Happy 17th Birthday!!!

Happy Birthday to you, Happy birthday to you, Happy Birthday to Cody.........Happy birthday to you....................

We are thrilled to wish Cody a very happy birthday and the fact that he is now at home again is the best present for Cody.

His hickman line has been reinserted but unfortunatley we have lost our first vein. They say there are 6 veins in the body that can be used for a hickman line (this line feeds him his TPN and also fluids each day) but for cody, our surgeon informed us that he only has the use of 3?? We know that they need 2 good veins for transplant and with loosing one vein we are down to our last two already. This is something that needs to be clarified with the surgeon next week.

How to keep a teenage mind active???

Cody is now well enough to be able to go home for a few hours during the day. They are doing this to try and spark his mind and lift the dark cloud he has hovering over his head. He dislikes hospitals (even more now than ever) and so if he is in the ward for more than a few days he starts to sink into a depression. He has been in over a week now and with possibly another week to come. He has been the sickest he has ever been this time round and so with all of that, Cody has gone down hill - mentally. We are all concerned for his state of mind.

So I ask you.....What can you do to lift the spirits of a 17 year old boy???? I have some ideas and will try to make them happen.

1 - a helicopter ride around Nelson
2 - some time out on a boat going fishing
3 - shooting clay targets or even a row of cans off a fence
4 - a ride in a flash sports car (like a ferrari)
5 - 4wd motor bikes or the skywire

Its hard to think of things that he can actually do. Some of the things that he loves, he cant do. He loves playing Paintball with his mates and playing soccer. But for obvious reasons he cant do those.

It will be Cody's birthday FEB 7th, Please leave birthday wishes for him. We cant let his 17th go past with out making a big deal out of it.

Hi Ho Hi, its back to surgery we go....

Today they gave Cody a CT scan and they found an abscess in his bowel. So back down to surgery where they have inserted two drains and given him another CT scan just to be safe. Plus they checked his blood and found that his hemoglobin levels were very low......no wonder the poor guy didn't want to move or do anything. So they started a blood trans at lunch time and by the time the first bag was finished we were looking at a different guy. Once he gets back up from surgery they will give him a further bag or two of blood and Cody should be feeling like a box of fluffy ducks.

But wow, he scared us. I guess the first big infection is scary as hell and then the next time you know the drill and after the 10th one you hardly blink. I cant ever see my self getting used to this roller coaster ride. But the best news is that he will be ok and no damage has been done by the high temps etc.

Cody still serious....

Weds last week (the day of the New Idea photo shoot) Cody had been released from hospital and was so thrilled to be home. BUT.......and theres always that bloody BUT..........he was feeling weird. He had a funny pain in his kidney. His mother and I both felt this was not right and rang to check up about it. We were told to take a urine sample and his temp and just watch him over night. 11pm saw his temp shoot up and off to ED they went. They were admitted immediately and put into the ICU room on Ward 10 and was classed as serious but unstable. His temp spiked at 41 degs the next day. I don't think I have held my breath for as long as I did that day......waiting for his body to respond to the meds and his temp to drop. Friday afternoon he was settled and was down graded to Serious but stable. Just when we thought he was responding and getting better his temp spiked again. Not as bad as earlier but scary enough. This carried on over the weekend. One minute thinking he was responding the next praying he can still fight. Now his temp has finally leveled out BUT........his oxygen levels are dropping....which I am told is not good. So he has been graded Serious but unstable. Sadly he has little energy and so even playing his fav games on play station tires him out so he lays and steers out his window and now says very little. I think I am most worried about his mind at present. There is not much else for him to do but lay there and think...........................................................

Update...
The reason why cody has not had the energy to do anything is because his hemoglobin levels had dropped so cody needs a blood transplant. They say within 12 hours or so we should see a brighter happier cody. Yay...I could kiss that doc!! Also big Kudoos to Powerstore. they have donated a Phillips Ipod for cody. So now he can listen to his fav music and concentrate on getting well again.

Thank You

I would like to take a moment and thank all those who have donated to Cody's Fund. To those who have taken a moment to stop by this blog and leave comments of support.

I wish to thank the Quilters Group who so kindly made a quilt for Cody. A special thank you to the Grandmother in Takaka who donated after the tins had been stolen and to the Collingwood Community and church who have been donating regularly. A huge thank you to Healing Hands for their very generous donation. A thank you to those who gave presents at Xmas time to Cody and that helped make Xmas an enjoyable time to him and his family. Thank you to the Trade Me community, you kept me going with your support. A heart felt thank you to the family's that have come forward offering advise and support as they too are on the journey we have just started. I wish I could name each and every one of you .... So please accept this as our personal thanks. You are all angels.

The Meeting Of The Medical Team

The meeting went really well. We cleared up some confusion caused by the good ol’ miscommunication bug that seems to hit more regularly than needed.

Cody will be given a low fat diet and will be able to eat small amounts in about a week. The amazing part about this is that we had thought it would have blended or mashed. But no, Cody can munch away on anything that is on the list from his dietitian. Already his bowel has started to function as it is processing the small amount that he has eaten in experimentation. It was thought that it would pass with in 20 mins of eating but Cody held it for 4 hours, which is just fantastic.

The surgeon explained to us that the operation just done has given Cody approx 5 years. By being able to eat it means that best case scenario, Cody only has to hook up to TPN 4 nights a week not 7 which will slow down the damage to his liver. So instead of looking at the need for a bowel and liver transplant within a year, we now have some time….approx 5 but it is still guess work. I think we had all hoped for that small miracle. The one where his bowel does miraculous things and works normally and that he wont need the transplant ever. But, now we know transplant is inevitable.

Cody still has to inject himself many times each day and so under the advise of another mum whose child is currently awaiting transplant. I suggested they insert a butterfly so it would spare his poor legs from looking like pincushions. The team thought that was a great idea and were going to fit him with one after the meeting. (So a big thanks for that one Jodee)

The best news of all (for us) is that Toronto are now also checking in on Cody too, so he in effect has two heath teams watching over him.

For Cody though, the best news was that he could go home for 48 hours. He has to return Monday for another check up and will be fully discharged on Tuesday. Cody hates being in hospital; it really gets him down so we try to get him home as soon as possible. He gets immediate care at home and remains much happier. Which is a win/win really.

From Cody's Mum

Cody's mum here - Cody had his gallbladder removed as well as having the remainder of his small and large bowel joined - he is doing well and will feel very uncomfortable for a few weeks - today was hot and Cody felt it poor lad stuck in a hospital - he will be able to start eating small amounts in a week or two so is lucky as initially we were told that he would not be able to eat anything orally until his transplant - now we wait for a miracle - it is hoped that the large bowel will take over some of the nutritional absorptive abilities that the small bowel has - there is a small chance that this will happen so prayers and healing being sent from all you wonderful people would be much appreciated hugs from us in Nelson NZ - and much thanks for your support and good wishes .