Mother Knows Best

To Charley's Family and Friends,

I have been blessed with a lot of time with the Cherngs these past couple days. So here are some updates...

From Saturday through Monday, Charley received platelet transfusions, epilepsy medication, and a drug to promote clotting around the clock in the ICU. On Monday, Charley had a repeat CT Scan that showed no new bleeds in his head, so he moved to 6-North. He has not had any seizures since Saturday.

Yesterday evening, Charley went down to the gift shop to get a transforming truck toy. I am surprised that Charley can still find fun things he likes at the gift shop since he surely has been their best customer for months and owns most of the toys in the shop!

Today, Charley slept most of the day. For the past few days, he has had very little energy and has been easily agitated. Also, he has shown much confusion and has not been responding to people around him. The doctors could not give a definite reason for his behavior. But Deborah knew exactly what was going on and pushed for Charley’s anti-seizure medicine to be changed. So the doctors have been tapering down the Dilantin and have been increasing Charley’s doses of Keppra. This evening, Charley woke up ready to watch a movie and play! The neurologist came in, saw Charley, and asked Deborah if she had a medical background. She has more than a medical background –- she has first-hand around-the-clock experience and a mother’s instinct!

Throughout the day, Charley has experienced nosebleeds. Each time Charley has a new symptom, Deborah and Nehemiah are quick to adjust Charley’s nutritional supplements accordingly. To help the more frequent nosebleeds, Charley will be getting more Vitamin K from green vegetables.

Tonight, Charley will get the 3rd dose of his chemo.

-Erin

Prayer Requests:

• That Charley's bleeding will stop and that his platelets will be protected.
• That the transition from one antiepileptic medicine to another will be smooth.
• That God can work through the chemo to cleanse Charley’s bone marrow.
• For God’s arms to embrace Charley as he deals with any side effects from today’s chemo.
• Lord, help Deborah to get more sleep so that she can continue to be healthy and strong for Charley.