First induction phase - Day 16 - improvement at last!

It's 3:45 am on Monday morning and it's my turn at the hospital.  I cannot sleep - or to be more correct - I could not sleep and coupled with all the little noises - did not get an opportunity to go to sleep.  The last couple of days were very hectic.  I remember starting to wonder (on Friday night) if Jonathan was not going to make it out of this first round of treatment.  Up till Friday - Jonathan's white blood cell count was still at 0.1 and there was no sign of change.  I know we were entering into the timeframe for his count to start increasing - usually about 10 days after chemotherapy has finished - but it was frustrating seeing Jonathan in so much pain.

The challenging thing is that until his white blood cell count went up - the sores in his mouth would not begin to heal - and until they heal - Jonathan would not eat - and until he eats - he will continue to lose weight.  I remember hearing from Gabby on Saturday - that his white blood cell count went up to 0.4.  Wow - we finally had some movement.  On Sunday his count went up even further to 1.7 and I cannot wait for it to reach the minimum of 5.5 and beyond.

Jonathan is doing much better now.  The sores in his mouth and throat have begun the healing process and the hope is that by Tuesday he will be able to go home.  I think the doctors were thinking that he could be released by Monday (today) but Gabby and I think it is a tad bit early for him to go home so soon.  We want to make sure he is really stable and can eat properly without pain management before we go home.

Looking forward, Jonathan probably has about two weeks home before he starts his second induction cycle.  I don't have the heart to tell him that he has to do this all over again - and we probably wouldn't tell him anything until about a day or two before he actually goes in.  The plan of action over the next two weeks is to try and fatten him up as much as possible.  My desire is that he'll gain about 5 to 10 pounds - but I'm sure the nutritionists will tell me that I'm dreaming.

The only other significant thing that has happened over the weekend is that I've taken my first ever sleeping tablet in my life.  I took one on Friday night and on Saturday night.  I was glad I took it - because I have a habit of going to bed and then my mind starts to 'churn' a lot of thoughts and I'm unable to go to sleep.  By taking the sleeping tablet - I didn't have to worry about any of those things - and I figure it probably took me less than 10 minutes to fall asleep with the help of the sleeping pill.

So hopefully things continue to look positive this week and Jonathan continues to improve - counts go up, eating improves, plenty weight gain, less grumpiness, and a happier kid.