A Week Off!

It was another good day around here for Carson. We went to the clinic this morning for blood work and chemotherapy. Today's chemotherapy included a spinal aspiration and chemo treatment, an IV push of Vincristine (another chemo), and two inter muscular shots of PEG Asparaginase (yet another chemo - given as one shot in each thigh).

As usual, Carson received his "happy juice" before the procedure. That stuff must be great because he was asking for it way before the procedure was to begin!

Three good things happened at the clinic today.

• The bloodwork came back good. Carson did not need a blood transfusion, his platelets were good and his ANC is now over 1,000. That's a lot better than 40! See what a few days off of chemo can do? Time with no chemo; time for the body to build back up.

• They did the IV push and PEG Asparaginase shots while Carson was still feeling the effects of the sedatives. He cried, but was quickly over it. At home, he said, "Why do I have band-aids on my legs?" He doesn't remember a thing.

• We are not scheduled to return to the clinic until September 8th. That's a week off from chemo! YIPEE!

After the clinic, Carson was feeling great, so great that he asked to take "the hog" out. This has not happened since the day after he got home from the hospital! He rode down to the church (about a block away) and rode over the speed bumps several times.

After tackling the speed bumps, he rode back to the cul-de-sac and conducted his self-appointed responsibilities as parking monitor - noting that the big Mercedes has wipers ON the headlights and that the old Volvo has a wire hanger as its antenna and mudflaps in the correct places. After all that excitement, he got tired (who wouldn't?). Paul carried the hog home and I carried Carson.

We continue to be thankful for good days like this!

-Jennifer

Cruising the Neighborhood

Carson's leukemia butt-kicking campaign: Day 49 of 1,278.

Did someone say neutropenic? You certainly wouldn't know it by how he acts. Carson continues to play around the house just as usual. Of course, not everything is "as usual". A month ago Carson ate everything in sight...food was all he thought about. But, now that he is off of steroids his appetite has changed somewhat. Think 180 degree change. Is it possible to survive merely on potato bread and starbursts? Hmmm...well it seems to be working here!

Carson received a special package from Florida. Can you tell he really likes trucks?

Carson dons his stethoscope. He says he wants to be like his doctor and give shots to kids with "bumpies" (aka leukemia). Paging Dr. Carson!

One thing that hasn't changed is Carson's passion for vehicles. Jennifer and Francesca escaped to their favorite place this afternoon - Target - and while they were gone Carson and I had a special boy outing - we drove around the neighborhood looking at antique cars! It's a boy thing.

We know of several antique cars in the area...and sometimes that's all he can talk about. Today was no exception, so out we went for an excursion. I realize for the non-male readers driving around to look at old cars may not sound like fun, but it is!!

We all had a good day today...and we'll take it.

Paul.

p.s. Thanks for the continued prayers, emails, and comments. The encouragement they provide to us is tremendously uplifting. Thank you!!!

Meeting up with Friends

Carson's fight against Leukemia: Day 47 of 1,278.

Today Carson reported back to the clinic for a chemo push (the last chemo of the week) and blood work. We are basically finished with the first two weeks of the consolidation phase. Yeah!! The results of the blood work came back good...kinda. He didn't need a transfusion of blood or platelets, but Carson's ANC was...well, a little on the low side.

Medical lesson of the day...as told by someone who did everything in their power to not take biology...and succeeded!

Neutropenia is an abnormally low level of neutrophils in the blood. Neutrophils are white blood cells produced in the bone marrow that ingest bacteria. Neutropenia is a serious disorder because it makes the body vulnerable to bacterial and fungal infections.

The measurement of Neutropenia is called your Absolute Neutrofil Count (ANC) and is classified according to the following scale:

• Mild Neutopenia: ANC of 1000 - 1500; low risk of infection

• Moderate Neutropenia: ANC of 500 - 1000; moderate risk of infection

• Severe Neutropenia: ANC below 500; severe risk of infection; activities curtailed

End medical lesson of the day...(okay, so I plagiarized a bit).

Carson's ANC today was a whopping 40. Four - zero. So, we are not going to be going out much for a bit.

The chemo side effects started to manifest in other ways, too. Carson had his first bought with nausea this afternoon. It wasn't severe or anything. He took a nap shortly after and woke up his normal, talkative self.

