We are back home....

....and Andrew is doing great. Andrew just ate some food and is watching Toy Story. He is feeling well and I think most of the anesthesia medicine is wearing off. He was a little emotional and upset in the hospital, but has since perked up after eating. The doctors told Andrew he needed to relax and take it easy the rest of the day and he should be back to normal by tomorrow. A day of movies and naps sounds great to me!

Surgery Finished

Andrew's port removal is complete. The surgeon just came out and talked to us. He said all went well and that there should be no real problems. We are just waiting for him to wake up so we can go back and see him.

Andrew in Surgery

Andrew was just admitted into surgery. The procedure should take about an hour. We will update you when the procedure is finished.

Port Removal on Schedule

U of M Hospital called today, and we are still on schedule to have Andrew's port and central line removed tomorrow. We will be at the hospital at 8:45 in the morning, and the surgery is scheduled for 9:45. If everything goes as planned we should be back home later tomorrow.

Andrew Responds to Cold

Andrew had a cold last week, then got pink eye last Wednesday. He got some drops from his pediatrician, and it cleared up on Thursday. On Friday we took him to U of M for his six week blood count and checkup with the doctors. His white blood cell counts were on the high side of normal ranges, meaning his immune system was responding the way it should to a cold, by producing large amounts of white blood cells and neutrophils. The doctors were encouraged by this and reduced his medication again, to two .7 mL doses per day. They also gave him some amoxicillin to help with his cold. We are still on schedule to have his port and central line removed this Friday, with a tentative time of 9:45AM. They will finalize the time when they call us the day before the surgery.

An update from the last few weeks

Andrew is doing well. We had a lab draw two weeks ago which showed his numbers about the same as the time before. His ANC dropped slightly to 1500 (before it was at 2400). Even though his numbers did drop, Andrew's doctor decided to reduce his medication. He is now taking .7 mL in the morning and .8 mL in the evening. Andrew's doctor also said he could have his port taken out. This made Andrew very happy. We have an appointment scheduled for this surgery on Friday, May 27th. This is an outpatient surgery, unless the doctors feel he needs to remain in the hospital overnight. He should be healed up by the time we go to Disney!

Last week, Andrew also had an appointment with his nephrologist. The doctor feels Andrew is doing well and his blood pressure is under control. The nephrologist feels we can take Andrew off his blood pressure medication in the next few months (maybe by the end of the summer or early fall) because we are weaning him off the Cyclosporine. So, hopefully, by this time next year, Andrew will be off of all medication. We go back to U of M to see the oncologist next Friday, May 20th.