still rocking him, Kal's oxygen level kept dipping down pretty low and setting off the alarm. I would adjust him to see if he could clear his throat a little and breathe better, but his oxygen kept popping down over and over. The nurse decided it would probably help him breathe and sleep better if she tried to suction him out again. When she tried to suck out his nose- we couldn't hear anything. There was something in his nasal passage that was so thick that is was clogging up the tube! Attempt after attempt to break it up through his nose failed: with both the skinnier and the wider suction tube going down his nose and then she tried down his throat. Yuck. I had to look away because it makes my skin shiver just thinking about it. Ouch, for real!

Finally, they nurse got a good hold on what was causing the issue: it was about a 1 inch-long piece of tissue that had sloughed off and was sitting in his nasal passage. Eeeeew. At least we found what was bothering him! ... or so we thought. After that, he fell right back to sleep, but his oxygen level remained pretty low. The nurse and I decided it would probably be beneficial to turn on the oxygen to blow on his face during the night, to keep his oxygen level up. That has seemed to help significantly. As I type, though, I'm hearing his snoring noises again. I hope he can sleep well tonight and be able clear the junk out of his throat soon!