Kevin received a few well-deserved treats over the weekend. He polished off a chocolate Easter bunny, which was excellent practice for chewing and swallowing. Plus, at least from my perspective, there’s no reward quite as good as getting to eat real chocolate again!
Since Kevin is now able to eat more treats, we need milkshake recommendations in San Jose! One of the therapists raved about the banana milkshakes at Falafel Drive-In, so Kevin has enjoyed a couple of those. Any other recommendations for milkshakes in the area?
One of Kevin’s favorite weekend activities is showering. Kevin really appreciates the feel of running water, but for some reason, Valley only does the shower on the weekends. Kevin gets sponge baths the rest of the time, so don’t worry, he is still getting washed during the week! Each time Kevin has done this shower before this weekend, he’s had to lie down on a gurney. This weekend he got to sit up in a chair for his shower. That’s one step closer to showering normally!
Kevin’s chewing and swallowing coordination has improved to the point where the speech therapist now allows Kevin to receive trays of food at meal times. Kevin still receives tube feedings because it takes him more than an hour to eat a meal, and he is working so hard during the day that he needs the extra calories. However, he’s very excited to eat things like scrambled eggs, mashed potatoes and oatmeal. He can only eat food at the “pureed” level for now, since his swallowing isn’t perfect yet, and this consistency is the easiest for him to swallow. Other consistencies would be easier for Kevin to aspirate, which could lead to pneumonia and set Kevin back several weeks.
On the topic of progress, Kevin may be moving towards starting chemotherapy soon. His platelets are above 100,000, which is what they need to be to start chemo. However, he still has a couple days left on the antibiotics, which have been known to lower platelets. If he finishes the antibiotics with his platelets still over 100K, he might start chemo on Friday.
Happy belated Easter to everyone! We hope you enjoyed the holiday, especially with the extra excitement for those of us in Southern California. Thank you so much for continuing to keep Kevin in your thoughts.
Kevin in the tube
Santa Cruz Chocolate Milkshake Rankings
- 1. Marianne's Ice Cream (Mexican Chocolate shake)
- 2. Marianne's Ice Cream (Chocolate Brownie shake)
- 3. Cold Stone (Dark chocolate ice cream, normal chocolate ice cream, and brownies)
- Marianne's Ice Cream (Chocolate Chocolate-chip Swirl)
- 4. Saturn Cafe (Chocolate ice cream and peanut butter)
- 5. Jack's Burgers
- 6. Betty's Burgers
- 7. Carpo's
- 8. Burger King
- 8. Sno-White Drive In
- 10. Chill Out Cafe (Chocolate, banana and peanut butter—I guess too many flavors for Kevin's taste!)
Shake Stars
- ★★★★1/2 Butterscotch Swirl from Marianne's
- ★★★★1/2 Butter Pecan from Marianne's
- ★★★★☆ Bananas Foster Shake (homemade)
- ★★★★☆ Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Dough Shake from Marianne's
- ★★★★☆ 3AM Truffle from Marrianne's
Palo Alto Chocolate Milkshake Rankings
- 1. "Old Fashioned" Chocolate Shake from Peninsula Creamery
- 2. Chocolate Shake from Häagen-Dazs
- 3. Chocolate Shake from In-N-Out
- 3. Chocolate Shake from Jeffrey's Hamburgers
- 3. Chocolate Shake from Rick's Rather Rich
- 4. Chocolate Shake from Palo Alto Creamery
4 comments:
yay kevin!
alright Kevin! We are so incredibly happy you are doing so great and your platelets are up!
That is the most wonderful news. The simple pleasure of a real shower must feel like heaven.
We hope you get to try some really terrific chocolate shakes soon. are you tired of In-n-Out shakes yet? Once you graduate to more solid food we will have to send you a Gizdich pie. Do you prefer Apple or Boysenberry? Thinking of you. Keep getting stronger. Our love and thoughts are with you and all your family and friends.
Toni and Steve
A friend who grew up in SJ made these suggestions..........
"There's the falafal drive in in san Jose or if they are up for a bit of a drive there is the peninsula creamery in palo alto or vals in Hayward. Cold stone makes a decent shake too. There is a place in Los Altos too that's really good but I can't think of the name right now. "
Heather
go kevin, im keeping strong support. ill see if i can start sending you some of the papers im writing. id love intake, and youll see what ive been working on.
your strength keeps me going, and i strongly hope you keep up that work as you really are an inspiration to all of us.
i love you and keep up the strong work.
~Ro
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