Slumber Party

I could never be a nurse or do anything medical. I can't stand the sight of blood. I've been at the hospital all day today, and every time I go stand by T's bed to watch him or talk to him I get queasy. He bleeds from his mouth every now and then because he has mouth sores in there, and sometimes they suck the blood out of his throat because it pools. Watching anything remotely close to that makes me light headed and weak feeling, and I have to go sit down on the other side of the room. I guess I'm a wimp, but whatever...I can't handle it.

They did his spinal tap today, and they were able to do the procedure right in his room. It was successful, and they were able to get chemo in there and drain a good amount of spinal fluid. He still has a good amount of fluid left, but it's all about the baby steps! Hasn't anyone seen What About Bob??

The nurses found some yeast in his breathing tube today, which is normal to find there, but they also did a scan and saw fluffy white stuff in his lungs. They think it's yeast in his lungs, but they're not certain. Tomorrow they're going to do a bronchoscopy to make sure, but until then they are giving him some kind of anti-fungal medicine. This medicine is really easy on the organs, so his body should tolerate it nicely. A bronchoscopy includes them taking a small camera and running it down into his lungs through his breathing tube. They'll look around and then put a type of saline that has a fancy name into his lungs to flush them, and then they'll suck it back out and test what comes out. They're really concerned about T getting an infection because his counts are either very low or at zero, and AML patients are extra susceptible to infections.

I always like to do a little bit of research about procedures that I don't know about so I know exactly what they will be doing to T. During my research of a bronchoscopy, I found some really cool pictures of the bronchoscope they'll be using. If you Youtube search "bronchoscopy," you can actually watch procedures that others have had. I asked the nurses if the doctors will record T's procedure, and they said that they probably will to take pictures from it. One of the nurses said that if we asked, they might download the video they take for us. I think that would be awesome, but we'll see what happens...I will definitely put it up on the blog if I get it though. Fingers crossed!

I really like this picture because they have everything labeled.

"Real life" version:

Chad had a trainer in his first area (Sevilla) named Elder Banbury. They had a lot in common and came to be really good friends. We heard a lot of stories about the two of them through email and got pictures. Well, Elder Banbury (now Parker Banbury) just got home from his mission yesterday, and decided that he wanted to come down and see Matthew today. The first thing he wanted to do when he got home was meet Matthew because he said that Chad said so many good things about him on the mission before and after he got sick. Chad and Matthew have always had the best relationship. So tonight we had the pleasure of finally meeting Parker and his entire family. He came with his parents and two sisters. Hey Chad, Parker has a really cool family and I think you will really like them when you get home. They're really laid back like us, but I'm sure Parker has already told you all about them.

Parker brought a sword home from Chad that Chad had purchased a while ago. Chad didn't tell any of us that he bought T a sword, so it was a total surprise to all of us. Parker and his family smuggled the sword into the hospital in a camping chair bag, which was awesome. In T's room, he laid the sword across T's chest, and when a nurse came in and saw that she got a little freaked out. We could tell that Matthew was trying really hard to open his eyes to see everyone, but he can't quite do that yet. Watching him struggle is very sad, but the good thing is that the neurologist said he won't remember anything. While the Banbury family was here we talked about Chad and his crazy adventures when he was home, and other good times. It was a fun visit. And Parker, welcome home!

I'm sleeping at the hospital tonight so my parents can have a break. It's not as fun a slumber party as our last one, but I'm still glad to be here for my brother. It's very quiet, and all I have to listen to are the machines and nurses opening things and pushing buttons.. I don't know how this poor kid can stay sane with all of the noises around him. We have his ipod playing constantly near his head during the day to try to drown out the hospital sounds, but they are still irritating after so many hours.

Parker Banbury and T:

It was cool to see how loving Parker was towards Matthew. He has never met him before, but he was holding his hand and stood by his side for a really long time. I was really touched watching Parker's love towards his friend's little brother/best friend.

Matthew hates country music, especially the song "All Summer Long" by Kid Rock. He hates that song more that anything. Well we're all about getting reactions out of Matthew to show that he is responsive, so I was thinking...maybe I can play that song for him to see what he does. My mom said absolutely not, but...she's not here anymore. Plus, it's kind of my responsibility as his sister to pick on him, even when he has cancer. It will give him a sense of how things used to be back in the good old days.

Cindy Johnson made this really cool gift for Matthew. She had a lot of families from the Crossroads Park Ward go over to her house to sign these amazing paper flowers she made. They were really colorful and cute, and they all said really nice things on them. Crossroads Park Ward is the best. I'm trying really hard to love my new ward, but it's hard because of what I left. By the way CPW family and Chad, me and Sakeri just got a calling in the nursery...there are 18 kids. There will be two other couples to help us out though. (I think). Anyways, thank you Cindy and CPW!

Many people have been bringing things like treats, inspirational gifts, etc., but it's so hard to take pictures of them while I'm not living with my parents anymore. Just know that my family keeps a journal of what people bring and we are very thankful for everything. You are not forgotten, it's just almost impossible to get everything up on this blog.