Clinic and tutoring… Day 663 07SEP10

Joshua had clinic this afternoon and his ANC, thanks to the ever popular steroids, has skyrocketed up to 4100. Everything else looks good and he is back on full chemo, with a few adjustments, starting tonight. It is hard to be excited about chemo but it is better than him being without it for any longer. What a messed up world the cancer world is. After clinic Renee and Joshua headed over to the Children's Cancer Center for tutoring. Jarrod and I stayed home for the afternoon and did school work until it was time for me to head in to class. I dropped him off at the CCC and spent a little time with Renee and Joshua before we headed off in opposite directions for the evening.

Labor day… Day 662 06SEP10

For a day named after hard work we sure didn't do much labor. Jarrod did a bit of MindStorm building while Joshua played with DJ. The boys played outside for a bit in the heat and then again later with me after it cooled down a tad. We managed to get a little hockey in which we haven't done for quite a while. After dinner it was a bit of television and then off to bed. Joshua has a busy afternoon tomorrow with clinic and then tutoring after while Jarrod has school work to get done.

Restful day… Day 661 05SEP10

Today was a restful day for all of us. I think the stress of the last week finally subdued us all and we really didn't do much of anything today. The boys played quietly most of the day while Renee and I puttered about doing the odd chore. Joshua seems to be much improved today, maybe he was just tired and feeling a bit under yesterday. I made pork chops for dinner and he devoured one, half of another, and then asked if there were any more. I love it when he gets hungry for a change. Feeding a child with cancer is a struggle every single day, especially trying to get anything resembling a balanced diet in them. I am always happy when he eats and enjoys his food, it makes cooking even more enjoyable:) Tomorrow is, of course, a holiday so we will not be doing our normal clinic run and will have to wait till Tuesday to get a feel for how his counts are fairing.

Off day… Day 660 04SEP10

Joshua had a slightly off day. He just didn't seem to be up to snuff all day. His stomach was giving him a little trouble but nothing major. He felt warm several times to either Renee or I but the thermometer gave a normal reading. His color looked a bit pale to me and he was just full of sighs. Taylor came over this afternoon to play for a while and Joshua kept up for a bit but then got rather tired and laid back the rest of the time. Not sure if anything is really wrong but then again not sure that there isn't something going on.

Poor Miss Allie has not been feeling well at all. She has been rather under the weather for the last day or so and was running a fever and generally feeling miserable this evening when we spoke to Jamie. Here's hoping for a short bout of whatever is ailing her and a quick return to normal.

Our evening was rather quiet with a bite of dinner and then all of us watching a bit of television together before the kids headed off to recharge their batteries. We will wait and see what tomorrow brings us.

School day… Day 659 03SEP10

Today was Joshua's first meeting at home with his teacher Miss McDonald who was his teacher last summer. He did really well with all of his schoolwork and got started on his homework as soon as she left. We will take him going to school anywhere we can at this point. Hi stomach has ben bugging him today and he took two rounds of Zofran to settle it down. Renee thinks it is because he just restarted chemo after two weeks off and I agree with her. This afternoon he went over to Renee's parent's house and got a little sailing practice in. It has been a long time since he has been able to take the pram out and it was a wonderful evening for him to be on the water.

The boys are spending the night so Renee and I got a little time alone this evening. This has been a particularly stressful week so we had a nice dinner that she cooked up and then watched a funny zombie movie which had us both laughing. It was a nice ending to an otherwise not so good day.

Busy day take 2… Day 658 02SEP10

Joshua had another busy activity filled day. He started off with a play date over at Wojtek's house this morning. They still had left over fun to get out of their systems from yesterday. Next stop was USF for some neurological testing that he has been getting to help us assess the effects that the chemo have had on him so far. We should have results in a week or so which will help us plan his school and other learning activities. The bright spot of our day came next when Renee receved a call from the clinic with Joshua's lab results.

All clear!

With a sigh we put those fears to bed and immediately wonder what else could be affecting his counts lately. It never ends…

Lastly we had dinner at the Children's Cancer Center with our cancer family. It was, as always, a fun evening with good friends.

Busy day… Day 657 01SEP10

Joshua had a pretty good but busy day. He started off with a play date with Wojtek who came over to play for a while. I had to leave for school so after he arrived but they were having a whole lot of fun already. Joshua's hip is feeling much better and he is acting perfectly normal. This evening we had a dinner party at LLS's headquarters to honor all the teachers who did the pennies for pasta program this past year. joshua and Madison were in attendance as the boy and girl of the year and they both looked great in their sashes greeting people as they came in. They also made sure everyone got a raffle ticket and knew where to go. Dinner was nice and it was all I could stay for as I had sneaked over in between classes t spend a little time with Renee and the kids. The rest of the evening was a lot of fun according to them and they stayed late to help put everything away afterwards. We might have results for Joshua's bone marrow tomorrow but kind of doubt it. More likely we will get results Friday so we will bide our time until then.