Visits

Friends!

I just wanted to give you all a few updates.

I take David next week for a follow up appointment with the radiation oncology team. I'll probably be taking him by myself since this appointment should just be a bunch of talking and maybe a blood pressure or temp.

The next really big appointment is scheduled for March 5th. This will be David's first official "off therapy" MRI. This means it is the first MRI where all the chemo will be out of his system. It is a big exam for him, so of course Rob and I are anxious about it. MRIs are difficult on everyone. Although they now have a new medicine that doesn't send David into a post-sedation rage, it makes him very very subdued and wobbly for about 24 hours. This means that we have to be diligent to make sure that he doesn't overdo things or fall and get hurt. This coming MRI will be the first one where they will have to put in a peripheral IV since his port is out now. That will be a huge challenge since he is quite a fighter. We appreciate all your prayers on that day. Thankfully, he is scheduled for the first MRI of the day, so he will not have to fast as long.

After his MRI, we will go straight upstairs and see the oncology team. We should be getting a preliminary reading of his MRI during that visit. David will have blood drawn, and we will have a follow up appointment with the Doc.s in charge of his oncology care. It will be a long day, but we are grateful that we can do both appointments in one trip.

Currently, David is doing very well. He has a bit of a cold, but not a terrible one. He's been having some discharge from his eye, but we are sure this is due to his cold (that is a normal side effect of a cold for him). In spite of this, he's been doing well with his prosthetic lately. He still fights putting it in, but is doing well at taking it out on his own, and will even put ointment in on his own at times. We are learning how to prepare his eye before we try to put it in, and we have figured out some things to make it a quicker and less traumatic process. There is still a way to go, but we are encouraged by the progress.

The big kids have spent yesterday and today at home due to the 8+ inches of snow we got over the weekend. Sadly, we aren't prepared for outdoor play, so they haven't spent much time in it. They are both doing very well at school. Isaac is struggling a little bit with his subtraction facts, but he is progressing well with his reading and spelling. Hannah is also struggling a little bit with her subtraction, so we are going to have to start drilling with both of them. They have great teachers, so we feel so blessed.

Rob is still doing well, and I am trucking along. I am really enjoying being able to get out of the house with David a couple times a week to the gym. He really enjoys being able to see people, and gets so excited when we get ready to go somewhere. We are also enjoying the ability to go to church again as a whole family!

Thanks for keeping up with us!

-Kim