Monday, November 30, 2009

Good evening. I don't know how low the temp was this morning; but when I
checked it at 8-ish it was 15 degrees!! I love the fire in the wood-
burning stove; wearing all my winter clothes; cuddling up under a blanket;
etc. So I am enjoying the cold. I can't wait for the snow to really fly!
Decorating our house in snowmen was an easy decision; I have been given so
many snowmen 'things' by people who know me well!

Ok, here is the haps on David's oncology appointment. My Facebook friends
already have a little 'heads up' on what is happening. Basically, David
did NOT gain any weight over the last two weeks. We talked about what to
do. Connie asked how opposed to an NG tube David was. He said he was
opposed to it. But as we were sitting there trying to figure out what to
do; just talking about getting him to eat made him nauseous. He sat there
with his head on my shoulder. She suggested Megace; an appetite stimulant.
We are going to give that a try. She said she wants to see him in 4 weeks
and see how he is doing. Then she said she would just give him a quick
check-up since we were there. Well, just walking from the chair to the
table (all of maybe 4 feet) raised his heart rate 20 bpm. When he told her
he has no energy; and I told her that he got so tired just coming
downstairs and picking up his laundry basket of clean clothes; she said
she wants to see him in two weeks, not four. She said she is concerned.
She said he is malnourished, and that is partly why he has no appetite. I
offer him food, he just won't eat. So we are going to try the Megace, and
if it doesn't work, then he gets the feeding tube. We are also talking
about some therapy for him. There could be some underlying reason why he
has this food aversion. The fact that Connie is concerned is what has us
very concerned. Therapy has been suggested to me in the past, and I was
really hoping to avoid it. David is a VERY quiet child, and I am not sure
he would open up to someone else. He was talking to a child psychologist,
named Christy, in the hospital; and it took a LONG time for him to even
make eye contact with her! So we are pretty much at a loss to know what to
do. We would covet your prayers for our precious son. He needs his protein
intake to be upped, substantially. He is eating, and I was surprised that
he hadn't gained at all. I feel like he is in the same position he was in
a year and a half ago when he got the feeding tube~~his body is unable to
gain the weight. Couple that with his not wanting to eat, and getting
nauseous just thinking about it; and you have a recipe for a malnourished
child!! *sigh* We soooooo hate seeing our child go through this. We do NOT
want to put him through the feeding tube again. But we will do whatever it
takes to get him healthy!! Thank you so much for your prayers, we need
them sooooo badly!

On a different note, David was cleared for PT again! Connie said we aren't
going to worry about range of motion; that is good. Dr. O is happy with 90
degree bend, David's is better than that. I don't know what his bend is,
but that is NOT what we are going to work on. We are going to focus on
muscle strengthening. His leg does still (again) buckle on him a lot, so
he does need to work on getting the muscles stronger. Of course, he needs
to eat more protein to help that area, too. He said he is looking forward
to working on those muscles, so that is good. He wants then to get
stronger, and he knows what he has to do to get there. So I will be giving
them a call tomorrow.

Thank you for visiting and checking up on David. Thank you to whoever you
are who deposited money into David's account; we sure need it! I pray and
ask God to give you an extra special blessing for the blessing you have
given us. Thank you. Thank you for your prayers; please keep them
coming!!! Have a good night. Sleep tight, and stay warm. God bless you
all. We love you.

Kristi and the Koury Klan

Three out of every five children diagnosed with cancer suffer from long-
term or late onset side effects.