We know we are blessed to not have had any other complications thus far. Carson has proven himself to be a real trooper. I'm thinking his tolerance level for all of these medications must rival that of Superman...and for that we are forever grateful.

All was not bad...

After the visit to the clinic we all headed over to the hospital for pictures with Flashes of Hope. Carson had his picture taken along with a number of the patients on the pediatric oncology ward.

Carson and Francesca have their picture taken, then Carson hunts down Heather in her room.

After making mean faces to the photographer we stopped by to see Heather, Carson's adopted "big sis" on the ward. Both Heather and Carson were diagnosed with cancer on the same day. It had been several weeks since they saw each other last and Carson was super excited to see her again. Seeing sweet Heather again was definitely the highlight of the day. No. Make that the highlight of the week!

Go Heather!! Go Carson!!

To everyone else...keep those prayers coming!!

Paul.

1 for 4

I am thankful for miracles both big and small these days.

Today's miracle could be considered small, but it is big in other ways too. I actually got the chemo treatment done at home. I'm sure those nurses will miss my phone call and visit today, but they'll just have to be disappointed! They can always use the chocolate and other sweets around the clinic to console themselves.

My record for at home chemo treatments may be dismal; but right now, Carson and I don't care-today was a success!

-Jennifer

Tube Wars

Day 45 of 1,278

I headed out to Quantico Marine Corps base on Sunday for a mountain bike race. For those keeping count, this was my second race on a mountain bike...ever. I started in the safety of the back of the pack...and pretty much finished in the same place. (No false sense of ability here!)

This was my first time at Quantico, however. Here's how the ride went: pedal up an insanely steep hill until you think you're going to pass out, then struggle to push your bike up the rest of the way. Once on top of said insanely steep hill, wait for the picturesque wooded surroundings to stop spinning, remount your bike, and hang on for your life as you tear down the other side. Repeat for the next hour. Or, in my case, the next hour and twenty minutes.

After the race I heard that we were "lucky" because they redesigned the course this year to bypass the infamous "Puke Hill". That's interesting...I wanted to puke on ALL the hills.

Honestly, it was a beautiful, albeit brutal, course. But, my hour and change of self inflicted pain is nothing to what Carson is going through.

Another Spinal Aspiration

On Monday Carson had another spinal aspiration and chemo treatment. He was lightly sedated for the procedure, but could feel some poking nonetheless. He was slightly dehydrated which made it harder to get enough fluid samples. (Hello? You're not supposed to drink for an eternity...of course he's dehydrated!) Jennifer did an awesome job of keeping him distracted.

After the procedure he snacked around, watched videos, and talked about cars. FYI, talking about cars...especially antique cars...has become quite the sensation. We even surf the Internet to pull up pages and pages of pictures...but I digress.

After waiting about an hour he had his ara-c chemo treatment, which is just pushed through his tube, and then we were sent home. Just like last week, we are scheduled to do the ara-c treatment at home on Tuesday and Wednesday. And, just like last week, we are having a rotten time getting anything through the tube.

Just to summarize, so far we have yet to complete an ara-c treatment at home. That's 0 for 3, folks. And it's not like we are totally medically incompetent. We've had some medical practice with Francesca. Anyway, tomorrow we are going to see if we can make it 0 for 4!

The nurses at the clinic probably think we're nuts. But so far every time we've taken him in they've had problems with the tube, too. I'm not sure if that's a "bright side" of things, but it's something.

We have another home-based ara-c treatment scheduled for Wednesday. Check back to see if Jennifer was able to get the tube to work. Anybody want to take bets?

Please keep those prayers coming!!

Paul.

Being Number 2

Day 42 of 1,278

Despite being holed up in the house most of the day, Carson is doing really well. He is up and moving around...even going up and down the stairs (albeit gingerly). We even had visitors:

Carson contemplates whether Mark can be trusted to handle the US Postal truck appropriately. It's a tough call.

About the hair.

Some of you may have noticed that Carson's hair is drastically shorter. Just to set the record straight, it wasn't the chemo. I thought it would be a preemptive strike. You know, instead of waiting for Carson's hair to fall out, go ahead and take that Conair clipper kit out of storage, lube up the blades, and put it to use. Although his hair seemed to getting thinner and softer, he actually needed a hair cut. Thinking what hair he had could fall out at any moment, I thought a buzz cut would be a good idea. Sounds logical, right? So two weeks ago, that's what I did.

