Tuesday, March 30, 2004

 

Another One Bites The Dust!

Another medication, that is! Devin is off potassium now. They will check it next visit to be sure but for now, he doesn't have that to take any more.

Our clinic visit was long today, a lot of waiting around but that is not that abnormal. We had company while we were waiting. Donna, the lady who made the videos for the new hospital, came up to visit Devin. Donna got some pictures of her and Devin.

We had a hard time getting blood from Devin today. He ended up getting 4 sticks before a good vein was found. He howled and carried on and eventually got the freezy spray..something he normally doesn't want.

On Sunday, Devin fell off his bicycle and hurt his ankle. Despite x-rays that show there is nothing wrong with him other than a bruise, he insists on acting as if a bone is sticking out and in horrible pain. He hops around and crawls through the house. I let him ride in the stroller up to the clinic rather than listen to his moans, whimpers and gasps trying to walk. He has turned into such a boob about pain but I guess with all he puts up with, it is a small thing.

We got official approval to let Devin go back to school for the last few weeks of school! He will go with some hand washing stuff to make sure he washes frequently. His classroom teacher, Mrs. Camp, is aware of the situation and will make sure that if any child is sick in the class, we know about it immediately.

Last night was a Pack Meeting for Scouts and Devin got quite a few awards. He got his Bowling belt loop, Music belt loop, Collection belt loop and Fishing belt loop. He also got 1 gold arrow point and 2 silver arrow points. Ryan got his Webelo rank and his Traveler pin. Ryan also got his Physical Fitness pin and belt loop. Belt Loops are fairly easy to get and once they are Webelos, they do the harder stuff.

We have three more weeks before our next clinic visit.

posted by Devin's Mom 7:41 PM

Thursday, March 25, 2004

 

Nothing Much

There has not been too much to report on this end. Devin and the two older brothers took part in their Cub Scout Pack Pinewood Derby over the weekened. Devin's car came in 4th place overall for the Wolves and 1st place for his Den. Nicholas and Ryan came in 3rd place and 4th place overall for the Webelos. Devin had a great time racing and was very pleased with the finish. We have an appointment next week and I will update then as well.

I weighed Devin this afternoon, he is 55 lbs. To give a comparison against the others in the photo below, Kaitlyn (in green) weighs 47 lbs, Ryan (behind the baby) weighs 67 lbs, Nicholas (behind Devin) weighs 68 lbs and Iain (looking away) weighs 32 lbs. I have no clue what Kierynn weighs but under 20 lbs. This picture was taken this beautiful afternoon when Kaitlyn, Nicholas and Ryan got off the school bus. I just sat them down on the front yard to take it.

posted by Devin's Mom 8:01 PM

Friday, March 12, 2004

 

Hidden Talents

Devin demonstrated an amazing talent the other night so we had to come and share it with you. Here is a picture of the pills he takes twice a day (except for 1 he only takes twice a week) The penny is there for a size comparison.



Devin normally takes his pills out of the little cup one by one and swallows them. The other night, he slugged back all FIFTEEN at one time, took a few swallows of water and then smiled at me like it was no big deal!

I just had to share this amazing talent since I don't think I could do it (not that I would want to either). What a silly boy!

posted by Devin's Mom 9:07 AM

Tuesday, March 09, 2004

 

Gaining Weight!

We had weighed Devin at home and while our scale reflected that he had gained weight, we were not sure what the clinic scale would reflect. Dr Frangoul was just as pleased as we were that our dude had gained weight!

Devin is looking fantastic. Bad mom wasn't thinking and let him go outside without sunscreen and his hands show it. Devin has to have sunscreen and a hat on at all times while outside. The radiation and skin GVH has made him very sensitive to the sun and we don't want a flare up of any kind.

We stopped his blood pressure medication to see if it was the medication keeping his pressure low or if it was actually low. His blood pressure was just dandy today so we can stop giving the Norvasc to him. Devin had also been getting a monthly dose of Pentamamine via IV. That has now been changed to an oral dose of Bactrim twice a week. His Prednisone has also been lowered slightly. So although he is still taking 10 different medications, it is getting to be less and not as frequently.

While we were up there, one of his nurses, Miss Yo, came over to the clinic to see Devin. Devin is always happy to see Miss Yolanda and she brought him a Beanie Bear.

Report cards came out and Devin got all A's and 1 B. He is just doing so great this year. I ran into his first grade teacher from last year, Ms Spiva, and told her how great he is doing. We are going to make an effort to get him over to Northeast one of these days so he can say hello to her.

The weather is warming up and we are going to be getting out the bike soon to resume our trips around the block....with sunscreen on!

Our next appointment is on March 30th. No news is always good news!

posted by Devin's Mom 9:00 PM