So while Don takes a break tonight (and yes for the past month too) from the blog, I'll fill you in on the last week. James had round 2 of chemo on Monday, Nov. 10th into Tuesday the 11th. No major differences from the last go around except that the chemo started 4 hours earlier this time, which meant James got to sleep just a wee bit more overnight, and that he got to play more Star Wars Legos on the XBox.
No major differences also means...so far...no puking. Mom & Dad & the nurses are thrilled.
Speaking of that, I'll go back just a bit and cover the last month briefly. James handled the chemo like a champ. There was no explicitly chemo-related puking...always good, especially since there can be a delayed nausea effect with 1 of the 3 drugs he received. His blood counts stayed up high enough on all levels to keep us out of the clinic for the 3 week break in between chemo rounds. Also, knock on wood, no infections. So he's been going to school, keeping his OT & PT appointments and trying to keep busy with some of the normal busy life stuff of a 6 year old.
No major differences also means...so far...no puking. Mom & Dad & the nurses are thrilled.
Speaking of that, I'll go back just a bit and cover the last month briefly. James handled the chemo like a champ. There was no explicitly chemo-related puking...always good, especially since there can be a delayed nausea effect with 1 of the 3 drugs he received. His blood counts stayed up high enough on all levels to keep us out of the clinic for the 3 week break in between chemo rounds. Also, knock on wood, no infections. So he's been going to school, keeping his OT & PT appointments and trying to keep busy with some of the normal busy life stuff of a 6 year old.
There was apple-picking, scarecrow-making, leaf-raking, playing with friends, Halloween, and a cousin's birthday party. Of course, he was Darth Vader for Halloween (thank you DeeDee), and collected his fair share of candy which he has unknowingly shared with his mother.James is thrilled that one of his favorite nurses, Kristen, gave him an early Christmas present. Her kids had outgrown them, so James is now the happy inheritor of over 1,500 Pokemon cards. (Ada, Tate & Bella...we've told him to share!) "It's like Christmas for me today," he said. "Remember that on Dec. 25th," I thought to myself as he's also been busy making up "wish lists" out of the numerous unsolicited toy catalogs that seem to be flowing into this house daily.
James went to school for most of the remainder of the week, but a phone call came from the school nurse Friday after lunch. Turns out all the chemo meds & side effects were not his biggest problem this week. The kid can beat all that...apparently, it's a double ear infection he couldn't escape this week! Throw another medicine into the mix; what's one more, right?!
Truly, he's been a trooper through all of it so far. There are things he definitely does not like, but he gets through it in his own ways and then moves on to the next thing a 6 year old boy might care about.
Thank you to all who have continued to ask about how James is doing, and those of you who have kept him and us in your thoughts and prayers. I know it's still almost a couple of weeks away, but we realize we have so much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving, and will have you all in our thoughts as well. - Jenn
