Friday!

Hi All,

I am very excited about it being Friday. The week has been busy with school, boy scouts, a visit for Isaac to the dentist for a filling.

David is doing very well post-chemo for this round. The biggest issue for him right now is that he is not eating properly. He is also waking up inhumanely early (this morning 4:30am). When he does this, he also wakes up his brother, so we are all suffering from lack of sleep around here. He did go back to sleep, but it is disruptive in the middle of the night.

His new eye is looking quite nice except for the fact that it has spent most of it's time upside down. It is pretty traumatic to him for us to try to take it out and turn it right side up, and then he fights us so hard when we put it back in that it ends up turned around. So, we have left it for the time being. We'll give him a few days of rest before we attempt to flip it right side up again. The process of taking the eye in and out isn't painful, but it causes him a lot of anxiety, so he fights. He will hopefully get used to the process and even be able to help us by doing some of it himself as time goes on.

We go back in on October 2 + 3 for the next round of chemo. They may even try to run the chemo as out patient this time instead of admitting us. We'll see what they decide.

-Kim

Brand New

Hi Everyone,

I'm sorry about not being a good updater lately. I have attempted an update several times in the past few weeks, but the result has been a jumbled mess of words that didn't really stick together coherently, so I decided not to actually post them.

Wow! Life has been busy. David is done with radiation, round 3 of chemo, and.......he has his new eye!!

Radiation was a chore. Driving that distance on a daily basis was very much a drag, but Rob's cousin was sweet enough to accompany David and I several times a week so that Rob could still go and work in the office. It worked out well, and it was as easy an experience as it could possibly have been. We grew to love our nurses and therapists, and I think they all loved David as well. David did develop some bad burns and even a bloody nose from the treatment, but I think that he is mostly over those symptoms now.

David with his sore eye and bloody nose.

We had just a couple of weeks after radiation before his next round of chemo. During that time, Isaac turned 6 years old, and the big kids both started at their new school.

Chemo went very well. Our nurses pushed hard to get us out as early as possible on Labor Day weekend, and David didn't have any reaction to the meds this time. We may not have to admit him overnight to the hospital next time, but we'll see. He is on the upside of his symptoms from that round of chemo as we speak. He will go in on Oct 2 and 3 for the next hit.

David plays "Dr. Hwang"

David enjoys taking our "orders". Here he is wearing his big brothers new bike helmet....I don't think he believes that I want a cheeseburger.

Yesterday, we took David to the ocularist to get his new eye. It was a long day, but a very amazing process. David came home with the first version of a new eye!! We will continue to visit the ocularist for fittings and colorings and so forth, but it is exciting. It is still quite easy to see that his eye is different, but it isn't quite as shocking as a blank eye. It should get more and more lifelike with each fitting. In the picture I will post, he has flipped the prosthetic upside down in his socket, so it isn't straight.

We also have purchased a pair of glasses for David to wear in order to give some protection to his good eye. It is going to be a big challenge to get him to wear them all the time. I am trying to get him used to the idea, but it is looking to be a nice big fight. We would appreciate your prayers for an easy transition to being a glasses wearer.

Dave with his new eye and glasses

I think that is about it in a nutshell. We are all enjoying our new home, and also our new church home which is about 3 minutes from our house. Hannah and Isaac have both made some sweet little friends that live not too far from the house, and that is a wonderful addition to our lives. We appreciate your prayers for our family!!

-Kim