the new sandbox

Borrowing the concept from Musical Daddy's entry on the nephrology consults, here are the changes in The Boy's medicine:

He is now on two anti-hypertensives and a diuretic instead of three hypertensives and a diuretic. He takes Isradipine (that's the correct spelling) three times a day, Enalapril/Vasotec two times a day, and Diuril in the morning. These are all small volumes of liquid, already mixed. The dose of the Enalapril is lower than it was a little while ago and is twice a day instead of once a day. The Isradipine is not as strong of a medicine as the Minoxidil. We'll monitor, of course, to be sure that his blood pressures stay okay.

He also will be taking less BiCitra, only twice a day, and they may even wean him from it entirely. Good thing, because he's not fond of it.

The big change, which may be temporary, or may not be, is the nebulizer. Breathing problems are another issue to be filed under "everybody has problems," and I am certain that many kids need them from time to time. For us, it's just another thing to add to the fun. For tomorrow and the next day, he gets it every 6 hours. After that, he is eligible for it every 4 hours when he is awake but only requires it twice a day unless he seems to need it more. He isn't fond of it. The treatment that we gave at 6 PM consisted of having to wake him up (since the thing doesn't work unless it is held vertically) and following his head around as he moved it around on Musical Daddy's shoulder. I would have said "rested" but resting implies stillness.

We can do this, just like we do anything else.

Next week should be the surgery to remove whatever is on his liver. It shouldn't be major but won't be just a simple in and out either. I hope that we are sent directly to the oncology floor after the surgery for his recovery, because we are already starting to "like" it there.