Month: November 2015

We have all enjoyed the gate passes from the hospital! The boys have had a fantastic weekend playing together just like old times. Kaden has been so much more active, dancing, playing with the laser packs, building forts & kicking the ball, just to name a few 😃. 

The doctors have been great, allowing Kaden to stay out till 8pm giving us time to have dinner together. Kaden’s appetite has still be fantastic,  he’s really enjoying his food & we take such joy in watching him eat, it really is the simple things in life that are the best 👍🏻

Tonight the doctors will start hydrating Kaden to prepare him for chemo tomorrow. This type of chemo can be quite nauseating & strips Kaden’s neutrophils (immune system). 

   
    
 

  

Yesterday, Kaden had his ultra sound. It showed that there was still around 60ml of fluid beside his liver. The surgeon has reassured us that this is ok & pretty normal. Last night they decided to take the drain out, as having it in can also lead to infection. Kaden was very nervous about it being taken out but as expected, when it was all taking place he was a superstar as usual 😃 Once Kaden was a bit more relaxed about the drain being taken out, he decided he was hungry. As per normal, Lee cooked Kaden a bit of chicken & he polished it off no worries 👍🏻 Kaden decided after the chicken, he was hungry for a small snack, I suggested some chips from the vending machine. To my suprise, Kaden was keen on a walk. Kaden showed me just how confident he’s getting with walking. When we entered the ward he was even doing a dance, entertaining the nurses & making them laugh 😀 

Today we were advised that the doctors are ready to start chemo. Kaden was booked in to begin tomorrow, but it has now been delayed until Monday. We have been assured that we will still be granted gate passes over the weekend 😀 

   

Kaden’s appetite has been fantastic! He ate 3 pieces of toast, half a box of large chips from McDonald’s & a chicken burito for dinner! The nurses weighed him today & he’s up to 22.15 kgs which is the most he’s been since he started treatment. 

Today Kaden’s needle in his port had to be changed so the doctors have let Kaden out on a day pass today. 😃 He still has the drain in at the moment but they’re trying to book in to do the ultra sound tomorrow morning to see if they can take it out. Kaden will need 8 more days of IV antibiotics then they will look at starting chemo.

   
 

Yesterday we received the wonderful news that Kaden’s biopsy results were great & that there is no rejection. 😃

This morning Kaden also had an ultra sound. It showed that the drain was doing its job & that there is only around 60ml left. At the moment they will continue to flush the drain, keep administering antibiotics & will do a follow up ultra sound next week. 

Due to this infection, chemo has been put on hold. This big break from chemo has given Kaden a good opportunity to gain some weight again 😃

Yesterday, Kaden’s occupational therapist came & spent some time doing an experiment with the boys. They both love playing with colours & trying new things. This experiment was called “walking water”. 

   
   
  

Kaden did not go into surgery till late yesterday afternoon, his surgery took just over an hour. When we were able to see him in recovery, he was pretty upset & hungry as they had starved him all day. Due to the huge amount of pus that had to be drained, the surgeon has left a drain in which they are aiming to take out on Friday. The pus was tested & it appears to be caused by a bug that comes from his gut, however they are not able to name it as yet & will continue to watch just incase it grows anything else. The doctors have him on an antibiotic that will help kill this bug & heal the abscess. We have not yet received any details on the result of his biopsy, we have been told that it should be available tomorrow afternoon. Overall Kaden had a pretty good night considering all he had gone through yesterday & was so happy when he finally got to enjoy the burger from McDonalds that he had created himself 😃

We seem to be having setback after setback & days like today & yesterday make it hard to keep our chins up 😢 We know that we will get home one day, but but it has been such a tough 9 months. 

  

Kaden is booked in for a biopsy & to drain a build up of fluid around his liver tomorrow afternoon. Unfortunately his liver numbers aren’t down to where they should be but the gastro team are hoping they’ll get some answers as to why after the biopsy. 

Last night Kaden decided he wanted to get out of his room so we went exploring the art work throughout the hospital 😀 

    
 

Unfortunately our excitement about Kaden’s liver numbers was short lived. Blood tests were done again today & the GGT has gone back up 😥 They admitted Kaden this afternoon to administer antibiotics & tests.

Kaden has had an ultra sound that has showed, a build up of fluid which, could be a cause of the pain he has been experiencing over the last 48hrs. He has also had an X-ray done as they were unable to locate the stent that was put in last week, on the ultra sound. We are waiting to hear back from the ERCP doctor & the gastro team to advise where we go from here. 

Early this morning we were preparing for Kaden to go under again for his biopsy. Just before lunch I received a call from his doctor advising that Kaden’s numbers have finally reached normal levels & the biopsy was cancelled! I was so overwhelmed with the news (while standing in Coles) that I burst into tears. We’ve been waiting so long to hear this as its a massive step to us going home! We’re now just waiting on doing an echo so that oncology can decide which type of chemo will be administered for his last round! 

Today, Kaden had a test called GFR which tests his kidneys. This test involves injecting a dye & then having blood tests after two hours, three hours & four hours. He was an absolute super star during each blood test.

Tomorrow he will be going under again for a biopsy. The doctors are doing this to see if they can understand why Kadens numbers are not dropping as quickly as they should. After the procedure they will keep Kaden in for observation overnight. 

Kaden recovered well from the stent op. Unfortunately we were not placed into our normal ward & experienced constant issues with the nursing staff & lack of organisation. We were so happy to be leaving 😉

Yesterday the hospital was celebrating 20years & also held their annual Radothon. There was so much to see and do. They had the police with their different car models as well as the police horses. Every child was given a new sky lander & portal for either an Xbox or WII console which was so good. 

They had superstars absailing, batman arrived in his special car & they even had ‘Back to the future’ cars. There was a petting zoo, reptile show, numerous different food stalls & even some special appearances by ‘Home & Away’ actors & Xfactor singers, don’t ask me who as I don’t follow either show 😊

We  all had such a fun day 😄