Growing... Day 183 14MAY09

We got Joshua's CBC results from yesterday this morning. His ANC is over 3500 and his platelets are still over 400. These are really good numbers for him. They will most likely start dropping early next week due to the chemo he is taking but he certainly has a lot more headroom this time.

Joshua did good today working on his school work both with me this morning and then later when Ms. Lydia came by. It is really nice to see his brain working clearly and with purpose.

This afternoon Jarrod got Joshua to hep him plant some more stuff that he did not get around to yesterday. It was really cute watching them work together. The rest of the day was rather quiet with Josh and Jarrod helping Renee re-organize the art room.

Wait here... Day 182 13MAY09

Has this ever happened to you? You have a dentist appointment at 10:50. You arrive at 10:40 and sign in at the front. No none even greets you anymore, they just glance toward the clipboard on the counter. After leaving your mark and the time your appointment is for, in case they didn't write it down on their calendar, you take a seat.

The girl at the front desk doesn't look at the the clipboard until 11:05.

At 11:15 after they have taken all the people who came in after you they call you back and you follow the girl down the hall to a room with a view of the wall. "Why are you here today?" she quips. "I'm here because I heard you had a sale on cook wear... You don't know what I am here for?" I respond baffled. She rustles through the single page chart, smiles blankly and says, "the Doctor will be here in a minute." At which point she disappears.

Twenty minutes later the doctor walks in all smiles. "Let's take a look", she says. After a few seconds she lays down her little mirror and says, "did they explain how much this was going to cost?" "Yes", I answer, "about as much as NASA's budget this year." "Good, now sit tight and I'll be back in a minute", she says and promptly vanishes. Where had I heard that before.

Five minutes later the blank smile assistant comes back in and sits down. "We didn't schedule enough time to take care of you today, you are going to have to make another appointment." This coming from the girl who didn't know why I was there in the first place. "What!" I say. She smiles and starts to walk out. I follow her to the front and make another appointment for two weeks from now and trudge out to the car. Mission accomplished... Morning wasted.

Joshua had a better day. He went to the clinic this afternoon with Renee and Grandma Peters for chemo. It was quick and he got de-accessed and sent on his way. Next stop was the medical supply place to get fitted for his foot braces that will help stretch his tendons. We will pick them up next week.

Joshua's only complaint this evening was about his bones in his legs and arms hurting. His sense of smell is still making it tough on him when it comes to food. But that is what chemo does to you. He managed to eat well and went to bed at his normal time. The next couple of days are probably going to be rough on him like last week. He has until next Wednesday though before he has to go back for more chemo. In the meantime lots of fluids and rest for him is on tap.

Jarrod finished his school work this afternoon and then put on his green thumb. He really enjoys just about anything connected to dirt. We took a quick trip up to the garden center to get potting soil and rocks and off he went. Renee had gotten him some new little plants and he did a fine job re-planting them. He wants to start a vegetable garden in the side yard and grow stuff for us to eat. We are going to see what we can work out this summer.

On record pace... Day 181 12MAY09

Joshua had a busy but all in all good day. He started this morning with physical therapy which is going quite well. He seems to enjoy the challenge and it is easier for a non-family member to push him a little bit. The physical therapist Steven is quite adept at making things fun and keeping Joshua motivated. It is quite entertaining to watch Joshua as he performs all the different exercises.

After a short break it was school time with Ms. Lydia. Joshua has been having pretty good school days the last few times. I don't sense the frustration I have felt before. The fog seems to have lifted for a while, I believe born away on the breeze of being at home. Speaking of which we are on pace to set a new all time stay at home record. Keep watching in the days ahead for the official announcement.

The rest of our young mans day was spent playing at home and eating before he left to go spend the night with Renee's parents. He and Jarrod took the wii and their tennis rackets. I am sure that they are quite worn out and sleeping peacefully by now.

Tomorrow it is back to the clinic for more chemo, Vincristine and Doxorubicin again. Joshua's counts were excellent on Monday, his ANC was 2752 and his platelets were 486! This is higher than we have seen in a long time. Here's hoping they stay up for a while. Almost all of the drugs he is currently taking can suppress his counts in one way or another. Starting from a high point means he can fall farther before they get really low.

