We're starting round #2 of chemo for Seth. Since Seth is more accustomed to everything with the hospital at this point (and he's not in pain), I have been trying to spend more time each week with Nathaniel and Joel.
Round #2 was certainly shorter than our first round. However, we had to deal with cdiff for the first time. It was awful. I was taking Seth to the playroom one day once they opened. As soon as we got there, he pooped and it smelled awful. I took him back to our room and changed his diaper. We headed back to the playroom. Repeat. Repeat. All that afternoon he kept pooping. Finally I mentioned to our nurse that he was pooping A LOT and we tested a diaper for cdiff. Which meant we were put on isolation until the test came back (and remained on isolation since it was positive). At first I couldn't understand what the nurse was saying. Seadiff? Cediff? It was highly contagious? Finally I figured out what it was. I ran into our friends Megan and Michael and Emmett in the hall before we were put on contact. I mentioned to them what I thought we were dealing with. They said "Cdiff? Cdiff is hell. You are in hell." And we laughed. Then they told Lily's mom that it was our first time with cdiff. She laughed or made a similar comment. I was glad for the solidarity and support of others. That night Seth and I didn't sleep at all. We had continuous poop and the gas hurt his stomach so bad. In the early hours of the morning we finally got one of the night Drs. to sign off on something for gas relief. We had a new routine for diaper changes - and there were a lot of diaper changes. First, we used special wipes in a grey package (very expensive and softer on raw bottoms than regular wipes). Then we used what we call a "lollipop" a Cavillon barrier to help everything stick. Then some expensive cream called Sensicare. Last we put stoma powder on Seth's bottom. Every time we changed a diaper (with gloves on). When the Drs. rounded they lectured us on not spreading it the cdiff because it was so contagious and would be on our shoes if we walked out of the room. I think Dr. Margolin even gave me a lecture on being careful in the kitchen in food prep area (of course we were). One of our favorite nurses Tonya told me to wipe his ipad and she wiped down our counters. We sanitized all of the time.
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| Jan 14 - Mimi took this pic of Seth. Back at hospital. |
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| 1/15 Mimi and Joel and Bubba playing |
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| 1/16 Clinic appointment for Joel |
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| 1/17 Joel and Mimi |
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| Seth got these from the big love cart and loved them! |
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| Jan 19 |
Our first weekend home together, I spent all day Saturday playing with Joel and Nathaniel. We had a sleepover Saturday night and we all went back up to the hospital to visit Seth on Sunday.
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| Jan 21 |
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| 2/22 - Mimi and Joel picture |
The next Sunday we hit the zoo early, rode the train and ate lunch outside at the grilled cheese place.
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| I will never forget snacking on the lemur bench. Jan 29 |
The last weekend of this treatment block, I spent the whole weekend at home with N and J.
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Nathaniel and Joel were the first people to play on our new neighborhood playground! We happened to be taking a walk when the workers finished and left. We had so much fun trying it out. Mimi was at the hospital with Daddy and Seth.
Feb 4 |
It was also Super Bowl weekend. We didn't watch much of the game. The weather was fantastic, so I remember taking a walk with just Nathaniel and Joel. The sunset was nice and we could see the moon. I loved spending time with the two of them.
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| Feb 5 |
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| Mimi took this picture, I wasn't there but Joel arranged his blanked like that and was playing in there. March 3 |
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