About Me

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Bakersfield, CA, United States
Hans was a busy, happy, sweet and fearless three year old when he was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma. He fought his disease like a "gladiator" for nearly 6 years. Hans was an animal lover to his core. He was 'guarded' at home by his three cats, Black, Orange and Cotton. He also had his Golden Retriever, Honey, to keep him company. Hans enjoyed swimming, biking, gardening, grilling (he had his very own grill!), horseback riding, playing video games, building Legos, and flipping between Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network and Animal Planet. Hans loved all members of his family and he was a loyal friend. He had to go through a lot of treatment in his life. But Hans powered through it. His attitude was let's get this done! His motivation was always to get back home, to his family, pets, favorite foods and pool.

Saturday, May 26, 2007

Saturday Morning

Hi,
Hans' visit to the clinic yesterday went pretty well. His platelets are actually starting to come up and his Hemoglobin and white count/ANC are holding their own. This all means that his stem cells have "engrafted" - the ultimate goal of transplant. Awesome news! So now Hans will go back to the regular Cancer Center Clinic to his Oncologist for future visits. We've "graduated" from the Bone Marrow Transplant Unit. His electrolytes were sort of okay as well, his sodium was outside the normal range by only one point and his potassium was perfect. The only numbers that aren't totally cooperating are his liver panel, they're a bit high. I've been instructed not to worry about this. So I'm not! The high numbers might be reflecting all the meds and TPN Hans has been on. Now Hans is totally off TPN, and the Fentanyl patch will not be replaced. He is down to his maintenance dose of his steroids and is not on any additional medications! We have an office visit with Dr. Russell on Thursday (no clinic 'til Thursday), and hopefully the liver panel will look more normal. That's my current prayer. Thanks again to so many of you how have kept Hans in your thoughts and prayers. All I can say is, it's working!

Socially, Hans is making slow strides. I tried to take him to the lunch date on Thursday, but he wasn't up for it. He was, however, up for part of the outdoor birthday party. I know some of his old buds were happy to see him out and about again. He stayed at the party for over an hour, and then he was ready to return home. I was pleasantly surprised, I wasn't sure if he'd even get out of the car. We'll just try to give him lots of opportunities and be supportive of whatever he's comfortable trying to do. This is a major adjustment for him, and I'm not sure he knows what to do. He told me this morning that he wanted to go to the clinic.

Have a Happy Safe and Fun Memorial Day Weekend!

Lara

2 comments:

Blair said...

So glad things are "calming down" a little, I bet it's...strange...to not have to go to any doctors for a few days! Hope y'all are having a good weekend, even though this weather SUCKS!

--B, K, the 4 E's, and little A!

Anonymous said...

Hi! So glad to hear the good news!I'm sure Hans will adjust soon to being with friends, he's such an amazing kid! Kathy gave me a recent photo of Hans and Elle, I have it framed and sitting in the living room, It's so nice for us to look at those beautiful smiles each day. Have a great week! Love, Cindy