Tempus Fugit... Day 180 11MAY09

Time flies. It is hard to believe that we started on this journey six months ago. It seems like an eternity all ready and we still have far to go. We celebrated our anniversary today with a trip to the clinic for PEG injections. Joshua has been dreading the shots all weekend. Last night he had a complete meltdown after he went to bed. He was sobbing and very upset for quite a while. I slept on the sofa so he could have my spot in bed with Renee. Thankfully we will only have to go through this ordeal one more time before we are done with PEG forever.

The shots are quick but, I am sure, quite painful. Thankfully after all the build up the real pain only lasts a few seconds. Afterwards we have to wait for two hours at the clinic in case Joshua has a reaction to the drug which is quite common. Not a big deal if we are at the clinic, a really big deal if we were not. Today, no reaction, everything was fine.

After his two hour prison sentence he was let go and headed straight for Grandma and Grandpa Gandy's to join the rest of the family. His energy level was good and he had fun playing with Jamie, Bella, and my dad out in the backyard. He can still wallop a tennis ball pretty hard. It was a nice break this afternoon before we all had to go our separate ways. Jamie and Christian headed home as did Renee, Joshua, and Jarrod. I had a class to go teach. Joshua spent the rest of the evening resting with no ill effects. He has not had any problems tolerating the PEG before.

Tomorrow is physical therapy and a visit with Ms. Lydia to get some more school work done. We left his port accessed so he can get his chemo on Wednesday without having to get stuck again. The afternoon will find us hiding from the heat and running back and forth to get food for Josh from the kitchen.

Mothers Day!... Day 179 10MAY09

Today is that special day when mothers are celebrated for all that they do. A woman who becomes a mother is a wondrous creature. She nurtures life inside of her own body, jealously guarding it for long difficult months. To share this life with the rest of the world she endures pain that, if the genders were reversed, would ensure a quick end to new babies being born. She then dedicates her life and love to raising her child from a tiny frail creature into the full grown adult that they will become.

It is a difficult job in the best of times. So here is my wish for a special day for the four mothers in my life. You are all wonderful and the world would be a darker place without you. Thank you for all that you do without any recognition the other 364 days of the year.

Happy Mother's Day! Hope your day was as special as you are!

Just plain tired... Day 178 09MAY09

Joshua has been just plain tired today. The chemo is really wearing him out this time. His sense of smell has also been affected, nothing seems to smell right to him. It is making the task of finding food he will eat just that much more difficult. Luckily his stomach has been mostly okay. We are controlling the nausea with Zofran so far and it has been working. As long as we can keep getting liquids and food going into him.

Joshua spent most of the day cuddling with Renee or just moping around on the couch. His spurts of usable energy today were very short lived. We did have a fun time out on the deck this evening catching lizards. Joshua has always loved catching them and getting them to crawl on his arm or head. I actually caught Fred, that was the lizard we played with tonight, for Josh. His reflexes just are not fast enough right now to catch them on his own. So, he finds them, points them out and I grab them. Most of the time. My reflexes aren't what they used to be either;)

Tomorrow will be the last day of rest for Josh before his next round of chemo on Monday and then again on Wednesday. He has been on Dexamethesone, a steroid, for almost a week but we haven't really noticed much of a difference in his appetite or his mood. So far way better than the Prednisone cycle we did several months back.

The plan for the rest of the weekend is rest for Joshua. We are trying to get his strength built back up for the next round. I am really anxious to see what his CBC results are on Monday. All of the drugs he is taking this round can suppress his counts. Hopefully they have stayed over 500.

"Veni, Vidi, Dormivi" (I came, I saw, I slept)... Day 177 08MAY09

Joshua spent the day resting, eating, and drinking water. He managed to best Renee at tennis on the wii, no big surprise there. He, however, fell to her superior checkers playing prowess. His temperature has thankfully remained in the normal range so far. Maybe, just maybe, we had seen the last of the mysterious fevers for a while. Renee said his spirits were good today other than him being really tired. Hopefully tomorrow will bring another good day of rest. He needs it...