Tuesday, June 22

It was two months ago today that Collin had the MRI that diagnosed his brain tumor and was admitted to the hospital. In some ways it's hard to believe we've already been here two months, and in other ways it's hard to believe we've only been here two months. But to look back over the last two months, it's easy to see how far we've come.

Over the last few days we've noticed that Collin's left eye looks like it has turned in more, so now his eyes look more crossed than they had been. Yesterday a request was made for the ophthalmologist to come take a look and see whether patching the left eye could have made it lazier, but he never came. Last night, Collin was in a deep sleep, and he wasn't waking up every few hours, which is unusual for him. When I thought about that, coupled with the fact that his eye deviation could be related to increased cranial pressure, I asked his nurse if she could assess his neurological status. She checked his vital signs, checked his eyes reaction to light, woke him a bit and spoke to him to see if he reacted appropriately. He seemed fine, just very tired, so he went back to sleep, and then I did too.

This morning, a neurosurgery resident came to see Collin due to the eye deviation. The decision was made to do another MRI to rule out increased ICP as a cause for the change. It was tentatively scheduled for around 5 PM because Collin had to have no oral intake or tube feeds for approximately six hours before being sedated for the MRI. We took him down to radiology around 6:45 PM, and by 7 PM he was sedated and the scan was starting. They came for us at 9 PM when the MRI was finished, and we went with him to the PACU so he could wake up a bit. We were back in our room by around 9:45 PM. Collin was scheduled for an outpatient MRI next Wednesday June 30, of the head and spine, to see how his chemo has affected the cancer so far. They were able to scan the spine as well tonight, so he won't need the scan next Wednesday. It seemed fitting that the scan was done two months to the day after the first MRI was done. Hopefully we will know results early tomorrow morning.

This morning for physical therapy, since his blood counts are rising and he can safely leave his room, his therapist wanted to try having him walk with a walker so she could see if he'd need one when we go home. I got out his sneakers, and Collin was very excited when we put them on him. We took him out into the hallway, and I helped support him a bit as he held onto the walker and walked! Collin did a great job! It was amazing to me to see him just want to go, with no hesitation or complaint. He tired quickly, but he's so motivated that it won't be long before he's getting around on his own!

Two nurses from the home health care agency that will be helping us out at home stopped by today. They brought an IV pole for home, the feeding tube pump, and the feeding tube supplies we will need at home. They will be back tomorrow to teach me how to use everything. Tonight after we were back from the MRI, Collin's nurse walked me through the steps of setting up the tube feed and feeding pump, checking that the NG tube is still in the proper place, and administering medications through the tube.