Day +9

Will had a rough night. He officially has inflammation all down his throat which causes him great pain to swallow. (Which combined with vomiting is a bad combination.) He will not eat or drink anything these days. It hurts too bad to swallow. This is called mucositis. Basically all of our bodies have rapidly dividing cells (hair, skin, mouth, lining of digestive tract). These cells "sluff off" and because of the chemo he is not able to make new cells to replace them. Many areas are left raw (or bald) until he "engrafts" and is able to make new cells with Walker's bone marrow on his own. Morphine is the drug of choice on this floor and many of the kids have their own self regulated pump to administer it. Right now, Will is only getting pain medicine a few times a day but in the near future that will change.
He is getting another platelet transfusion today. We were surprised he needed another one after only two days, but the doctors were not concerned. They are still very pleased with how he is doing. Will's spirits are still good. He isn't complaining or whining (except during mouthcare) :) He is a strong little boy and the Lord is with him and granting him peace. Thanks again for all your support. XO