Update/Retraction :) from Keith: July 25, 2008

So, my better half has convinced me that writing a blog entry on two hours sleep as I did in my last contribution was likely unwise. I admit I was extremely cranky and carried things much too far.

Thus, CHLA is decidedly NOT the "eleventh circle of hell." Of course, there have been bad moments that we've had there: Taylor was diagnosed there and all her sickest moments have been spent there. The reality, though, is that CHLA is much more heaven than hell. The dedicated doctors and nurses who work there are the reasons that Taylor has fought her cancer so successfully. So while I probably tend to air out the negatives rather than the positives in my blog entries (after all this is a welcome form of release to me), be assured that we are thankful every day that Taylor is a CHLA patient and that we would not have it any other way.

Similarly, my blog entry may have made suggested that the Emergency Department doctors are not "thorough" or even "competent." That is, of course, not the case. It is just that Taylor has a specific set of needs and treatments that stem from her disease and she is not the typical ED patient for whom the doctors must reach a diagnosis and treatment plan. Although it is no fun to spend the night in the Emergency Room for anyone, they have always provided Taylor with first-rate care, even if we have sometimes suggested alternate treatments.

I certainly apologize to anyone at CHLA (I've heard no objections, but would certainly understand if some were made) if my last blog entry unfairly characterized the hospital or Taylor's wonderful treatment.

I feel less charitable towards the McDonald's in the hospital, however. I NEEDED that Diet Coke the other night. Not having any soda available whatsoever was the straw that broke my back. While I could have obtained soda from a vending machine in the hospital, it would not have presented me the cold, icy elixir which I sought. I remain cranky with McDonald's.

Kris had hoped to provide her own blog entry backing off my comments in Monday's update. Alas, Taylor developed a fever late last night (11:15, do they ever happen earlier? apparently not) and she accompanied Taylor to the hospital. All of the beds on 4W are occupied so they spent the night in the Emergency Department (a truly awful experience, I can attest). Taylor will be assigned a bed today, although one had not yet materialized as of noon.

Thus, it will be another long weekend in the hospital. Her counts usually do not rebound until Tuesday. So, she'll probably be there until then. It's no fun for her to be cooped up in the hospital for such long stretches of time. No 6 year-old should be stuck with that. Still, this week marked the passage of 6 months since her initial diagnosis and clear progress has been made. As July comes to a close, we really only have 3 or so months of this left. I cannot wait for the treatments to end.