I knew this might not go over too well with the little guy. To sweeten the deal I promised him I would get a buzz cut, too. We'd make it a boy thing. I didn't mind...it's been hot and a buzz cut would feel great.

Except I made one teeny, tiny mistake. Instead of starting slowly and only cutting off a little bit of hair like a normal human would do, I decided to start with the super short number 1 attachment. Not good. He still has, or rather had, a good deal of hair. Unfortunately, after a swipe down the middle with the number 1 attachment, his head resembled a huge baby bird...covered merely in a thin coat of little fuzz. Wow...that is SHORT!

While waiting for chemo to arrive, the buzz cut gang slobber over pictures in the latest issue of Motor Trend magazine

As for my promise...well, I kinda chickened out. Instead of using the number 1 attachment like I did on Carson, I wussied out and used the number 2. It was a "number 2" move in so many ways! Nevertheless, we are enjoying our new "doos".

Get some new wiper blades and help JDRF.

Francesca and I ran a few errands this morning, including a swing by Advance Auto Parts for some new wiper blades. We noticed right away that the front of the store was covered in paper sneakers. Hmmm...those sneakers look interestingly similar to the JDRF "Walk To Cure Diabetes" sneaker.

Turns out Advance is in the midst of their Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDFR) fund raising campaign. In fact, they have raised more than 16.5 million dollars in the past 15 years. Impressive, huh? JDRF is an organization we have strongly supported ever since Francesca's diagnosis in 1999. Head down to your local store, get yourself some wipers, and make your contribution. It's for a great cause...and you'll be able to see out of your car better, too!

Paul.

Medical Happenings

If you are looking for a witty, wisdom filled post; then go ahead and skip this one. (Some might argue that you could skip all of them!) Anyway, this post will be filled with all the medical stuff so far this week.

• The spinal tap/chemo treatment went well on Monday. They used a different cocktail of sedation drugs than they do at the hospital. Carson was "awake" - I use the term loosely - during the procedure. He did not have to spend many, many hours without food and he doesn't appear to remember anything that happened during the 15-20 minute procedure. We will be doing the same thing for the next 4 Mondays.

• We received some new chemo drugs last Monday. The only side effect we've seen is a complaint of a headache a few times - and Tylenol seems to solve that. No fevers or trips to the ER this week!
  

• One of the new chemo drugs is given through Carson's port for 4 days in a row. Paul and I both had the chance to try out our nursing skills this week and administer the drug for 2 days at home. This is supposed to go smoothly, if your port and tube cooperate. Ours did not choose to do so. We got to go to the clinic Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Thank goodness we only live a little over 1 mile away from the clinic!

• We get to try to administer "Ara-C" at home again next week! Please work for us "tubey"!

So, despite a few problems this week, all is going pretty well. Carson continues to be in good spirits. He is resting well, playing more each day and returning to his sweet boy self. Thanks for the prayers! Keep sending them our way......every day is a new chaotic adventure in this house!

-Jennifer

Sibling Rivalry

Day 39 of 1,278

The long awaited reunion.

Francesca is back home and Carson is lovin' it! He loves his big sister soooo much. And she loves him so much. Except when he takes her favorite stuffed animal. Or takes her Nintendo. But, seriously, he only does that when he's trying to annoy her. Of course, being a little brother, he spends every waking moment of every day trying to annoy his big sister. That's what little brothers do, right?

But right now they have put the rivalry aside. Carson and Francesca have been apart for four weeks...a very long four weeks...and they are making up for it.

Helping Hand.

I don't know how we would have survived the past few weeks without Jennifer's mother, Jane. She is still with us for a few more days and last night Jennifer and I took one last advantage of her presence to sneak out for dinner. It was a relaxing few moments away from chemo, ports that aren't working right, the next phase of treatment, etc. What did we talk about at dinner? Chemo, ports that don't work, and the next phase of treatment. Ugh! There's no escaping!!

Nevertheless, it was great to get out. The burger I had at the Dogwood Tavern was AWESOME. And in reality, we did manage to squeeze in a few conversations that weren't related to Carson's leukemia. It was well worth it and great to reconnect again. Thanks, Jane!!

Now back to fightin' luekemia.

Go Chemo! Go Carson!!

Paul.

