Unencumbered

There were a lot of other doctors’ appointments that took place on Thursday and Friday … or didn’t take place. The vein mapping for placement of a dialysis catheter was postponed. It had been double booked with the chest CT, which obviously took precedence especially due to the concern with the liver. The vein mapping, as I explained last week, is for something we hope is way off in the future and actually something we hope never ever comes. So that one’ll just have to be rescheduled (or not).

Then on Friday, Mark took Austin to have his stitches removed. Remember how the hand surgeon had been upset with the type of stitches the ER used? Well, with good reason. He removed the three from Austin’s palm (the least sensitive and least mangled part of his hand) amidst so much screaming and squirming that we rescheduled for this Thursday so they can do it while Austin’s under sedation. They’ll just administer propophol through a mask and rip them out in ten minutes, saving the little guy any more unnecessary misery.

The hand is definitely healing though. When we change the dressing covering it, I’m no longer worried about infection since you can tell it’s all closed up nicely. Thanks goodness there.

And, and this is the best part of all, his Thursday labs revealed that his creatinine has lowered yet again. Still not in the normal range for a child his age, but getting mighty close.

Every time I look at him dancing about in his goofy way, playful and happy and unencumbered by disease (or — often — by clothes), I feel so thankful we have made this choice. Come what may, we will never regret having these days.