It started well enough

Good morning! Well, actually, I change my mind. I am not that chipper. I am going to go ahead and just start this entry with - Morning... It isn't that I don't appreciate you reading my diary. I just don't think the previous start of the morning is really true to my emotions. You see, yesterday did not go as planned. It all started off well enough. I got the kids to school and I had everything orchestrated just right. I made it back to work and I was flying through a huge email in-basket. I even had the opportunity to do some research for a meeting I had at noon on the ral binding protein 1 (RALBP1). I was preparing for a lunch meeting with Dr. Awasthi. You see, he is doing some research on something that I think may be valuable in neuroblastoma. Unfortunately, he is working with adult cancers. I wanted him to expand his horizons and throw some nb cells into the mix to see what happened. I was also looking to gauge his interest on some collaborative projects in the world of pediatrics. The good news is that it looks like he is interested. In fact, I am already working on getting him the cell lines. Now, don't get too excited. This is still very early, however, this is very interesting research and it is aimed towards being a home run. We are not looking for a modest 5 or 10% increase in survival here. We are looking for cure. This is just one of a couple of pieces of research out there that has produced cures for cancer in mice and rats. Now we just have to prove that it does not kill humans. Unfortunately, that is a common byproduct of many of these really incredibly agents. Regardless, it is worth a shot and I believe that it is something that could work in neuroblastoma so I asked if he would consider running it against some cell lines. He agreed. Cell lines are on their way. We will see what happens. It is interesting stuff. See, my transformation into a nerd is almost fully complete.
So, anyway, here I was having a great day. And then, the school called Lynley. Sydney had a tremendous headache, a tummy ache, and a low grade temp. We were both in the meeting so we asked them to dose her with Tylenol to see if we could get it under control. Within 45 minutes her temperature was steadily rising - 101.2, then 102.3. I raced to pick her up. Sydney did not look good. She was clearly sick and disoriented from the pain in her head. Dr. Debbie made a slot for her and we headed over to the pediatrician's office to wait. We would have to wait about an hour due to her patient load but it was worth the wait in the waiting room. Had we gone home we would have had to turn around just as soon as we got there. For the most part she slept on my lap. Eventually (and actually before our appointment time) we made it back to the treatment rooms. Her temp was now well over 103. They tested Sydney for strep and the flu, both of which she passed with flying colors. Next was a urine test to rule out a bladder infection. This turned out to be a little messy. Let's just say that I have not mastered holding the cup for a delirious 6 year old to pee in. Speaking of which, I really don't have any desire to wear the shirt I was wearing yesterday afternoon anymore. Regardless, the results are pending but we decided to go ahead and treat her with Bactrim for the likely bladder infection anyway. We also gave her some ibuprofen. She was still disoriented so I let her sleep in the treatment room until I was sure the ibuprofen would stay down. Eventually we would leave and make our way back home.

At home Sydney would spend most of her time on the couch. At about 4:30 she would begin throwing up every 15 or 20 minutes for the next hour or so. I had some extra Zofran so I threw that into the mix. That seemed to do the trick. She would fall asleep and rest comfortably for the rest of the night. I don't know what we will find this morning but I am happy to see her at least resting comfortably.

See I told you the day did not turn out as wonderful as it began. It is okay I suppose.

I have got my purpose.