Little Buddy will be on TV!

Our sweet LB is going to be on TV on Sunday for the Primary Children's Telethon.  He will be on with the person who has been doing his music therapy at the hospital, and she will be talking about what a difference music therapy has made for him.  He'll even be doing a little bit of therapy with her on the telethon.

The telethon is on Sunday, May 31st on KSL channel 5.  LB will be on for about 3 minutes sometime between 11:00 - 11:45 am.

Just thought you'd all like to know!

Little Buddy definitely has the infection in his blood, so we are here at the hospital for at least the next 48 hours while they confirm whether the antibiotics have cleared it. Unfortunately, the infection may be hanging out in his central line (where he gets his IVs and Chemo), and if that is the case the line will have to be replaced. That will mean general surgery and an even longer stay for us. Needless to say, we hope that won't happen.

LB has been really enjoying his ice cream lately. In fact, he has been eating so well that he will go in for another swallow study tomorrow to see if he is ready to eat more foods and more calories every day. We have been hoping and praying for this, so wish us luck!

Update: On 5/24 we brought LB to ER because his temperature was high.
They did a bunch of blood cultures, tests, etc. and decided to send us home: the cultures take 24-48 hours to come back with anything.
We went home on Sunday evening. We made it right in time for Dad's birthday, and surprise surprise, he ate about 3 tbsp of icecream. He actually swallowed the whole thing!
He had a great Labor's Day with family and we went to bed happy and content.
Now, please allow me an egotistical note.
Today is my birthday, 5/26. So, to celebrate, the hospital called us at 1:00 AM and asked us to bring LB in immediately because he has some bacteria of the Graham Negative family growing in his blood. That's weird name for "bacteria that makes you very sick if not treated".
So, for my birthday I turned on the hazard lights, and drove from PG to Primary Children's in 30 minutes. Talk about a good bday present! :)
We made it to the hospital and by 3:30 AM we were already set up in our room, and went to bed. LB has a bit of a fever. They did another blood culture and now we have to wait 24-48 hours in the hospital to know what's going on and how to treat him. So, tonight, we're having a small bday party with the immediate family at the hospital room. How fun is that?

I'll let you know how LB progresses.

Thanks your continuing support and prayers on LB's behalf!!!
LB's dad.

He means the dog doesn't poop in a box, not LB.  Just wanted to clarify.... :)

One problem

He doesn't poop in a box. :(

George is here!

Hello Family and Friends! We are very happy to announce the arrival of the newest member of our family: George! He is Little Buddy's new poodle, and LB is very happy to have him! We got him from Stonehill Kennel in Connecticut, and he is just a wonderful dog! He is fully trained (a must with our life the way it is right now!), and has a very sweet, playful, loving personality. LB just loves him! I flew back to CT a week ago to learn his commands. It was a good trip, but I missed my little family and was very happy to be home again. George has integrated very well into our family. We can tell he will be good for our sweet LB. Dogs are often used for emotional therapy, and also to help sick individuals cope with their illnesses. George is great at getting LB to smile and laugh, and that in itself can be the very best medicine!

On a less happy note, LB spent several days in the hospital this past week with a high fever. It started out as a urinary tract infection, but the fever continued even after that cleared up, and the doctors still aren't sure why. We are back home now while we are waiting for some test results to come back. LB has had a low grade fever all day, but not as bad as it has been, which is wonderful. We will be keeping a very close eye on him the next few days, and hope we don't end up back in the hospital again.

I know we say this often, but thank you so much for your support, faith, and prayers. They make all the difference, and I don't know what we would do without all of you. I know without doubt that prayers are heard and answered. Thank you also for the house cleaning, meals, babysitting, etc. Most of the time I don't even know who has been here to help me, but that doesn't lessen my gratitude! I pray daily for blessings to be poured out on those who are helping us so much during this difficult time. My love and thanks to you all!

Quick note: Ben has a fever that won't go away. He has a urinary tract infection, so he's not as happy as usual; but that didn't stop him from having a good time here:

We enjoyed a good morning together, and he had a great time most of the time.

He might be going to the hospital this morning to see if there's any other source for his fever. We'll see.

Hello Everyone!
First of all: thanks for the prayers and support. LB has done really well with the chemo, considering.
LB has been doing a lot better. The chemotherapy was tough on him at first, but he is now mostly done with the throwing up and general feeling of desolation. He is smiling and enjoying life.
Big development: he's begun producing little voice sounds! A couple of times we caught an 'uh-huh' (for yes) in response to some question. The therapist said their last session was the best he's ever had. So, we're now stimulating him to produce more and more sounds.
We're also working on his balance by sitting him on a ball and having him maintain the balance there. We have fun playing the "Oh-Oh-LB-Is-Falling" game: I tilt him slightly while having my arms around him (holding his knees from behind), and he works on regaining his balance.
Another thing they taught us is that the brain manages the surroundings as divided through the central line of the body. So, if something is on the right side of his body, it's easier ("more natural" we could say) to grab it with the right hand than with the left. It takes more brain power to "cross the line".
When people get brain injuries, it's common for them to loose this ability to cross the line, and then, if you put something across the line and ask them to grab it with the "other side" hand, they will turn the whole torso to grab it.
The good news: LB has good "cross the line" ability right-left: i.e. he'll grab a ball on his left side with his right hand with very little effort. The opposite is a bit harder: he tends to rotate the torso to grab a ball on his right side with his left arm. But we discovered that his left side is weaker in most areas, so we're not worried. Actually, having this ability to cross the line is encouraging, when thinking about his future life: think how many times you "cross the line" in your daily life! (no pun intended)
One last thing: when helped to maintain balance, he will walk some steps! His legs are now strong enough that they can support his weight for a little while! If we let go he'll fall pretty quickly because his standing balance is not good yet, but his legs are strong enough, and that's progress too!
In short, he still has a long way to go, but he's progressing, and we are proud to see how much effort he puts into exercising, doing therapy, etc.
This week, LB's mom is getting a dog for LB. His name is George (Very Fitting: George as in G. Harrison!), and he'll be home on Thursday. It's a trained companion standard puddle, and we're very excited to have him come. He'll be a good friend for LB and will help with therapy, etc.
Thank you all for the continuing support and prayers and love. We've felt sustained by your efforts and prayers in our behalf.
Dad.