Day 18 Update - 30NOV08

Joshua had a good day, his WBC is down to zero again so he is staying for a while. He is scheduled to have more chemo tomorrow which will help fight the leukemia but will not do much for his WBC. Josh may have to stay in the hospital for several weeks this time but we are hoping it will be shorter. He has not quite gotten back to his old self yet, still pretty tired. He did get a nice bath today and got his hair washed. Chef Dad made, at his request, Macaroni and Cheese and delivered it this afternoon. I don't think it will last very long. Jarrod got to spend the day with Scott, Alecia, Taylor, and Avery. He had a great time! Renee is still staying with Josh at the hospital. The weather turned rainy today and will cool off (notice I am not using the "cold" word for Uncle Eric's sake) but will be back to nice weather by the end of the week. The bear in the picture with Josh is his "long-neck" bear who came from the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum way up at Whitefish Point, Michigan... He is used to the "cool" weather...

Day 17 Update - 29NOV08

Grandma and Grandpa Gandy brought Josh his special request for dinner, Hamburger Helper. He ate the entire plate...
Josh spent the day getting really bored.  His WBC is back down to zero (0) and Dr. Obzut said she will let Josh come home when he gets back up to 500. So it may be a little while before he is out of the hospital this time. His fever broke last night and he is pretty much back to his usual self. We had lots of visitors today, Grandma and Grandpa Gandy, Grandma and Pa peters, Christian, Jamie, and Jarrod.

 Jarrod and I are going to be bachelors for a while it seems. He has school on Monday and I have to work. Renee will stay with Josh, we miss them...

Day 16 Update - 28NOV08

Guess where we are... Joshua has been running a low grade fever since yesterday, around lunch time today it started going up, so we are back at the hospital for a few days. We are very thankful that we got to have Joshua at home for a while. They are giving him antibiotics and IV fluids, his white blood count today is 14 (it went up a little) and all of his other labs look good. This is another speed bump for us to get over. He will stay in the hospital until the fever is gone and his white blood count comes up a little farther. He is scheduled for more treatments on Monday so I am pretty sure we will stay until at least then. He had another chest xray before I left and that should be it for the night so hopefully he can get some rest and start feeling better.

Talking with Larry

Joshua got to talk to his oldest friend Larry who moved to Louisiana earlier this year. They both miss each other a lot.

PET Scan

Josh got a cool bear from the Radiology Tech Leanne.

We started our morning early with a PET Scan at St. Josephs. We had to be there at 7:30 am. Josh did great, it was a quick painless thing for him. We couldn't get over how small he looked inside the machine.

Day 15 Update - 27NOV08

Josh was pretty good this morning but started to get really tired around lunch time. He managed to get a nap and get ready to go over to his Grandma's for Thanksgiving dinner. Josh really enjoyed hanging out with all his family and friends but he had to come home after dinner was over so he didn't get too tired out. We wish all of you a Happy Thanksgiving and we are thankful for soo many things!

Jayden

Dr. Jim and Sally's beautiful son Jayden taking a little break from all the eating.

Thanksgiving

Joshua was  a little tired before dinner...

Thanksgiving Dinner

Josh was thankful that Father John could join us this year for dinner.

Our wonderful cook and her helper.

Jarrod, Avery, Cameron, and Taylor.

Food for miles!

Our beautiful table to eat at! Thanksgiving Dinner was wonderful. Mary Ann prepared a fabulous spread and we all ate way too much! It was wonderful to spend time with family and friends and remember all that we have to be thankful for.

Day 14 Update - 26NOV08

Jarrod and Josh having fun.

Josh, Jarrod, and Renee went to the hospital this morning for Josh to get his labs done at 9:00. Joshua's white cell count is now 0 (you read right, zero) and his platelets were low so he need another blood transfusion. Unfortunately the blood bank did not have his type in stock so Renee and the kids had to wait a couple of hours until they could get it from another location. Long story short, they got home around 5:30 p.m.. Long boring day for all involved . Josh  is doing fine otherwise, we of course are now beyond paranoid about germs from the outside world. We will keep our fingers crossed that Josh doesn't get sick while his white blood count recovers. Today was another beautiful day with the high temperature right around 70 with clear blue skies. Should be wonderful weather for Thanksgiving tomorrow.

Day 13 Update - 25NOV08

Josh had a good day. We spent the morning working on all of the school work he has missed so far, he is reading very well and amazes me with how quickly he learns. 

