A Curious Case Of The Sneezers (Day +23)

I know it has been a while since I have posted. Medically, things are moving in the right direction. Alex's white cells and red cells continue to grow and multiply, and he hasn't needed a transfusion in quite a few days.

He did start to show a bit of a rash on his arms and neck again, so the decision was made to put him on steroids (although only a half-dose), to help his body and new immune system try to get along.

The number of active pumps and tubes going into his body has reduced, as his mouth sores have vanished, and he can start to take more medications by mouth.

We have also weened him off of his TPN and Lipids (the IV nutrition), and gave him an appetite stimulant. It seems that he has rounded the bend, and is starting to eat and drink without the nausea that plagued his earlier attempts. Today, he has eaten three individual boxes of cereal, and some pasta noodles, some milk, and a Nutragrain cereal bar, and it is only 2:30!

So, we have been moving right along, hoping to blow this joint next week. The main focus now is getting his caloric and liquid high enough without IV support, to sustain him at home. Each day we are replacing another IV medication with an oral version. He still has a bit of a struggle with wanting to take them. The memory of his nausea, and not being able to keep down a pill is still clear in his mind. We hope that with each successful dose, he will be positively reinforced, and we will reduce the number of battles over oral medications.

Yesterday afternoon Alex started sneezing. At first, it was just every once in a while, and then it grew more and more frequent as the evening progressed. He would grab a tissue each time he sneezed, but there wasn't a lot of "stuff" to wipe. I started getting nervous that he might be coming down with some type of cold. The nurses and doctors took note, and reassured me that he was already on anti-virals, antibiotics, and anti-fungals, so they were just going to watch and see what he did.

About 7pm, Alex took his appetite stimulant, and started to get interested in food. By 9pm, he was asking for a big slice of pepperoni pizza (which had been graciously provided by Candelighters earlier that evening). Alex ate that piece within 20 minutes, and hasn't sneezed since.

All night, and all day today, the sneezes have been absent. No runny nose, no cough, no lethargy. So, it seems that pepperoni pizza is a cure for the sneezers - who'da thunk?

Realistically, it could have been something in the air, who knows, obviously pepperoni doesn't cure sneezes, but it has been a fun story to tell!