Hello all! We reported to the new Arthur M. Blank hospital on Wednesday. It is every bit as beautiful as they advertised.

We had a quick appointment in the clinic (located within the hospital) and then had about two hours to wait while they readied a room for Mason. We spent the time eating in the "Eatery" (not called the cafeteria anymore!) and checking out the new Zone. Mason was unattached to any tubes at the time, so we spent some time playing basketball and managed to get in two rounds of the mini-golf course (four holes each so eight holes total- it was enough for us to get competitive and have a little fun). Then Mason zoned in on the PlayStation in the room and spent the rest of the waiting time checking out some games we don't have loaded onto our own console.

John arrived right as we were moving over to the inpatient tower and was able to help us get settled in the room. The room was slightly bigger than what we had at Scottish Rite and there are definitely more perks for the parents (the couch folds out into a full size bed and we get our own TV), but I kind of miss the rooms we had gotten used to in the old unit. We have significantly less storage options (although a quick trip to Walmart to purchase a 3-drawer rolling bin fixes that!).

We were put into a specialized room that is built for patients who need to receive radiation within their own room. When patients undergo this treatment, the parents/family stay in a room that is connected, similar to adjoining hotel rooms. We didn't think much of this, until after we were fully settled and I realized the alarms that were going off every hour were not for Mason, but belonged to the patient that was in the connected room. It was surprising how clearly we could hear everything the family in that room was saying- and I'm sure they heard everything we said. So as I laid down to try and sleep last night, listening to the movie they were watching in the room next door, I had a stray thought in the back of my head saying "Gosh I hope we don't have to come back to a room like this again in the future."

Be careful what you ask for. Our nurse came in this morning to let us know that we needed to pack up and move rooms- they have a patient coming in tomorrow who needs the radiation room. Oy. Thankfully, we don't have nearly as much "stuff" as we have brought for previous stays, and I was able to get us moved fairly quickly this afternoon. Either that or I have become an expert at packing up the things and moving rooms. And the new room is much quieter so I'm looking forward to a quiet night tonight.

I also had a fun little run in with the delivery robot yesterday. This new hospital has all the latest technology, including delivery robots that bring the IV fluids and pick up laundry (I'm sure they do many other things- those are just the two I have witnessed). This was just a giant box that was moving down the hallway on its own. It wasn't moving quickly, so I was able to walk around it, but I also wanted to wait to see how it gained clearance through the doors that require a badge (to be clear, I didn't wait- I was running downstairs to pick up dinner- I still don't know how it gets around).

Mason is doing well. He is feeling fine, with the nausea that was severe at home being under control, so he has been able to spend time outside the room every day. He has had visits from physical therapy every week day, walking laps and visiting the new PT gym on the second floor of the hospital. This weekend he got outside in the Zone with Alex to play basketball. On Friday, John brought him down to the second floor coffee shop area to set up his laptop and get some schoolwork done. There are so many beautiful areas to be within the hospital, we are trying to take advantage of all of them before we reach isolation in the transplant unit.

Mason has been swapped to an IV antibiotic. His blood counts are trying really hard to come back in, but are still slow. When the doctors stopped by today, they said the new plan is to take Mason off of the daily "maintenance" chemo pill in order to give his body a chance to rebuild all the marrow and blood counts that are required to determine the next steps of care.

We would ask for specific prayer that Mason's body tolerates the IV antibiotic without any complications (specifically to the kidneys). We also ask for specific prayers that his blood counts come back in quickly, so that we can move to the next stage of treatment while the leukemia is still in remission.

Smilegrams are still available here! The link is below- Mason's location is now Arthur M. Blank hospital, Room #1031.

Thank you for your continued support and encouragement!