We are hopeful that his white count will have begun to climb back up in time for Thanksgiving dinner. It needs to be above 500 for him to be at a reduced risk for infection.

The first and second day of a chemo treatment seem to be his worst, heavy fatigue, etc... by the third day, today, he is back to his old self. He does seem to tire out much more quickly than before but I guess that is to be expected. 

Renee got Joshua all caught up on your comments this evening, please keep them coming he hears each and every one.

Day 12 Update - 24NOV08

Josh is still at home with us! We went to the hospital today so Joshua could get labs done. His current white blood cell count is 185 (normal is between 5000-10,000) so we are still on major germ warfare patrol. 

 Every time Joshua gets a test or procedure done he receives a Bravery Bead at the hospital, today he got to catch up for the last 12 days. He has 26 so far. It is hard to believe that so much has happened in such a short period of time. Joshua's spirits are still good and he is always hungry, a result of the steroids he is taking. So we seem to constantly be in the kitchen :)

Day 12

Day 11 Update

Josh continues to do well at home. Uncle Scott, Aunt Alecia, Taylor and Avery came by this morning to visit. Josh always loves hanging out with cousin Taylor! Later in the day Mrs. O'Neill, his first grade teacher, came over. She brought a huge stack of cards and drawings from his classmates. It was really special, Josh enjoyed reading all of the cards himself. Our home health nurse also stopped by to check on Josh and teach Mom and Dad how to take care of his PICC line. We go back to the hospital tomorrow for labs, but we do not have to stay. The weather here continues to be beautiful and it helps brighten all of our spirits. Last night was the first time in 10 days that our entire family has slept under the same roof. It felt good to have everyone so close.

Day 11 - 23NOV08

Mission Remission

Josh got a game at the hospital called Remission, he flies around inside of a human body and hunts down cancer cells to wipe out! He is already on Level 3!

Josh's teacher Mrs. O'neill came to visit

Josh's friends at school sent him lots of cards and drawings.
Mrs. O'Neill - Joshua's first grade teacher.

Taylor and Avery visit

Josh and Aunt Alecia
Cousin Taylor and cousin Avery came to visit today!!

Christian and Jamie

Christian (josh's older brother) and his wife Jamie live nearby (Christian is in the US Coast Guard and is stationed in Clearwater FL) and came to see Josh almost every day he was in the hospital. Jamie sent me these pictures so I could post them. Joshua loves Jamie and Christian visiting! We are really luck to have them so close!

Day 10 22NOV08 Going Home!

Josh is doing good today, he had another round of chemotherapy before lunch and did well. The Doctors said we could take him home for a while and at 1:30 pm we did just that. It was great to finally leave the hospital and it is the first time Joshua has been in the sun since he went into the hospital. He slept most of the way home (the chemo makes him really tired). We are thrilled and scared at the same time, thrilled that he is with us at home again, scared because we do not want him to get sick and have to go back to the hospital. Lee went to the grocery store and stocked up on hand sanitizer (inside stock tip... buy shares now...) I think he will be buying a lot more. Josh has spent the evening resting, playing his new Life game with his brother and he even got a home cooked meal and a bath! The rest of us are pretty worn out, it has been a long 10 days. Hopefully we can all get a good nights rest and feel fresher tomorrow. Brandon (Josh's older brother) had to leave tonight to go back to work in Augusta Georgia where he is a police officer. Josh really enjoyed seeing him and we will all miss him.

WE ARE GOING HOME!!!

Jarrod insisted on bringing Joshua down to the car. He did a great job driving!

Josh and Frank having a visit.

Frank Bemis came by to see Josh today and brought him some really cool things to play with. Miss Laura couldn't come because she is getting a cold and didn't want to risk bringing germs to Josh. Hugs and kisses to Miss Laura from Joshua.

GQ Cover Shoot

Josh posing for a picture.

Day10 - Monkey with monkeys.

Joshua's View

This is what Joshua has been looking at most of the time. (above and Below)
Room 228 our home away from home...

The St. Josephs TCE

Jarrod in the snack bar

Our 24/7 snack bar for kids and parents... yum...


This is the TCE Unit (Pediatric Oncology) where Josh has been staying all of these days. Just thought you might like to see it. All of the nurses and staff are the most wonderful people you could ever meet! A huge thank you to everyone for making Joshua's stay a great one.