Tyler - 17 year old fighting cancer!

Tyler - 17 year old fighting cancer!
Ready for Battle!

Wednesday, July 31, 2013

A little conversation time

Tyler is still in the hospital. He does have an infection, for which he's receiving antibiotics. He hasn't run a fever since Sunday night, though. Thank you for those prayers!! They are mostly concerned about his pain levels right now, and trying to get that under control.

When I was there on Monday night, he was having a pretty good night. His pain was "sustainable", he said. It makes a world of difference when they have it under control. I had seen him the week prior and he was in excruciating pain...blotchy skin, gritting his teeth, hiding his face under a sheet, moving constantly to try and get comfortable. That will cause anyone to cry...not just me, being the sap that I am.

Anyhow, I was pleasantly surprised at how conversational he was while I was there. He wanted to let me know that he had broken a record. I asked which one and he said, "the highest dose of methedone that they have ever given a patient (adult or kid)". Yikes! I'm not sure that's a record worth breaking!! Poor kid! He continued to talk for the couple of hours I was there. When I first offered dinner, he said no, like usual. Until he smelled it. Then he said, "It smells like italian". I said it was and he asked what I brought. I told him "spaghetti with meatballs and lasagna". He replied, "I have a sweet spot for lasagna. Save me a bite. I know I'll have to fight my mom for it!". She saved him some, of course, and he ate it. :) He also carried on with his nurse, Erin, about how he used to love spaghetti and meatballs as a kid. And that he would only go to restaurants that had that. He looked at me and asked if I remembered. I smiled and said I did. I told him I mostly remembered how much he loved chicken fingers when he was a kid. He then went on to tell Erin about a phase of loving only cheese sticks, but that he wouldn't touch them now. Then he started telling stories of how his papa was always trying to get him to try gross things...like deer and liver. I told him how my Aaron was always sneaking venison into our food at home too, and we laughed. He talked about how his papa will eat absolutely anything!  He's right about that one too! So I just sat there smiling as he told all of these little stories. We talked about how much we loved being only children because we got super spoiled, and still are! He went on and on about how his grandma bought him so much stuff, he could barely fit it in the car to take it home, at Christmas. He talked about how he figured out Santa wasn't real when he heard his mom going up and down the stairs at Christmas one year. And how, after that, he would peak at his hidden gifts, even though his mom wrapped them as soon as she bought them. And now, he only got a few gifts because they were more expensive ones...but he misses the days of opening tons and tons of gifts.

I don't remember what all we talked about, but those few things stick out. Before I left that night, I prayed with him. Then, like I do every time, I told him I love him. This time, I got a vocal "I love you too, Aunt Jettie" back. Sometimes he's sleeping or in too much pain for that. That was the" icing on the cake" for my visit!

I'm not sure why I'm sharing details of this somewhat insignificant conversation with you. I was just so relieved to see him comfortable and talking. For those that know him, I hope you can picture his little witty ways of conversing. And remember those times when he was a kid and would go on rounds with his papa and get chicken fingers at the coney, for breakfast :) For those that don't, maybe it's a chance to get to know him a bit more. Just a regular kid, but one we love a whole heckuva lot!

At any rate, he's in enough pain today that they aren't sending him home. Michelle texted me and said "he's miserable", which makes my head go to pictures of the previous week I visited. So please, pray that he'll be comfortable and that the doctors will be able to control his pain. Pray for strength for Michelle and his grandma Didi who are by his side, night and day.

Much love to you all! Hug your loved ones today...have an "insignificant" conversation with them. It might make your day, or theirs!

Ephesians 4:32
Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ, God forgave you.

Monday, July 29, 2013

Hospital again...

Saturday night, Tyler had to go back to the hospital because his drain tube from his liver came out. They replaced the tube on Sunday, but he had a fever and his white blood counts were up, so they are keeping him.  He may have an infection in his PICC line. He's getting blood and platelet transfusions and hoping to go home over the next couple of days. He has to be fever free for 48 hours before getting sent home. They are also working on managing his pain while he is there. Please keep him in your prayers.