The Week in Review

Day 36 of 1,278

The grip of the steroids continues to loosen and Carson is slowly returning to his normal boyish behavior. He is smiling and laughing regularly. He is getting picky about his food. He is even wanting to get out and see things...as long as it is either a fire truck, airplane, or monster truck. And you know all is really well in the world when potty humor returns to rule the day.

Carson had a blast on Jennifer's birthday. Watch as he practices for his own birthday by repeatedly blowing out the candles.

Tomorrow we start the beginning of the "consolidation" phase of treatment. Carson will undergo a spinal aspiration with chemo to kill any lurking leukemia cells in his spinal fluid. This will be the first time we have done this procedure in the outpatient clinic. Please pray all goes smoothly!!

Jennifer and I are trying to find our new "routine". Jennifer has stopped teaching piano for the moment. She may start up again in the not too distant future...she is just waiting for things to settle down a bit more and see how Carson fares with this next round of chemo. I am back at work most days. I can't say enough about how grateful I am to have such a wonderful, understanding office. So far I have taken off to be with Carson at all the medical appointments...and that's been a huge help.

This past week was busy, complicated with a trip to the ER late Wednesday night. Carson had a slight fever. And with his risk of infection the doctors sent us to the ER at 10pm that night. Although it was a four and half hour visit (is anything quick in the ER?), there didn't appear to be any infection. We went home after some preventative IV antibiotics, got a few hours sleep, then went to the clinic for more IV antibiotics and tests later in the morning. Are we having fun yet?

With Carson's increased risk of infection...and our desire to avoid the ER...we are unable to go out as much. This, of course, means we have the opportunity to either a) eat more, or b) exercise more.

Although our natural tendency is to go down the path of eating more, we are, in fact, trying to exercise more. And with Jennifer's mom here, we are trying to take advantage of the built-in help. Jennifer and I have done more runs together in the past few weeks than the past year. I even did my first-ever mountain bike race...and survived. Okay, I had one minor crash right at the end of the race, but overall it wasn't too shabby of a debut performance.

On the approach to shock-a-billy hill...which is appropriately marked on trail maps with a skull and crossbones.

Francesca is due back home tomorrow and we can't wait to see her again. Carson has been asking about her and I fully expect he will perk up even more when she gets here.

Go chemo! Go Carson!!

Paul.

Induction Test Results

We'll write more a little later today regarding Carson's latest antics. But on with the latest news. The tests results are IN and we couldn't have asked for anything better. It is official....

• Carson's bone marrow continues to show no leukemia blasts present
• The Minimum Residual Disease Test came back stating that Carson had less than 0.1% leukemia cells present in the bone marrow. They can only measure as small as 0.1% - therefore, they assign a value of 0% as the final result to this test! If there is any little microscopic amount of leukemia left in the bone marrow, it is too small to measure.
  
• The MRD result means Carson is a "Rapid Early Responder" and he is now considered an Intermediate Risk.

Thank you God! Go Carson! Go Chemo!

So, what do we do next? We continue on to the next phases of treatment. For those with Intermediate and Low Risk designations, there are two arms of treatment in the study. The main difference between them is whether you receive a drug called Methotrexate in several big high doses, or whether you receive smaller doses of the drug more frequently. Carson has been assigned to the High Dose Methotrexate arm. This will require several 3-4 day stays in the hospital, but it will not occur until later in his treatment.

For now, Carson enter the Consolidation phase of treatment where he'll be receiving spinal chemo every week for the next 56 days. He'll also receive a few shots like the ones he had earlier in his treatment, more oral medications, plus a new cocktail of drugs to be given through the IV at various points.

We are extremely encouraged by the latest news, but now we're also scared as we move on to the next unknown. So many questions are crowding my mind, it is hard to enjoy the good news for very long. How will the next round of treatment go? How intense will the side effects be? Will we still have such wonderful test results? I wish this drama in which we find ourselves could be over at the end of Induction. "That's it, good test results, please collect your all clear certificate and proceed with your lives". If only it were that simple.

I say all this to ask again. Please keep our little guy in your daily prayers. His road is long and will continue to be hard at times. I am weary just thinking about it, but I know we'll all have the strength when we need it. We have the prayer support of our friends and family and a strong God on whom to lean.

Thank you God! Go Carson! Go Chemo!

-Jennifer

Induction is OVER, what's next?

