Brody got to have a drink and a popsicle today.... He is still in the process of recovering from surgery but things are still headed in the right direction

Brody is continuing to improve.  

Today his NG tube was capped and he is on a clear liquids diet now.  He had an orange popsicle and a tiny bit of grape juice today.    As thirsty as he was in ICU,  I would have thought he would have been extra excited about this news, but he didn't really care too much about drinking today.

The ostomy care nurse came by today to train us on Brody's ostomy care and to change the bag.   I was little overwhelmed and pretty grossed out.   I managed to stay back where Brody couldn't see my face.   I didn't want him to be worried.   It all made me very nauseous.   I am sure we can handle it and will adjust to things but it may take me awhile to not fee sick in the process.  Brody saw his stoma for the first time during the training too.  He freaked out a bit.   His words were,  "Oh my God!!!  What is THAT!!!"   His stoma is really large and protruding a lot right now.   We explained calmly what it is and that it will get smaller.  It didn't take him too long to calm down.  

I talked with Dr. Cripe today via phone.   He explained,  he plans to have Brody complete PET CT and MRI again on Thursday.   These will all be compared against scans since Brody first entered the HSV trial.  He will also have the radiologist compare  CT scans done while Brody was on cyclophosphamide and topotecan regimen.   The goal is to determine which is better at slowing Brody's tumor growth.   He is also having the surgery team review the scans he has done on Thursday this week to determine if surgery to debulk the tumor could be a possibility.  Dr.  Cripe is also reviewing possible chemo options to add to the cyclophosphamide and topotecan regimen. 

I contacted Genekey too to see if they could provide any treatment ideas  based on their results.  Dr. Leherer will be calling me tomorrow to discuss these via phone.  

Brody was in good humor today considering how little sleep he got last night.   His oxygen alarm and his pain were keeping him up most the night. He enjoyed a visit from his brothers, Papaw,  and Uncle Dan today.   He is greatly looking forward to seeing them again sometime tomorrow.

Well I better get some sleep. Hopefully Brody has a much more restful night tonight too.