Last Monday was a big day.
Aida got what would be her last dose of chemo! After the doctor left the exam room, I danced
to a little ditty I’d like to call “That’s Great News.” I wrote it right there on the spot. It was inspired. The lyrics are “That’s Great News…That’s
Great News…That’s Great News.” Like I
said. Inspired.
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| PICC (Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter) |
Anyway, the end of chemo also meant the end of the PICC
line. I’m not sure which I was more
excited about. Don’t get me wrong, the
PICC was a great blessing, but I was thrilled to see it go. And with no plans for it at all, I asked to
keep it. I know that’s weird. Mark was unimpressed…or maybe a little
creeped out. Seriously though, it’s just
a big piece of plastic - not a gall stone.
That’d be gross.
Aida has been on a monthly prophylactic antibiotic to guard
against some sort of something terrible (because of the drug she is on). It’s great because it’s monthly and doesn’t
seem to have any annoying side effects. It’s annoying because it is given through IV
and takes forever. That means that with
no PICC line, she’ll be getting stuck.
So! We’ll be trying an oral
antibiotic soon (2 days a week) that we hope will replace the monthly IV. She took this new antibiotic once before, but
it bothered her stomach. Incidentally,
this would be the same drug that was initially (and accidentally) prescribed at
8 times the necessary dose. At any rate,
if she is somehow able to take this antibiotic, she’ll only have to get stuck
for blood draws which is a LOT better than getting stuck for an IV.
While getting her antibiotic on Monday Aida got SUPER
sick. I’ll spare you the details, but suffice
it to say that I now have a Vanderbilt Hospital towel, two washcloths & a
nice, new t-shirt from some high school I’ve never heard of. I’m not exactly sure where the bug came from,
but it seems to be all the rage right now.
Fortunately, Aida was finally able to take a REAL BATH. She was crazy sick, so it wasn’t too exciting
for her, but Mark & I enjoyed it anyway.
So to recap…last Monday was a big day.
Meanwhile, one of her ears was not completely cleared after
the double ear infection a couple of weeks before. It wasn’t too bad, but it would turn out to
be enough to interfere with the hearing test she had on Wednesday. We’ll be going back in 3 months to have her
hearing tested again. They’ll check it once a year or so for the next couple of
years because she was in the NICU for a while, has had lots of antibiotics and on
and on.
On Friday, we had a follow up appointment with our
ophthalmologist. Aida’s a little
farsighted which is why her eye turns in sometimes. Still, the doctor says both eyes can (and do)
do everything they’re supposed to in the tests.
She just favors one over the other.
The good news is that the muscles in both eyes are all good, and
everything is symmetric. We go back when
she’s 18 months – apparently around the time that things get pretty well
settled in. Who knows, we might be
looking for a trendy pair of glasses come September. For so many reasons though, I pray not.
This past Monday we went back to the pediatrician to have
her ear checked out since our holidays involve flying. It’s still not terrible, but because of the
travel, they’ve given her more antibiotics. One day, when she’s not on immunosuppressants,
maybe I’ll try garlic and essential oils and all those other granola (natural)
remedies for ear infections and whatnot.
One day. Maybe. We’ll see.
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| Daddy's Girl...Mommy's Girl...Aida (Happy) Medium |
In the meantime, we still have a long to do list (including
but not limited to)…
-see some family
-see some Christmas lights
-survive the wait to see Santa for a photo that will likely
involve either crying or eating a strange man’s beard
-find some big people food that Aida will eat without
gagging and/or throwing up
-talk, sing, dance, laugh, then belly laugh (Aida’s job
every day)
-see more family
-recover from travel
-re-adjust to life without 47 people around to
entertain/enjoy/spoil Aida
-re-adjust to life without baked ham, gingerbread cookies
and all the other delicious foods that are (wisely) reserved for holidays
Have a very Merry Christmas! Love you all!
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