At 5 PM, yesterday, we finally left the hospital. It was supposed to be the usual procedure - the bone marrow, spinal tap and chemo that Carson has had 3 times before. The procedure itself went fine, it was the events leading up to the actual procedure that caused it to begin over 4 hours late. I will spare you all the details. Let's just say, Carson was extremely mad/sad/tired for most of the day in large part because he had to go without food or drink for 15 hours! I cannot blame him one bit. Paul and I were mad/sad/tired too!

It's 4:30pm. Minutes after waking up from anesthesia, Carson inhales a cup of Cheerios, an entire peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and a bag of Sun chips. Then we went to dinner.

We survived, though, and we got those important tests done! After it was all over, Carson ate and ate and ate and ate and ate some more while still in recovery. Sorry, no slow going after anesthesia from this boy! After an hour of that, we then got released from the hospital and took him to "Pizza Joe's" where he ate and ate and ate some more. And when we got home, he asked for Nachos. ¿Que? 15 plus hours of no food makes a 3 year old a little hungry.

This morning, it is the same thing. Aren't those steroids wearing off yet? Oh well, I am happy to give him any food he desires after having to tell him no over and over again yesterday.

Paul and I have an appointment with the doctor this Friday. We will find out all the test results and then move into the next phase of treatment called Consolidation. Consolidation is not the same for everyone, it depends on test results and it also depends on how you are "randomized". Carson is part of a study. During consolidation he will receive a chemotherapy protocol and then randomized so that he may or may not receive a new experimental medication.

It's amazing how far science has brought us. And it's amazing how much we still don't know. Our doctors won't know if Carson is receiving the experimental medication or just a placebo. And there's no guarantee that if he does receive the new medication that it will help...or for that matter a guarantee that it won't hurt.

The only thing that we know works...is prayer. We have a long way to go. Please keep praying for Carson.

-Jennifer

Ditto

Want to know what happened today? Just reread yesterday's posting and leave out the doctor's office visit. 'Roid Boy still loves Joe's Pizza and we went there again. And guess what? He's already talking about going again tomorrow!

We took our last dose of steroids this evening. I can only pray that the steroids will wear off by the beginning of the lunch buffet tomorrow!

-Jennifer

Fuller than a Tick

Day 27 of 1,278

I know, we've mentioned this this a number of times already, but Carson, aka 'roid boy, hasn't exactly been great to be around. It's just that the change in his behavior has been so dramatic...and it keeps getting worse! How can a fun loving, energetic boy turn into Dr. Evil so quickly? The boy is mean...especially these past few days. (Francesca, be glad you are in Texas and don't have to suffer this!)

And its not just been his behavior. He looks so different, too. If the police were to stop us, they'd probably think we were hiding contraband in his cheeks. No joke...they are that huge! Not even the stay-puff marshmallow man can top this! And it's not just his cheeks. All of his shirts are skin tight...they barely cover his stomach. In addition to all the medical expenses, are we now going to need a whole new wardrobe? Hopefully not.

The end appears to be in sight...at least for this. Tomorrow is the last day of steroids!! We are already doing the happy dance around the living room! (Yeah, we may be celebrating a tad bit early, but right now we don't care.)

In the food world they call him the Terminator. Follow Carson as he goes to the doctor, gets good news, then heads to the place of his dreams - Joe's Pizza - to demolish the lunch buffet.

For lunch today we headed to Joe's Pizza. Carson has been talking...no...PLEADING to go there for the past week. Today he got his wish. His blood work came back with a green light to be around other people, so we headed out for a change. Carson spent an hour grazing the lunch buffet. Think we are exaggerating about how much he can eat? Check out the video above and watch the people come and go at the tables in the background.

In medical news, we had an appointment this morning for blood work at the clinic. Everything was good. No...everything was EXCELLENT. No transfusions were needed.

We go to the hospital on Monday for bone marrow and spinal fluid tests. One of the tests with the bone marrow is called the Minimum Risidual Disease test (MRD). This will be the last test used to determine the next treatment protocol. Pray that the MRD test comes back less than 0.1%. This will put Carson squarly in the Rapid Early Responder bracket.

Even with an MRD less than 0.1%, Carson will still be in the intermediate to high risk category. This is the best we can hope for. We know we will not be in the "Low" category because of his super high white blood cell count at diagnosis. And there is only one more category more severe, and that is for cases that are not in remission.

