I'll copy and paste what Emily just posted this afternoon on our myfamily.com site.
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We are coming home!
I don't have time to write much. This is the first chance we have had to get to a computer. Life has been unbelievably busy up here. However, Grant is doing great and just received his last chemo treatment for the week. We will be home sometime tomorrow and will come back on Monday for some more meds and another spinal and bone marrow test.
I can't express my great love and gratitude that Kevin and I feel. This week has been overwhelming to say the least. At night as I am trying to sleep I sing to myself the words of the primary song "I feel my Savior's love in all the world around me......." Indeed we feel His love and the love that so many family and friends have expressed to us this week.
The road will be long and hard. But like we always say.... we can do hard things! We are glad to be over this initial hurdle and are so happy to be coming home.
See you there!
~Emily
Thursday, May 3, 2007
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
Oh Happy Day!
It's 9:30 on Wednesday evening. I saw Grant, Kevin and Emily this evening- they sure looked fine! The surgery to insert his "port" was successful and Grant was fully awake and looking much stronger than yesterday.
A couple of sweet things to report- Grant has received a number of beautiful gift baskets full of things to make a little boy quite happy. In one of the packages, there was a small pirate treasure chest about the size of a 3 x 5 note card. It is just the kind of thing that Grant loves. Well, as fate would have it, as Papa Joel left on Sunday evening, Emily went down to his car to get some cd books on tape for Kevin to listen to- and Pa said he didn't have much cash on him, but he did have a roll of gold Sacagawea dollar coins... do you think you know where the gold coins are?? He's laying in bed with the treasure chest in his hand, just as excited as can be.
Another thing- Grant has really been a special young man up on the fifth floor this week. His doctors think he's mighty fine and they are genuinely enamored by him. When I looked over his heart to see where the port had been inserted, I couldn't help but smile when I saw that one of his surgeons had cut a bandage in the shape of a duck for him... yep, a very nice duck at that! He thought that was super.
It is being discussed that Grant may be able to go home on Friday if he has a good reaction to his chemo tomorrow, and then come back up here on Monday for the next treatment and another bone marrow test. That would be heavenly. It is beyond my capacity to express my love to each of you, family and friends, who have stopped your busy schedules and lives to pray and ask our Father in Heaven to heal Grant so he may live a long and wonderful life. Thank you for those prayers, and for your faith that he will recover.
I think that Jacob and I will go home tomorrow if the Friday scenerio seems to be still probable. Leah and Rodney have been wonderful to Jake and me- but I sure miss my honey. He has to worry about us all when he's at home by himself!
Nite nite.
Susan
A couple of sweet things to report- Grant has received a number of beautiful gift baskets full of things to make a little boy quite happy. In one of the packages, there was a small pirate treasure chest about the size of a 3 x 5 note card. It is just the kind of thing that Grant loves. Well, as fate would have it, as Papa Joel left on Sunday evening, Emily went down to his car to get some cd books on tape for Kevin to listen to- and Pa said he didn't have much cash on him, but he did have a roll of gold Sacagawea dollar coins... do you think you know where the gold coins are?? He's laying in bed with the treasure chest in his hand, just as excited as can be.
Another thing- Grant has really been a special young man up on the fifth floor this week. His doctors think he's mighty fine and they are genuinely enamored by him. When I looked over his heart to see where the port had been inserted, I couldn't help but smile when I saw that one of his surgeons had cut a bandage in the shape of a duck for him... yep, a very nice duck at that! He thought that was super.
It is being discussed that Grant may be able to go home on Friday if he has a good reaction to his chemo tomorrow, and then come back up here on Monday for the next treatment and another bone marrow test. That would be heavenly. It is beyond my capacity to express my love to each of you, family and friends, who have stopped your busy schedules and lives to pray and ask our Father in Heaven to heal Grant so he may live a long and wonderful life. Thank you for those prayers, and for your faith that he will recover.
I think that Jacob and I will go home tomorrow if the Friday scenerio seems to be still probable. Leah and Rodney have been wonderful to Jake and me- but I sure miss my honey. He has to worry about us all when he's at home by himself!
Nite nite.
Susan
Thanks, update, and T-shirts
First of all, I want to thank all of you for your support so far. It means so much to us how willing you are to help. We have already had many acts of service that we really appreciate. It makes coping a lot easier when there are so many people rooting and praying for you.
There is not a lot of new news to report. The chest x-ray last night showed that the swelling is going down in his chest, so hopefully at 2:00 today they are going to be able to put in the port. Mama said that Grant seemed more tired yesterday, which is to be expected after chemo. Emily said he hasn't complained at all about where they did the spinal tap or took marrow from his hip. He's a tough boy! We'll update again tonight.
We're looking into getting T-shirts made with the very cool Super-G symbol on it (like is on the front page). Leah's husband, Rodney, made that symbol yesterday, and I think he did a super super job! So I will post more information about that later.
Thanks again!
There is not a lot of new news to report. The chest x-ray last night showed that the swelling is going down in his chest, so hopefully at 2:00 today they are going to be able to put in the port. Mama said that Grant seemed more tired yesterday, which is to be expected after chemo. Emily said he hasn't complained at all about where they did the spinal tap or took marrow from his hip. He's a tough boy! We'll update again tonight.
We're looking into getting T-shirts made with the very cool Super-G symbol on it (like is on the front page). Leah's husband, Rodney, made that symbol yesterday, and I think he did a super super job! So I will post more information about that later.
Thanks again!
