Day +24

Hello Everyone! I hope you had a wonderful weekend! I know I did! We all had a great time at the wedding and everything went perfectly. Renee was GORGEOUS, Mark was handsome, and they are now Mr. and Mrs. Henderson! Congratulations guys!
Erik and I had the pleasure of going to church together on Sunday. It was the second time we have been able to go, as a couple, since Dylan's diagnosis....that's almost 4 months!! I have really missed going and it was great to see my church family and worship with them. Pastor Skip had Erik and I come to the front to talk about baby D. Erik talked a little bit and then handed the microphone over to me. How was I supposed to talk without crying? So I just talked while crying...I think people could decipher a few things that I said. :) After service we were given lots of hugs and a lot of encouragement--it was AWESOME--our support group is AMAZING!!!

Baby D is doing well. His white count is progressing beautifully!! On Sunday, it was 3000 and today he is at 4300!!! WOW!! Praise God!! He is really working in his little body!! Dylan has had a rough day today that has continued from Yesterday. He is very cranky, which is VERY unlike him, and he can not get comfortable or fall asleep. He has had probably 5 hours of sleep in the past 24 hours and is overly tired. He has been given meds to help him calm down and also Morphine for pain, but they do not seem to work. Please pray for him tonight. He needs some sleep so badly and his little body is trying to tell us something--we just do not know what! If only he had a diagnostic computer in him that could tell us exactly why he is hurting and what is wrong....poor little guy!! We gave him a bath at 5pm and he threw up some stomach acid after bath and that seems to have helped a little. He has been sleeping for the past hour and will hopefully get at least a good couple of hours of rest. He is still not interested in eating. This is disappointing to me, but I know it is normal for kids who have gone through this much chemo and transplant. It may take up to 6 months!! Please pray that his appetite comes back soon and that he can digest the food he is given. We were originally scheduled to get discharged tomorrow, Tuesday, but he is still needing the help of oxygen every once and a while and the doctors want him acting as normal as possible before releasing him. So we may be here for a few more days.

We found a place to stay for the next couple of months. It's a cute little condo with plenty of space for all of our "stuff". Babies come with sooooo much stuff! Ha!! And I guess I do too!! Many people have been asking for an address to send cards to, so here is our new address :)

Michelle Praskins
101 S Players Club Dr #28102
Tucson, AZ 85745

Some people have also been asking about how they can help tangibly with finances or gift cards. Right now, gas cards are needed. Gas is expensive and we want to be able to help our family come down and visit also--so gas cards would be greatly appreciated. I know for sure they have Chevron and Shell Gas stations. :) If you want to send a grocery store card, Fry's or Albertson's is good. THANK YOU!!!

Thank you to everyone for your encouragement through hugs, care packages, notes, cards, emails, and facebook messages! You guys help us more than you can ever know!! I hope to have great news tomorrow about going home soon! Until then, have a great EVENING!!

P.S. Please pray for Erik, he is not feeling well and went to urgent care today. Because of Dylan's delicate immune system, we have to be EXTRA careful about being sick. They tested Erik for the Flu and Strep, but the tests came back negative. They said that he may have the early stages of the flu and gave him some medicines that should keep it from getting worse. He has not seen D in 2 weeks and is disappointed and sad, but he should be able to come down later this week. Thanks for the prayers!!
Love,
Michelle