Last night was much more eventful than we would have liked.

Yesterday was Jeremy’s scheduled dressing change.  Prior to this one particular change, the nurses and doctors were in the process of eliminating what could have caused that rash that broke out two dressing changes back.  Yesterday’s change was the last test to eliminate what was causing the issues.

After the change, Jeremy was fine for the entire day.  Right around bedtime, he started scratching again.  We were awake so we were able to prevent him from scratching before he fell asleep.  Once he did fall asleep, we prayed for him, then went to bed ourselves (went to bed, but didn’t fall asleep yet).  During the night, around 2am, he was scratching in his sleep and really going at it, enough so it was very audible when his fingernails hit the tape on his dressing.  We got up to take a closer look and Jeremy had scratched the dressing right off, exposing his central line site.  We called the nurse right away and we all had to get up, put masks on, and get it changed.

The change last night was very difficult.  Because his skin was so irritated from the dressing change and the scratching, it was very sensitive.  When they removed the dressing, it made him really itchy and he was screaming and squirming around.  Then, when they used the cleaning solution to the clean the area before putting on a new dressing, the stinging sensation was very intense.  He was crying and writhing in pain and we had to pin him down in order to get the change done.  It was really difficult as his parents to have to hold him down while he was crying and in so much discomfort.  It’s so much to ask of our two year old son – to not scratch when he’s itchy, to grit his teeth and bear the pain.

Jeremy is scheduled for another dressing change today because they were unable to use one of the microbial patches to protect the site last night (it is soaked in the same solution they use to clean the area and it looked irritated when they took it off).  Another dressing change means more risk for infection and more irritation for Jeremy since extremely sensitive right now.

We thank God that He kept us up long enough to hear the scratching, so we were able to catch it relatively quick.  Still, the central line was exposed in a non-sterile way, and we are concerned about any infection that may result from the exposure.

Please continue to pray (new items in bold):

• that God would continue to use this situation for His glory
• that we would be obedient to God’s plans for this situation
• that we would continue to cast our worries and fears on the Lord
• that God would provide full and complete healing and total health for Jeremy
• that the regenerating bone marrow would produce only good white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets
• that the bone marrow aspirate at the end of this first block of treatment would show no leukemia cells (that Jeremy would be in remission)
• that we would not see any more fevers for the duration of Jeremy’s recovery
• that God would manage the fevers we’ve encountered
• that the additional antibiotics for the fevers would not cause any kidney damage
• that Jeremy’s appetite would continue to improve so we can avoid giving him nutrients through the IV
• that the rash under the dressing on his central line site would go away and that it is not a result of infection
• that the rash caused by Jeremy’s fever would settle down and fade and not cause Jeremy too much irritation
• that the brief exposure of the central line site would not cause any infection
• that the irritation from the dressing change would subside so that Jeremy can stop scratching
• that the dressing change later today will not cause Jeremy too much irritation or pain
• that God would give the nurses and doctors wisdom in choosing the right combination of dressing materials to prevent further irritation or allergic reaction
• that God would continue to give Jeremy an extra portion of His strength, so Jeremy would continue being his playful, energetic self.
• for safety for Jeremy, since he is so playful in such a confined place with such low platelet counts