Many Many Things

I have chastised myself for not updating everyone here, but I have to admit that there are times that recounting life's events is difficult - mostly because words are inadequate but also because even recounting joys can be emotionally draining.

But I will try to start from the beginning and get you all to where we are!

David recovered very very quickly from his flu. He did great taking the Tamiflu antiviral medicine....if we mixed it in a spoonful of honey, he would even beg to take it. We were grateful that he didn't fight this since he often fights taking medicine.

We finished his chemo on schedule! Rob and I were complete wrecks the whole time, but David did really well, and there were no major incidents to speak of. They even let us do outpatient chemo this time which was wonderful. We spent Friday night at Rob's grandparent's house in Greensboro, and I think it helped David to be in a familiar place without the many nocturnal interruptions that happen in the hospital. We are all (big kids included) soooooooooo happy to be done with this part of his treatment.

David handled the after effects of the chemo very well. He had a few days where his tummy was just not up to par, and he would ask for a few naps a day, but that was very short lived. His blood counts have since recovered, so we have been able to stop giving him his daily shot of growth hormone!!

Since chemo, David has had an exam with the eye Doc. Good eye is still clear, and the other eye is healed up quite nicely! We don't have to go back for another of these exams until April, and that may be our last exam where David has to have anesthesia.

We have also had him in for an MRI. Thankfully, they have changed some of their procedures in the radiology department and have some newer medications that don't have the same bad side effects. Before, David would wake up in a VERY violent rage after being sedated. He was so hard to handle that Rob and I could hardly keep him from hurting himself. He would also throw up multiple times for several hours afterwards. The new medication made him more sleepy, but he didn't have the rage or the vomiting, so that was nice.

Best news of all is that the MRI was clear!!!! This is a huge step in the right direction. Because of this, we are going to be scheduling a time to take out his port in the near future, and hopefully it will be just periodic monitoring for the next several years.

We are struggling to get David's prosthetic to work well. He has also had another visit to the ocularist since chemo. He refitted David's eye to help make it more comfortable, and we are trying out some different things to lubricate the eye since the radiation David had seems to have damaged his tear production. But so far, it is still a huge fight to keep him from messing with it and pulling it out. We have had several frantic household searches for it since he likes to take it out when no one is watching. And although it is small, it is quite expensive, and we really don't want to lose it.

So, I think that is mostly it. Rob is doing well at work, although he's been very busy. Hannah and Isaac are doing very well at school. I am doing my best to keep some order and routine at the house, but we love our new house and the area that we are in. God has put us in a great place!

For our faithful prayer warriors, here are a few specifics that you can put on your list:

1. That we can get David's eye to stay in comfortably. That he will stop rubbing it and trying to get it out, and that we can come up with a good solution to make it feel comfortable.

2. We are going to start potty training tomorrow.

3. That David will start sleeping through the night again. He's been waking up and trying to come into the bed with us. This started during a rather tumultuous time for David, so we let him do it for awhile, but now we are needing to all get some rest at night.

4. For Hannah and Isaac to continue to do well in school.

5. For Rob to continue to do well at work.

We hope that you all have the Merriest of Christmases! Our family is enjoying a nice "stay-cation" until the new year.....including about 8 inches of snow that we had on Friday (actually I don't like snow in the least, but the kids are sure enjoying it). We appreciate the support that you all have been to us. I'm not sending Christmas cards out this year, but know that you are all appreciated more than you will ever know.

With immeasurable love and thanks,

Kim

Jiggety Jog

We are home from the hospital!

David did NOT have the H1N1 strain of the flu. The oncologist told us this morning that he is the first case of the seasonal flu that they have seen this season.

After the first traumatic night, David's fever never came back. They kept us overnight last night to make sure that he didn't spike another fever and thus have another seizure. He slept as peacefully as the lady that takes vital signs would let him :-).

So...we are home. Chemo is still on schedule for Friday, but the oncology team will check him over really well first. He will be done with his prescription for Tamaflu by then, so hopefully we will be out of the woods as far as this is concerned. Just pray that neither Rob or I will come down with the illness.

We also have an MRI scheduled for December 15. This is partly routine, but they also want to check to make sure that there are no other reasons that he would have had a seizure. They are fairly certain that his seizure was brought on by his high temp, but they want to be absolutely certain of it.

We appreciate your prayers for continued healing for David, a hand of protection over the health of the rest of the family, that this round of chemo will be without further complications, and that the MRI will come back clear.

I am also supposed to be scheduling David's next exam under anesthesia with the eye doctor soon. I'll try to keep you posted on when that will be.

-Kim