Friday morning Ryley woke up with his hands and feet swollen and very sore. He even had trouble opening his door to get out of his room. We decided to take him down to the South Calgary Urgent Care clinic and see what was going on. They did an excellent job of getting us in quickly and we saw the doctor almost right away. She was worried that it was possibly a reaction his kidney's were having to his strep throat the week before. She wanted an x-ray, blood work and a urine test. Almost as soon as she left we were off to x-ray and when we got back the lab tech was there to take blood. Ryley is not near as brave as Karlee when it comes to needles. We had to wrap him in a blanket so he couldn't move and he still cried like a little girl before they even poked him. Once the needle was in he was kind of interested in what was happening and started watching and asking questions. As soon as she left we were off for a pee. I was rather nervous holding the bottle for a kid who can't hit the toilet to save his life, but somehow he managed to hit the bottle without any issues. After a short wait for the results she let us know that everything had come back normal. She also let us know even if there was something wrong they don't treat it, but just monitor blood pressure. We went home and Ryley got another day off of school.
Saturday the KCCFA but on the Halloween Howler in the gym at the Alberta Children's Hospital. Since Ryley probably didn't have the flu and was otherwise healthy they both dressed up and had a great time. They had a huge contingent of volunteers and staff there to ensure the kids enjoyed themselves. We dropped them off and headed over to Nick's Steak House for some appetizers and a drink. When we got back the kids had enjoyed going through all the stations and got a bag of candy. Half way though the event they all went outside and released balloons for a young boy who just lost his battle with cancer. The memorial service was starting at the same time the kids released the balloons. I'm not sure the kids understood, but it definitely reminded the adults that not everyone wins their battle. After the party we stopped by Grandma's and had some Swiss Chalet.
Sunday was Halloween and we went over to Jay and Carlynn's about 3:30 in the afternoon for a little pre-trick or treating festivities. There were 10 parents and 10 kids there. They hung a piñata in the garage and all the kids took turns taking a swing or two at it. The kids loved it and we quickly saw how giving kids a big stick and a blindfold could very quickly result in a $10,000 cheque from American's Funniest Home Videos. When if finally split open the kids seemed more excited about it finally breaking open than about the candy flying out of it. We all enjoyed a spaghetti supper and then headed out trick or treating with the kids. They all had a great time going out as a group and running from house to house. There were several excellent scary houses that we went to and the kids were a little scared at some of them. Around 7:30 our 2 decided they had had enough and were ready to go home for the night.
Monday was a clinic day for Karlee, but it was an early clinic day. They had to be at the hospital for 8:30 instead of the normal 9am. Ryley made it to school for the first time in a week. Karlee had a pretty routine clinic day with nothing special. She did get to see Dr. Lucy instead of Dr. Singh this week. Dr. Lucy has a special way with kids. She seems to always get a positive reaction from them. Karlee has an ECG and echocardiogram scheduled for November 22nd. They want to establish a baseline before the delayed intensification phase starts in December. They are concerned that some of the chemotherapy drugs can affect the heart. They are confident that the low dose that Karlee will be receiving will not affect her.
Tuesday was another Beaver night, but this night we were making and erupting volcanoes. The kids really enjoyed building them and then adding the ingredients to make them "erupt". Wednesday night we decided to take it to the next level and tried the Mentos and Diet Coke experiment. It was very disappointing as the pop only exploded about 7 feet in the air. We have been told that we need to use only regular coke... none of that diet stuff. Maybe we will try again on the weekend.Wednesday night Mom headed out to a jewelry party and Dad and the kids stayed home and watched a movie. Mom bought a nice necklace with a Believe charm, a Life, Hope, Love charm and the birthstones of both Karlee and Ryley.
Friday we did a little yard work, took down all the Halloween stuff and got up all the outside Christmas decorations. Jennifer decided we should wrap some of our large tree this year instead of doing so many lights in the back yard. We had a minor issue with the inflatable Santa. He is going to need some minor surgery to repair a torn boot, but should be as good as new very soon.
Ryley made it through a whole week of school which was a nice change from the past couple of weeks. He is still having some issues with the skin on his hands and feet now peeling off. It almost looks like they are healing after a minor burn. Hopefully this will pass quickly and they will stop bugging him. Karlee is doing very well, but she is starting to tire a little more rapidly. The next few weeks of chemo may start to wipe her out again as they keep increasing the dosage. Her counts have started to head down over the last few visits. Her ANC is now down to 800. At this level she is more susceptible to catching colds and other infections. We are not on house arrest yet, but we do need to careful about where she goes. She can't be in close contact with other people who could be carrying viruses.
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