Well, we had to have one last "Hurrah" now didn't we?? After being out of the hospital for over 2 years, we were admitted for fever and low blood counts on Sunday evening. Eli's hemoglobin and platelets had come down quite a bit (something else that hasn't happened since he was on maintainance) which had me quite worried. On Monday we were thinking if the counts weren't up he would need a blood transfusion on Tuesday....well, on Tuesday everything had gone up!! Yea!! Unfortunately, we had to wait until 4pm and be fever free to be released. All morning, no fever. All afternoon, no fever. Then at 4pm....101 degrees!! Ugggggggg!! So we stayed.

Yesterday his counts continued to rebound, and the oncologist said with the blood counts he has now we could go home. We got his IVIG transfusion and left the hospital around 7:30pm...and as we were walking down the hallway going to the parking garage, Eli turns to me and says, "That was fun!"...AMAZING!! Sure, if you call being stuck in a tiny room for 72hours fun, that was a blast....but it sure does give me perspective. Yes, we were in the hospital, but he wasn't hurting or extrememly sick. It was an incovenience, and that is an amazing blessing!!

We did get to visit with all of the nurses that we haven't seen in such a long time. Funny, I used to be terrified of hospitals and now it feels like a homecoming. I enjoyed that part of it. Such an amazing place with incredibly dedicated people working with these kids!!

Eli's teachers and class were great. Miss Ann came and brought the most amazing balloons that everyone commented on and the class made a book for him and some signs from the school. He was delighted to look and them and talk about all of his friends. His "girlfriend" Adelyn even called and chatted while we were there!!

My parents really helped out this week. John has already begun work in Tampa and that means I am flying solo. My mom stayed with the boys during the evening and my wonderful friends here kept them in the afternoon. But it is great to be home.

Since his counts dropped so low, we will be working our way back up to the dose of chemo that he was on. This means that we should be able to enjoy high counts for a month or so while we get things straight. I don't think I mind this at all at this point.

Thanks for checking in. Hopefully things won't be this exciting again any time soon.

Maria

Again I am sooooo thankful for my amazing support system that I have here.