We had a very exciting day yesterday celebrating Max's 4th birthday. Considering this time last year we celebrated this occasion in hospital, it is another happy reminder of just how far he has come in the last twelve months.
Here are some brief points of his medical issues this past month:
Weight
Max's appointment with Dr KT in early June brought with it the unfortunate observation that he had lost a little weight. It has been a constant struggle over the past year to get him to put weight on, so to find out he had gone backwards since the last visit was a concern. He was ordered to come back to hospital two weeks later where thankfully, like a reverse weight watchers meeting, the scales showed that he had gone back up a little bit. Hopefully the weight loss was just a temporary set back, possibly triggered by the minor cold he had suffered the week prior.
Ears
It was also observed that Max had an over abundant supply of wax in his ears, so Dr KT ordered it to be, literally, vacuumed out. The ENT (Ear Nose & Throat) registrar was very impressed with how tolerant Max was during the 'clean up' procedure. Under the mountain of wax a small infection was noted, so drops were prescribed to be administered in both ears three times a day for two weeks (a very time consuming exercise). We were pleased to find at the follow up ENT visit that Max's ears remained clear and that the infection had resolved. The ENT registrar also thought that as Max's ears were so clear, it was a good time to have his post-chemo hearing check done. Max went to have his audiology test done on Tuesday, which he passed with flying colours.
Eyes
Bianca mentioned to Dr KT that Max often rubbed his eyes when irritated, to the point were he would flip his eyelids inside out. She asked Bianca whether Max had tears when he cried to which Bianca replied 'No'. To help bring some relief to his dry eyes, Max has been prescribed eye drops, which should be inserted three times a day. However this proves to be impossible. Despite his braveness in handling a variety of treatments to all parts of his body over the journey, Max simply cannot stand having eye drops put in his eyes.
Skin
Max's skin continues to show little signs of improving. Dr KT is currently working through the paperwork to get Max onto a new medication that according to a small study has had some success in treating GVHD. We have just realised that we have mentioned this drug before in the February blog but it wasn't pursued any further as, at that point we all thought his skin may have got better on its own. We should know by the next visit whether this application has been successful.
