Day 24 Thursday, 8 June, 2006

Today continues yesterday. Good news, and more of it. If we were living in Lake Woebegone, where residents fear too mild a winter might incur Divine notice and the following winter will be extra bitter to even things out, we would be worried. But this is Westwood, where there is no winter. And we have from the start not only welcomed Divine notice, but we have had the audacity to implore Divine scrutiny. It is quite too late to hide.

Aaron did so well yesterday that the CT scan, interminably postponed for 5 days now, is cancelled. (Which goes to show that some things, if ignored, actually will go away.)

Ventilator “weaning” continues, with Aaron doing more of the breathing work. His sedatives (Ativan and Fentanyl) are adjusted up and down, always trending down in this chemical weaning process, seeking the elusive sweet spot between pain and somnolence…between coughing and breathing…between agitation and calm. Weaning…leaving the comfort zone…is not so easy, but it is the path to progress and the way to victory.

Aaron’s eyes not only open, they move slightly from straight ahead. He slowly moves fingers, hands, arms, toes, feet, and legs with purpose and deliberation.

In Aaron’s bone marrow, the stem cells are beginning to recover. 19 days ago, a bone marrow biopsy extracted a sliver of marrow and a chip of bone to assess the enemy and chart the onslaught. Today, another sliver and chip are removed. Tomorrow, the enemy’s position will again be assessed.

Author: a. c. boydston

Aaron is Alive!

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