State Police Pics

I previously mentioned that just before Christmas the Maine State Police stopped by BBCH to hand out gifts. Here are a few snapshots of the visit. http://www.maine.gov/dps/msp/

If those officers only knew how much they hit the proverbial nail on the head by giving this six-year old some Bakugan toys. I’m not quite sure what in God’s name they are supposed to be and/or do. But I do know this....The have the ability to control on JT’s mind. I know this because when he's playing with them he ignores every word I utter.

Enjoy the weekend folks.
dct

Why this Sunday is a Super-Super Sunday....

Yes, there is a little football game. But with the Patriots playing golf and fishing, we don’t seem to have the Super passion this year. C’mon, Arizona? Really?!

The real reason – for the Taylors anyway- is that Sunday, February 1st, will mark the half way point in James’ rad/chemo protocol. As hard as it is to imagine that's twenty-eight weeks down, twenty-eight to go - so long as we stay healthy and are able to stay on track. For those of you keeping score at home, that’d be a total of fifty-six weeks.

Diagnosis and initial surgery aside, behind us are two mediport surgeries, six straight weeks of radiation therapy, two MRIs, four inpatient chemo stays, six Maine Children’s Cancer chemo visits and countless home nursing blood draws.

Before us we still have quite a trek. Five more inpatient chemo stays, nine more MCCP chemo visits, more MRIs and weekly blood draws. But with pinch of good luck we’ll look to wrap in up in late August. Just in-time for JT to head to second grade.

Enjoy your Super Sunday. We’ll be partying too.
Love to you all,
dct

Day Two Update....

James is doing well. His meds ended last night at 11:30ish and he's getting his post-hydration now. With luck we'll be home by 7 tonight.

If I know one thing, it's this: despite all of the civics lessons imparted on our wonderful children during their early formative years they really don't give a rat's ass about inaugurations. Especially, when there are video games in the other room. But, being a smart parent, I leveraged the video games for some inauguration. Okay, I bribed him so I could watch.

Take care everyone. Love to you all.
dct

P.S. - Good luck Tyler. You know who you are....We're thinking of you.

Hey there...

Thought I'd drop a note from hospital - it's chemo day. Things have been pretty routine..admitted just after eight, hung out waiting for orders to be filled, four hours of hydration and chemo began at 5:23. Tonight, if things work properly, at 11:23 chemo will be done and we'll begin the 18 hours of post-chemo hydration. Gotta pee all that bad stuff out, ya know.

James is suffering it all with grace (as the pictures below show). He's developed quite the affinity for the xBox 360 Spiderman video game. He and another little boy got to play it a fair amount in the playroom.

Have a great Tuesday!

dct

A Sigh and a Prayer

I just got a call from JT's oncologist and the head and spine MRI that JT had this morning looked fine. Of course, it will never look 'perfect' or 'normal' since he's had surgery, but we'll take fine any ol' day.

On top of that his blood counts have bounced back. Ironically, just in time to go back for more chemo on Monday and Tuesday. It's a vicious cycle; this cancer battle.

And.....probably more important I was hoping that all of you could do me a little favor. Tonight, tomorrow, whenever...take a moment and say a little prayer for a little 12 year-old girl named Shea. We know her from our time up at BBCH and - putting it far too mildly - she's hit a rough patch and could be doing better. She and her family could use some positive energy and/or prayers. Thanks.

Enjoy your weekend everyone. And stay warm (it a scorching 4 degrees as I type)!
Love to you all.
dct

Over 3000!

So I'll quickly fill in for Don in passing along that J's white blood cell counts are now over 3,000! We are all so excited! He went from just under 200 last week to 3468 this week, so chemo on Monday is a go, keeping him right on schedule (so far), and making us feel a bit more comfortable about James being around Jack's recent coughing fits.

James also had a follow-up MRI this morning and they looked at both his head and spine. We should know the results on that next week. For now, we're simply happy with the white counts!
Take care & thanks as always - Jenn

Happy New Year!

So, here it is - 2009. As cliche as it is, time does fly. Back in June the surgery, radiation and chemo schedule that laid before us felt like it would be a lifetime - 56 weeks! Now I when I glance at the back of James' head as see his scar it feels like a lifetime ago Dr. Wilson was describing the surgery he and his team were going to delicately perform.

Not to bring the mood down here, but 2008 was one hell of a year. One we Taylors hope not to go through again any time soon. Now don't get me wrong, there were many happy moments. However, March saw the passing of my brother, Nathan, at the young age of 34 as well as Jennifer's grandmother, Irene (Grand Memere) at 85 years young in late July. And, of course, this whole little cancer thing sprouted up in June. Why we didn't just pull up stakes and head for a little cabin in upstate Minnesota is a testament to y'all out there. Your support, love and kind words have really kept us grounded and focused on the path to wellness. Thank you.

Now for some news on the man, the myth, the legend. On the outside he's doing well. Those of you who have seen him up close may have noticed that JT is getting some fuzz hair back. He's getting more rest which, along with the passing of the holidays, has seemed to keep his energy up. While a full day of school takes a toll on the little guy, he's yet to fold. Nap, yes. But not fold.

On the inside, well, he's still fighting like a champ. This last chemo round took a toll on JT's blood counts. For one of the first times the Clinic firmly warned us that JT is not to be around any sick people. His ANC counts (basically, white blood cells) were essentially zero which classifies him as neutropenic. In layman's terms, neutropenia is a condition where you have low white blood cell counts and are at an increased risk of infection. Your defenses have just been beat to hell. So that's where JT is. His body is rebuilding the little buggers as best he can. It's just going to take some time. While his ANC was basically zero a week and a half ago he's climbed to a whopping 198 this week. Now clearly I'm no hematologist, but from what I've read, to put this into perspective he normally should be north of 1500.

For those keeping score at home we head into BBCH on Friday for a "routine" MRI. Let's keep our fingers and toes crossed. While I can't imagine anything, let alone a tumor, could be growing in his head right now, I also couldn't have imagined it to be there in the first place. Then a week from tomorrow, if all goes according to schedule, JT'll be back in the Big House for another two day chemo treatment.

On a much brighter note, James has finally joined his first grade brethren who have already lost teeth. I like to say that there was a great story behind his tooth loss. A big donnybrook on the playground or something. But I can't. James simply wiggled and twisted his first loose tooth out of his melon. To say that he was excited would be an understatement. Mom and Dad feel the same. It brings a welcome bit of normalcy into the little guy's life, letting us focus on the more typical milestones of being 6. Another nice thing is that he'll now go back to eating things harder than Spaghettios.

And then there's this. Jenn and I occasionally joke that Jack is the "evil one". Geez, the way we joke about it we've probably already laid the foundation for a lifetime of therapy. The argument can be made that his curly, wavy hair is only there to hide the spike horns. There's no denying his kinetic energy can be a little overwhelming at times but he does have a cuteness factor (parental bias, I know) that - more times than not - gets him out of the trouble he's created. James brought home this picture with his schoolwork this past week and was quite proud of it. I'm not trying to say anything here, but you'd have to agree that when your 6 year old brother "paints" this picture of you.....well, we'll let the picture speak for itself. It's titled "Jack, 500 Years Old."

Lastly, I'll leave you with this. One of Jenn's co-workers spent a great deal of time and energy on making these incredible foam light sabers for the boys. They have fallen head over heals in love with them. Here they show off their Jedi talents. Don't all Jedis wear fuzzy moose slippers?