A Mouth Full

We have good news from Granton's last appointment. He no longer has to have his meds! They stopped his acylovir--the last medication he was on (for viruses). Also, Granton has made some b-cells. We will find out officially in two weeks if they are functioning, but so far we suspect they are because he has not been sick and his lab tests have been good. The lab will soon test to see whether or not the b-cells are donor or his own, as well. We continue to pray that the donor cells come back. The doctors seem positive that they will come back, eventually, with time. So, Granton should not have to expect to receive ivig for the rest of his life! Another positive thing is that he finished his last dose of pentamadine for pcp (pneumonia) this past week which means one less hour of being hooked up to iv meds. Speaking of which, we have the option to give him a shot once a week in the stomach just under the skin, so we are considering this, especially during winter weather...we would not have to drive to KC or contain him for three hours with an iv. And, actually, before considering the option they will try to wean him from ig (immune globulin) support first. As of last week he did not have to have the ivig, but we will check his levels next week to make sure he is staying above where he needs to be. If needed, we might be able to get ivig at home.

After such a great report, Granton decided to be "all boy" again and give us a slight scare. He had been anticipating his arrival to the farm for weeks. (By the way I'm typing this as he shuts his finger in a door somewhere in the house). Not five minutes after we parked the car his face found a bucket and started pouring out blood. We couldn't see inside his mouth for a while, and when we looked there didn't seem to be a tooth where it should have been. We searched for the missing tooth and couldn't find it anywhere. Then, as the bleeding slowed down we discovered his tooth was, in fact, still there but jammed straight up into his gums. His cosmetic injury did not slow him down a bit. As soon as I had him calmed down he was up and running around trying to bite toys. His swollen lip was the worst part and the most painful (it reminded me of a "who" from Dr. Suess). Anyway, we will probably have his mouth checked out--just in case--for infection. But, despite his hillbilly grin, Granton's look hasn't changed much and certainly doesn't compare to his head looking like a blown up balloon when his lungs were leaking air all over his body. We are still reminded to be thankful from day to day raising this little dude.

Have a fine Labor Day,

Jenni