2005 Journal Entries

Just a quick update to let everyone know that Archie’s condition is improving and that he’s acting himself more and more as the days move forward. In fact on our way home from the hospital tonight John and I argued about just how well Archie is doing. ‘He’s turned the corner,” John concluded.

“No, not yet,” I countered. “But he is halfway around the bend.”

I admit that I do like these sorts of arguments much more than I like the ones in which we carry on about just how worried we should about Archie’s condition.

When we walked into the hematology/oncology unit today Dr. Hayes stopped us before we got to Archie’s room. “Alright, who’s been praying?” he hollered to us across the hallway.

Turns out that Archie’s latest blood count revealed that he has half as many white blood cells today as he did a day ago, and less than half as many blasts. His platelets are holding steady, right where they need to be, and his hematocrit and hemoglobin levels have improved, too. It is obvious that everyone is openly relieved and encouraged by this news. So relieved in fact that Dr. Hayes doesn’t feel we need to put Archie through a bone marrow aspiration after all. If his counts continue to improve this week we’ll forgo the aspiration. If they don’t, we’ll consent to an aspiration to definitely confirm or rule out leukemia.

A chest film shows that Archie’s pneumonia is no better nor no worse than it was two days ago. Just the same Archie is maintaining his sats on a half liter of oxygen, a significantly lower flow than he needed Friday afternoon. The mucus in Archie’s chest sounds as if it’s breaking up, and he doesn’t grimace every time he coughs anymore. He fights the doctors and nurses, too, just like he normally does no matter how many times I remind him that they are his friends, trying to help him feel better. But most of all I’m happy to report that Archie is eating again, polishing away bottle after bottle of Similac formula like a frat boy on a binge. I love it.

Archie still won’t hold his head up without assistance, and he’d much rather lie quietly in bed than play, but he listened intently as Dada read book after book, and even half-heartedly attempted the hand motions we taught him to “Itsy-Bitsy Spider.” Dada and I are so glad he hasn’t forgotten.