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
Pics of our favorite Super Grant
Pics from my visit over to the hospital on Monday night (April 31, 2007)
Deep in artistic thought
Wolverine working on his scary creature masterpiece
My friend Adrienne posing with us, who immediately fell in love with this handsome fella
The happy crew
Mommy and Aunty Leah asking him to pose for yet another picture
Deep in artistic thought
Wolverine working on his scary creature masterpiece
My friend Adrienne posing with us, who immediately fell in love with this handsome fella
The happy crew
Mommy and Aunty Leah asking him to pose for yet another picture
Tuesday night update
Jackson & I spent a few hours with Grant, Emmy and Kevin this afternoon. I am so pleased to report that everything is still going well for him.
Unfortunately, Grant has to wear a surgical mask (that covers the nose and mouth) when other kids are around him. I mentioned this to Jackson on the way over, more to prepare him than anything else. He asked why, and I explained to him that the two of them didn't need to be sharing germs, and it would keep Grant from getting sicker. He thought about it for a minute, and then he had a light bulb moment. He immediately told me of his idea. "What if I don't wear a mask, and some of my "healthy boy" germs travel to him, and that would make him all better." I told him it was a GREAT idea, and I'd talk to the doctor about it when we got there, to see if it would work. ;)
When we first got there, Jackson, Grant, Kevin & I spent a little while in the kid's play room up on the 7th floor, while Em spoke to a nurse about some meds down in their room. The play area was full of puzzles, blocks, gadgets, slides, running ramps, and everything that a little boy or girl could desire. Grant even ran around a little bit, and especially enjoyed running down the slide. :)
The rest of our stay was in Grant's room, where he has a nice assortment of superheros, pirate stuff, coloring books, and every marker and crayon known to man. All these things, of course, are right up his alley. In the 5 or so hours total that I've spent with him since he got to Chapel Hill, he's been drawing and coloring for about 4.
As for "news," they are still satisfied with what they are seeing. He had an x-ray tonight, to see if the swelling in his chest has gone down enough to put the port in tomorrow. His white cell count is very low, and that is exactly what we want to see. The chemo is doing its work. Because of this low number, however, his resistance to outside infection is low. Because of this low resistance, they've decided to put off putting in a catheter, though which they'd start running the chemo. The outlook for a return home is still unsure. There will continue to be a number of chemo treatments, blood transfusions, platelets via iv, etc., and we ask for your faith and prayers that these events will all continue to be well received by his little body.
Mama and Jakey are sitting here next to me in my home in Raleigh, and they'll be staying here for a good part of the week. Jakey was some kinda thrilled to get to the room this afternoon (at the hospital.) His squeal got a good laugh out of the desk full of nurses right behind him. ;)
Thank you to all who have continued to be praying for Grant and the family. Emily and Kevin could use the prayers too. They were both mighty tired this afternoon and evening, even with all the good that has transpired.
Goodnight from Raleigh...
Leah
Unfortunately, Grant has to wear a surgical mask (that covers the nose and mouth) when other kids are around him. I mentioned this to Jackson on the way over, more to prepare him than anything else. He asked why, and I explained to him that the two of them didn't need to be sharing germs, and it would keep Grant from getting sicker. He thought about it for a minute, and then he had a light bulb moment. He immediately told me of his idea. "What if I don't wear a mask, and some of my "healthy boy" germs travel to him, and that would make him all better." I told him it was a GREAT idea, and I'd talk to the doctor about it when we got there, to see if it would work. ;)
When we first got there, Jackson, Grant, Kevin & I spent a little while in the kid's play room up on the 7th floor, while Em spoke to a nurse about some meds down in their room. The play area was full of puzzles, blocks, gadgets, slides, running ramps, and everything that a little boy or girl could desire. Grant even ran around a little bit, and especially enjoyed running down the slide. :)
The rest of our stay was in Grant's room, where he has a nice assortment of superheros, pirate stuff, coloring books, and every marker and crayon known to man. All these things, of course, are right up his alley. In the 5 or so hours total that I've spent with him since he got to Chapel Hill, he's been drawing and coloring for about 4.
As for "news," they are still satisfied with what they are seeing. He had an x-ray tonight, to see if the swelling in his chest has gone down enough to put the port in tomorrow. His white cell count is very low, and that is exactly what we want to see. The chemo is doing its work. Because of this low number, however, his resistance to outside infection is low. Because of this low resistance, they've decided to put off putting in a catheter, though which they'd start running the chemo. The outlook for a return home is still unsure. There will continue to be a number of chemo treatments, blood transfusions, platelets via iv, etc., and we ask for your faith and prayers that these events will all continue to be well received by his little body.
Mama and Jakey are sitting here next to me in my home in Raleigh, and they'll be staying here for a good part of the week. Jakey was some kinda thrilled to get to the room this afternoon (at the hospital.) His squeal got a good laugh out of the desk full of nurses right behind him. ;)
Thank you to all who have continued to be praying for Grant and the family. Emily and Kevin could use the prayers too. They were both mighty tired this afternoon and evening, even with all the good that has transpired.
Goodnight from Raleigh...
Leah
More good news...
Yesterday was day 1 of Grant's chemo treatments. It hasn't made him feel bad like chemo can do. For some reason, kids usually don't get as sick as adults do. He will have treatments on days 1, 4, and 8 (or something like that). The Dr. said that maybe, perhaps, if he's lucky, he might be able to come home for a few days between days 4 and 8. Emily will have to be very cautious with him. One of the things that chemo does is kill the white blood cells, which means he is very prone to other sicknesses. So, in other words, he may be home but won't really be able to see lots of visitors. :o( That's ok, though. We'll do whatever it takes to get the little man healthy again!
Grant's mailing address
Grant's mailing address is:
UNC Hospitals - Children's Hospital
Room 5C01
Grant Nelson
101 Manning Drive
Chapel Hill, NC 27514
UNC Hospitals - Children's Hospital
Room 5C01
Grant Nelson
101 Manning Drive
Chapel Hill, NC 27514
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