Belated Father's Day and Chemo

The past week has gone relatively well for Kevin. The last drop in the level of steroids was tough for the first few days, but it seems that his body has now adjusted to the lower level. He’s able to swallow and eat a bit better—until he makes the next drop down in steroids!

Kevin also received another round of Avastin on Tuesday. This is the chemotherapy he receives every two weeks. The appointment went well, and he was at the hospital for a shorter amount of time than previous visits. The doctors were impressed with Kevin’s improvement since the last time they saw him. Because of everything that Kevin has been through, he has a tough time believing doctors when they tell him he’s improving. However, we might have finally been successful in convincing him that the doctor was telling the truth.

After the last chemotherapy administration, Kevin got very nauseated for the next few days. However, that doesn’t seem to be as much of a problem this week (knock on wood). We are trying to stay more on top of giving him his anti-nausea medications.

When Dad walked into Kevin’s room on the morning of Father’s Day, Kevin surprised Dad by pulling a card from under the blankets and saying, “Happy Father’s Day!” Kevin had actually signed the card as well. His handwriting is not wonderful; however, it’s much better than it was when I last saw it a few months ago. When Kevin was in the ICU, had a tracheostomy and couldn’t talk, he would often try to write in order to communicate. Back then, we sometimes couldn’t decipher Kevin’s handwriting, but his name on Dad’s card was pretty clear!

Kevin has also been performing well in his physical, occupational and speech therapy sessions. His feet have greatly improved over the past week; they’re still a bit swollen, but not nearly as swollen and red as they were before. Kevin’s feet are also a bit less painful for him, so he is able to do a few more transfers.

The home environment is much more relaxing and enjoyable than living in the hospital. A while ago, when both the physical and occupational therapists were at the house working with Kevin, a family of deer, babies in tow, paraded across our lawn. Kevin’s window looks out onto the lawn, so the therapists, Kevin and Kathlin got to watch the deer family cruise by. That’s not usually a sight seen from a hospital bed! We hope the relaxing environment will continue to be good for him and will help foster more improvement.