Hello, friends!
It has been a whirlwind of a week. And even as I write this from a hospital room, I am grateful that we now know what is going on with Clay rather than still in confusion.
We moved two weeks ago, and Clay has had multiple issues come up. More nuisances than anything serious, but all compounded with the cancer diagnosis, a suppressed immune system from his treatment, and exhaustion from moving. It seemed like every other day he would wake up with something new bothering him and he just couldn't catch a break. He had pink eye that never resolved after about 10 days of treatment. Then he woke up this Monday with his jaw hurting. Tuesday was his regular monthly appointment with his oncology team. They suggested getting off of his cancer meds while his other infections cleared up.
Wednesday, he woke up with a very swollen left side of his face and with a lot of pain in his jaw that caused him to be unable to eat. We went to urgent care and they said it looked like an acute sinus infection and started him on 3 days of IV antibiotics and ordered a CT scan. Praise God, the CT scan was clear and showed no new cancer spots or deterioration of his jaw, which can be a side effect from one of his medications.
Thursday, he woke up with more significant swelling and pain. We went in and got another round of IV antibiotics and new recommendation for treatment for his pink eye because at that point, opening his eyes had become quite difficult and painful.
Friday he woke up and when he came to the urgent care for his IV antibiotic treatment, the team decided he should be admitted as the swelling and pain was only getting worse. We were able to see an ENT Friday evening and he said that based on his scans and symptoms, it was Parotitis, which is a viral infection in the glands around his jaw.
Thankfully, this morning he woke up and his eyes were doing a little better and the swelling hadn't gotten any worse.
The good news is that it's not permanent or new cancer or a side effect from his medication that would cause us to need to change course again. The bad news is that there isn't much he can do other than let it run its course. They recommended warm compresses and sour candy to activate those glands as well as some steroids to help with the swelling. They expect the swelling to start going down over the next week.
After talking with the team, it seems likely that he got this from a live MMR vaccine that one of our kids got a couple weeks ago. Once again, this cancer journey just takes another turn as we really do have to adjust so many aspects of our lives that we never thought twice about before.
We love you and are so grateful for your continued prayers and support!
Prayer requests:
- We think we should be able to go home today (Saturday), please pray we will be able do that and get better rest
- Our family as they continue to take care of the kiddos as we have been gone much of the week
- For the pain in Clay's jaw, eyes, and ears to subside quickly. At this point he hasn't been able to eat a meal since Tuesday because of the pain and not being able to open his mouth much.
- Also that the swelling would go down normally. It usually takes about 7-10 days to go down, so we are praying it is not longer due to his suppressed immune system
- As always, please pray for complete healing of his cancer
