Testing, Testing... Day 238 08JUL09

Answers were in small supply today while questions remained steady and high. We have gotten no results back from the bone marrow biopsy or any of the blood test that were done. Joshua is scheduled for more blood tests in the morning and maybe we will start to get some results back. His ANC is still hovering under 50 at 26 today. He has been unable to break out of the rut he is in. He should have recovered by now, he usually does. He is done with the Vancomycin, staph infection obliterated and banished to the outer reaches of the shadows.

Joshua had a great visit this evening with cousins Taylor and Avery. They played games, laughed, cut up, took a walk around the hospital and were mostly just precious kids. It helped keep Joshua's mind off the fact that he is not going to camp this time. We will probably be lucky if we can get him home this weekend. He is pretty bummed out about not getting to go. It didn't really hit him until today, up until now we have maintained that faint little glimmer of hope. Like so many times before we will just have to change plans and roll with the waves. There will be other opportunities, other chances to be a kid.

He was having a lot of pain in his arms and legs late tonight, hopefully due to his bone marrow kicking in the overdrive pumps and starting to make some more blood cells. When I talked to Renee he was getting some Tylenol to help with the pain. Hopefully he will be able to get a good nights sleep and feel better in the morning.

So for the foreseeable future we will continue as cancer gypsies, borne upon the whims of a disease we learn to hate more and more every day.