Author Archives: jamie

Not the news we were hoping for.  But also not a surprise.  Eli has typhlitis.  There is inflammation in his bowel.  This will be treated with antibiotics, fluids, IV nutrition to allow “gut rest” to continue, pain medication to keep him … Continue reading →

After spending Friday getting platelets, Saturday in the ER due to medication error and sticky lines, on Sunday very early in the morning, Eli was admitted for fever/low counts. Looks like he’ll be here for a bit as we figure … Continue reading →

48 hours after coming home from surgery, we are back here at CHW for Chemo round 5.
The good news: Eli’s surgery went really well so everyone (surgery & oncology) felt that he is strong enough to begin chemo today. Just … Continue reading →

It’s almost surgery time.  Eli goes in early Tuesday morning to have the tumor removed from his right adrenal gland.  Eli has just one tumor and it is fairly small in size compared to what many other children with neuroblastoma … Continue reading →

Eli handled his 4th chemo round with minimal side effects. He surprised me by waking up our first day home with energy and excitement to play. We were able to take advantage of him feeling well by attending birthday celebrations … Continue reading →

Last week was rough.  We we were at the hospital almost every day preparing for Eli’s stem cell collection.  We were also still giving him his daily injection of neupogen to boost his white counts before collection.  (By we, I mean … Continue reading →

Today is the day. This feels big and important.  And maybe a little scary. We’ve been watching Eli’s counts this week to determine the optimal time to collect his stem cells. He will need these for his next phase, which … Continue reading →

Dr. Browning told us early on that there would be bumps in the road, delays, unexpected circumstances.  Maybe I was being naive when I thought there was a possibility that we would be the exception.  I mean, there are literally … Continue reading →

Eli is the main character in this tragedy.  There is no denying that.  But as members of the supporting cast, we each have a part in this story.  Mine is a little unique because I find myself having flashbacks or … Continue reading →

Just wow. “We can do hard things” is the mantra that was running though my head most of this afternoon/evening. Chris & I took Eli to his weekly clinic visit only to find out his counts (platelets and white cells) … Continue reading →