Thirty Days and Waiting

Hello all. Otto has been doing ok these last two days.  He continues to be on antibiotics for the bacterial infection.  His fevers continue to come on occasionally, but now we are dealing with more low grade ones rather than high spikes.  Another good thing is that with all the blood cultures they continue to take, there continues to be no growth.  This means the antibiotics are doing their job. The big question is, why still all the fevers?  Otto had a CT Scan yesterday where we got more information.  Now it looks as though he has pneumonia.  We are still waiting to meet with the pulmonary team, but it looks like this is the case.  Hoping to get answers soon so this can be treated and done with. Please continue to say your prayers.  We are in need of each one.  We just want to get our boy through this rough patch. So grateful, Mark, Leigh, Otto, Tess and Lulu UPDATE: We met with the pulmonary team and they were inconclusi...

Otto's day has been up and down.  He continues to have moments of chills and fever.  New antibiotics were started yesterday, and it is the hope that it continues to treat the bacterial infection in his blood.  Just to ensure that there was no infection in the heart, Otto had another echocardiogram.  This turned out to show that his heart is perfectly normal.  That was a good sign.  Also, as a precaution, if Otto continues to have a fever into the night, he will be taken for CT scans sometime in the morning.  This is to check to make sure there is no fungal infections in his lungs.  Again, this is only to rule it out.  The doctors and physician assistant feel as though this is not the case, but need to rule it out anyway. Please keep those prayers coming.  We need all we can get. Hopeful and thankful, Mark, Leigh, Otto, Tess and Lulu

Happy Labor Day to everyone. What a nice invitation that the girls had received to go to the MRA with friends.  A big thank you to the Greenwood family for that.  The girls were so excited to join in the fun. Otto is definitely having a better day today.  Although he continues to have a fever, he's much more chipper and awake compared to the last few days.  After rounds this morning, it was discussed that they believe they know it is a strep infection from the normal bacteria that forms in the mouth.  That's the thing about being neutropenic.  Every day things can be more challenging and dangerous to the body.  Otto will continue on round the clock antibiotics.  The course of meds could change once the bacteria has completely grown out.  We will wait and see.  Otto's fevers have been trending down, so hopefully within the next few days he will be fever free.  Fingers crossed! Thanks so much for the love, prayers and support! ...

We’ve been here at Yale for a day and a half. Otto continues to have a fever.  He tested positive for a bacterial infection, however, we continue to wait to see which specific strand it is and which antibiotics will fully get rid of it. He continues to go through periods of feeling extremely hot followed by feeing chilled. He has little appetite, however, the doctors and nurses have reassured us that this is ok since his fever hasn’t broke yet. He will continue to get round the clock antibiotics until more information is learned. Until then, we continue to pray that he gets through this. Mark, Leigh, Otto, Tess and Lulu

We have been told before that at some point in time, Otto would develop a fever and would need to be back at the hospital. Last night, after a visit with friends, we took Otto back to Yale due to a high fever. The birthday boy had to go to the Emergency Room and was later admitted to Floor 7. So here’s the scoop. Otto has develop a bacterial infection. Test results are leaning towards an infection that is a result of every day bacteria that forms on our bodies. Due to his low ANC level, it turned into an infection his body cannot fight alone. So he’s on some antibiotics until his fever and bacterial infection is gone. He also needs to wait for his ANC level to rise before he’s allowed to go home again. Although this is a frustrating bump in the road, we are trying to view it as just that. The good thing is out of all the bacterial infections you can get, this is the one you want. So, no worries. But prayers are very welcome! Mark, Leigh, Otto, Tess and Lulu

Otto had a pretty good day yesterday. He was outside here and there enjoying some golf swinging for some time. Today Otto is 13. It’s crazy to think that so much time has passed since this guy entered the world. Today is also a Clinic day. After waiting for numbers to come in, we found out that he needed some more platelets and red blood cells. He must have really outdid himself playing golf! Lol! So, we are almost done after being hooked up to bags for almost 6 hours. Some people might feel bad, but no worries. He had to get Benadryl prior to starting due to Tuesday’s hive reaction, so he has slept through almost the whole thing. He’s hoping to get to see some people tonight and this weekend. This chemo may be hitting him a little more than before, but he won’t let it stop him from hanging out with some of his buds. Thanks to all of you who sent him well wishes. Another thank you for the prayers and positive vibes as we continue to wait for those numbers to rise. Mark, Leigh...

What we thought would be a quick counts check turned into spending the day at the Yale Clinic.  Otto ended up needing platelets and red blood cells.  Midway through platelet transfusion, Otto had an allergic reaction to them.  This prolonged our stay a bit.  They needed to take care of the reaction and them send for a Rohgam (spelling?) shot.  Once things settled, Otto started his red blood cells and all was good.  This journey is starting to be known as the rollercoaster marathon (lol). Now we are home and resting.  We are having a follow up appointment on Friday to check counts once again.  He may need some more blood products before the long weekend.  Praying all goes well the next few days! Mark, Leigh, Otto, Tess and Lulu