Twenty-Two {day 22}

Every morning, somewhere around 4am, the night-time nurse draws Sam's blood for the lab. This blood is sent down to the laboratory, where it is analyzed and the teensy tiny neutrophils are counted.

And then, usually around 7:30am, the resident comes in to do a morning exam. This person also has, usually, read the lab report. Residents change regularly -- they do one-month stints on the HOT unit for the most part.

But starting at about 6:30am, there is what seems to be a flurry of morning activity in the room. Everyone does their best to be quiet, but the nurse is in and out, the housekeepers usually empty the trash, and it just seems that there's a lot more activity. Each time the door opens, I pop my head up, hoping it's The Person With The Lab Numbers. And if it isn't? I pretend to be asleep...but I'm not really.

(Oh, and let's all remember that I am terribly nearsighted so it's often a guess as to who is walking in the door based on the general blurry shape and color of their clothes. I've gotten to be a good guesser.)

This morning, at about 7:30am, the resident came in. He is a really good guy, and Sam seems to like him a lot. He came over, asked me about Sam's night, and said that he would let him sleep and examine him later. Then I said, (trying desperately to sound nonchalant and not DESPERATE) "do you have his labs?"

"Oh!" he said, like it wasn't important at all. "Sure! Well, his ANC is only 22."

ONLY!? 22!!?

"Twenty-two is NOT only!" I said. "Twenty-two is a NUMBER!" (I'm sure he thought I had gone mad at this point.) "Twenty-two is SOMETHING! Twenty-two on day 22!"

He laughed a little and agreed.
And then I did a little happy dance.

Is it a great number? No. But it is a number, and a good sign that Sam is headed in the right direction: up! (And in Sam-historical terms, it is the earliest day that he "got numbers" and that is a good thing.)

And so we continue to wait and wonder and hope and prepare....while eating hamburgers and smoothies, doing laps and and homework, being sweet and snarky to nurses and doctors...and all that jazz.

Recording laps

Smoothie recipe -- turns out that food service will make this one for us!

Sam had two visitors today from school -- he was so excited to take a science test, a math test, and a spelling test!

Holy cannoli, check out all those laps!

Sam has actually been in a spectacular mood. He chats with doctors and nurses, he is friendly to folks we meet, he flirts with babies and he pokes fun at his parents. Overall, he's been a lot of fun to be with in the last few days. He's still ornery when he wants to be, and there is far more Sponge Bob in my life than I could ever wish on anyone, but let me tell you, this is my wonderful kid and I'm so glad his sparkle is shining through.

So we wait...