The last few days have been fairly quiet. Collin's eye is bothering him a whole lot less now that it is sutured. I'm not even sure he realizes that it is sutured; the corner that his eye turns to is still open, so he can still see. He's not trying to rub his eye as much as he was, so we take the elbow immobilizers off for periods of time, especially when we are right next to him and can stop him if he does try to rub his eye.
In order for Collin to be discharged from the hospital, he has to be able to tolerate tube feedings so that he can be nutritionally supported at home. His stomach hasn't had anything in it for weeks, so the process of getting him off the IV nutrition and back onto oral nutrition is a bit of a challenge. Prior to this hospitalization, Collin was getting two cans of formula overnight, a total of 500 mL, at a rate of 50 mL per hour, as well as whatever he ate during the day. Right now, Collin has little interest in eating, possibly because his ability to taste has been affected by the chemo since it kills off taste buds. So, until his interest in eating returns, Collin will again get the bulk of his nutrition through his feeding tube. The tube feeding was started at a slow 10 mL per hour around the clock to get his stomach used to being used again, and then it is slowly increased every few days. Today it was increased to 15 mL per hour. Unfortunately, vomiting is a regular occurrence as his stomach re-adjusts. It can happen anytime, without warning. I'll spare the details, but I am so hoping that by the time we go home, the vomiting will not be an issue, either because his stomach has adjusted, or the anti-emetics are helping!
There is another warrior on this unit that needs a lot of prayers, the son of a friend of my in-laws. He should be enjoying his senior year of high school, but instead he is here fighting for his life. He's not doing so well, and probably doesn't have much time left. Please keep him and his family in your prayers as they face the unthinkable. Thank you.
We'll pray for a miracle for the friend of the family. It's all so unfair. The little boy for whom we've been praying @ Church (Kaiden) whose leg was broken during chemo (so they had to stop treatment) just received a sudden and tragic prognosis. :( Everyone has been very glad to hear Collin is feeling better and may be going home soon!!
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