12/4 11:10

 Good news!  The radiologist agreed with my expert opinion that Ethan’s lungs look better today. This is the best news. Paul and I are emotionally drained and need to regroup our positive thoughts. We are on a teeter totter with our emotions. Phew!

I am going to do a little foot maintenance on Ethan.  I had to order a callous remover on Amazon. I am not sure what this kid is walking on, but he could easily walk over lava and be fine with the callouses he has. If I do it while he is unconscious, it will be easier for him to maintain. Plus he can't complain or decline.  I never really realized the difference in foot care goals Ethan and I have.  I have been putting lotion on them several times a day for almost 2 weeks now. He wont even recognize his feet when I am done with them.

I had  a request to post a picture of my bed. It has a cool view.  I do have a blanket to curl up but I had folded it up for the day.

During rounds today, a plan was made to continue to support Ethan's progress.  His kidney levels are above normal so they want to protect his kidney's as much as possible.  They are going to wean off a medication that they think he can go without.  It does have some kidney toxicity. Hopefully that will help.

They are going to continue to "toilet" his lungs.  Please get a vision of what you think my face did when I heard that.  Thankfully it is covered by my stupid mask that I never get a break from. I am the most immature person at these rounds.  I feel like Michael Scott with inappropriate responses.  Sometimes I just want to yell out "That's what she said." but know it would not be received well.  However, we do have a lot of nurses that are Office fans.  So maybe?

When you "toilet" the lungs, it is a way to clear (or flush them ha ha) them of mucus and secretions that shouldn't be there. It helps the lungs be able to process oxygen like they are supposed to. Really people? Toilet? Sounds like someone with a sense of humor came up with that one.

My geek brain may have helped the doctors though. Medical stuff is fascinating.  I wish I were smarter to really understand it, but I do ok.  Also, it would go wasted because I think humans are gross.  I much prefer to continue to be a nurse for animals. 

I was asking about what they look for on a cellular level, besides lymphocytes on a rejection slide.  They said they look for antibodies.  I don't really understand what an antibody looks like and asked for clarification.  As the doctor is talking he mentioned compliment proteins.

This term is familiar because when Ethan was little and was having all his bouts with pneumonia, he was sent to an immunologist.  I remember the immunologist explaining that Ethan is missing some compliment proteins and that it can have an effect on how he fights off infections.

Basically (if I understand it correctly) these proteins work together during an immune response to combat a pathogen along with antibodies. They are looking for the relationship between the compliment protein and the antibody.  However, if Ethan is missing some, depending on which ones they are, it could invalidate the test results.  Holy crap.  I am so glad I stored that information away in my brain.

Again, these are all little bits that align together to form the big picture.  I called his immunologist office and said "Hey remember us, we came back in like 2009? Yeah I am going to need those records sent." Now someone has to go digging around in a dingy basement somewhere looking for these records.  I asked for a stat on it too, as they are still analyzing the results from the biopsy earlier this week.

The doctor reassured me that someone missing the compliment proteins they look for is very rare.  I said "I would like you to meet my son Ethan, he is very rare." So we will explore that and make sure we aren't missing anything. 

The doctor said he would circle around after rounds and we could have a chat about compliment proteins, rejection slides and antibodies.  I am so excited.

Ethan continues to behave himself.  Maybe I shouldn't ground him when he wakes up.  We will see....