Birthday Girl... Day 175 06MAY09

Today is Renee's birthday! We celebrated by getting up early this morning and heading off for a day at the hospital.

It's not as bad as it sounds. We were together as a family and we have lots of friends at the hospital.

Renee wanted to thank everybody that sent her a happy birthday wish and brightened her special day.

Joshua got the works today to kick off the beginning of delayed intensification. He started off with a CBC to check his counts and see if he qualified for chemo. He did, ANC at 952 and platelets over 200. So a quick port access and off we were whisked to the day hospital for an LP and intrathecal methotrexate. He was actually looking forward to the anesthesia and the short swirly nap it produces. The procedure was quick and he recovered just fine. Back we went to the clinic to get the rest of his chemo meds and get his port de-accessed. As soon as we were done we jumped in the car and headed home. It frightens me sometimes how routine this has all become to us.

Renee spent the afternoon relaxing before we headed over to her parents for dinner. Josh was okay for a little while but he crashed halfway through dinner. We were celebrating three birthdays today, Renee's as well as her mom and Jamie whose birthday's were yesterday.

Jamie is doing well and getting bigger by the day it seems. It was beautiful to watch Joshua sit next to her with his hand on her stomach as our grand-daughter kicked and twirled around.

Very soon it was silently communicated across a noisy room that it was time to get him home. We quietly and efficiently packed everything up and slipped away.

So far, knock on every piece of wood I walk by, he has not had any ill effects other than being really wiped out. His temperature was holding steady at 99.0 and his appetite has stayed. We are dealing with a bunch of new meds this time around and as of yet have no idea how Joshua will tolerate them. Often times it is not a single med that throws him over the edge but rather the combination of several. For now we will wait and keep our fingers and toes crossed for the next few days. He goes back to the clinic on Monday to check his counts and get more chemo and again on Wednesday. It will come fast and heavy for a little while. I am hopeful that all the rest he has gotten has given him a new reserve of strength to draw from as he battles the effects of the chemo of his small little body. Today marked fifteen days at home, not a record but better than a lot of our stretches.

I'm hoping for a record...