Soon

So it has been a few days since I last wrote but with us leaving in the next few days you can imagine how busy we have been lately. We just returned from getting Parker's injection at Sick Kids in Toronto. We got there a little earlier today so it was not very busy in Clinic. Not that Friday is usually a very busy day since it is only for immunology patients and not allergy patients like Tuesday.

Parked weighed in at 12.155 kg (about 26 and 3/4 lbs), showing us that all that fish he has been eating has definitely paid off. Of course, after his weigh in mom held him for the last time while he got his injection of PEG-ADA at Sick Kid's for the last time. Parker and daddy are going to Sick Kid's on Monday for an injection, but mommy will be staying at home to finish things up there as we are leaving early next week. Once we get to Milan, Parker will be receiving his injections on Monday and Thursday as there will be no one t give him an injection until then. That is why we are giving him his injection on the Monday rather than the Tuesday.

Parker also gave blood for the last time before leaving for Italy. The immunology team at Sick Kids wants to obtain a little more information about Parker before we leave (EBV line), so for that reason, some blood was taken. At the same time a blood differential and CBC are also going to be performed. This way I will get to know Parker's neutrophil counts before he leaves for Italy. Recall that Parker was neutropenic before he began his PEG-ADA injections last year. His neutrophil count has been hovering around 2500 the past few months which is normal. If it drops below 1500 it describes mild neutropenia; however, I would be upset if dropped below 2000.

Lastly, we took a trip upstairs to the immunology department to visit one of the nurses. While we were there, we also saw Parker's immunologist and the chief of the immunology department. He had never seen Parker in person before so it was nice that he got to see the little monkey before hie left for Italy. It was a nice visit for everyone. Although we are going to Milan for treatment, we will always remember that Parker is a patient of the immunology team at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, first and foremost. Parker will always know who his friends are, as will we.

We are home now and are waiting for a visit from a photographer from the Toronto Star. They are doing an article on Parker for the day that we leave for Milan and want to get a couple of shots of Parker before he goes. For that reason, I better help my wife with lunch cleanup so we are ready for them when they get here.