Above all, keep praying for Carson's excellent response to the medication. The doctors continue to be amazed...and we aim to please.

Thanks for the comments and emails...and keep them coming. They are a great encouragement!

Go Carson!!

Paul.

Monday Medicine

Well, we finished our last chemo of the induction phase yesterday. Hurray! The chemo, along with a platelet transfusion, a sodium drip and two blood tests, took us 6 hours at the doctor's office; but the important thing is, we got to go home afterward.

Carson is extremely tired today, but he's still doing well. He woke up early, but by 9AM he fell fast asleep for 3 hours. It is now 2:30 and he appears to be heading off to dreamland again - even though old Scooby Doo episodes are very exciting.

We go to the doctor again on Friday for blood work and then to the hospital on Monday for bone marrow test, spinal tap, spinal chemo treatment, plus the Minimum Residual Disease (MRD) test. This latest test will look for microscopic amounts of leukemia left in the bone marrow.

As you might have guessed, Monday will be yet another important day for us. Please pray for a good result on the MRD, that is an MRD of less than 0.1%. A result like that will clearly mark Carson as an "Early Responder" and be very encouraging.

I must close for now as Carson has recovered somewhat from his sleepiness and has placed an order for Mac N Cheese. Thank you to all those who continue to pray for us, visit us, cook for us and support us through all of this.

-Jennifer

Gingerbread Cookies and Ice Cream

Day 22 of 1,278

We continued our eating rampage, today. Every day seems to bring a new craving and today it was...of all things...gingerbread cookies. Huh? Where did THAT come from? Did I miss the memo? Is it already Christmas??

So, out the door goes Jennifer. Off to the store to get some sugar so we can bake gingerbread cookies. It's just another day at the King household.

Carson had a fairly good day today. His good friend Nils came over and that seemed to help get him off the couch. Well, he didn't really get off the couch. But, he did sit up and take notice...especially when Nils wanted to touch the new jet airplane toy. Nothing like a good fight over a toy to get your mind off of how bad you feel! (Nils, that was just what the doctor ordered. Thank you!)

Carson, feeling briefly satisfied, after inhaling an ice cream cone and tootsie roll.

In the evening we headed down to Lazy Sunday, the local ice cream hang out. Carson insisted we go...although he didn't have to insist very hard. (Sorry, Francesca. We'll make it up to you, though, when you come home!!) Carson had his mind set on a cone of peppermint ice cream, but they were out. Uh oh. We braced for 'roid boy to appear...but he calmly accepted a cone of vanilla instead. Whew! We all let out a collective sigh of relief.

I have to give a big thanks to the staff at Lazy Sunday. They could tell Carson really wanted some peppermint ice cream. While we were eating they went into the back and found just enough to fill a to-go cup...and they gave it to him free of charge. Thanks Lazy Sunday!! Would it be wrong of me to also let them know that Carson likes to share hot fudge sundaes with his father?

In medical news, round 4 of chemo is tomorrow. Carson is hanging in there like a champ, but we still need prayers. Keep 'em coming!

Go Chemo! Kill those nasty leukemia cells.

Go Carson!!

Paul

The New Normal

Day 21 of 1,278

Carson continues to lounge around the house. His normally pleasant demeanor appears every now and then...but usually NOT when people visit. (Sorry folks!) He did perk up for a brief bit when his friend Andy came to visit today. But only briefly.

Carson's cheeks continue to grow by the day. You know how when kids take and hold a big breath of air and their cheeks puff out? That's Carson, except he looks like that all the time. (It's actually very cute.) He also still has his hair, although it might be a tad bit thinner. (We're not sure if it's thinner from the chemo, or if we're just looking at it more closely than ever before.)

Carson contemplates how he can pocket Andy's toy truck. But Andy is on to him!

We are all honing our skills as short order cooks. (Look out Hell's Kitchen!) We trip over each other, running at breakneck speed from one side of the kitchen to the other to satisfy the Czar's latest craving. But the cravings just keep on coming. Today, it went something like this:

• Grilled cheese sandwich (x2)
• Peanut butter and jelly sandwich
• Pancakes (morning and evening)
• Hot dog (x2..or was it 3?)
• Chicken nuggets and fries (McD's)
• Fruit snacks (x3)
• Chocolate (after morning and evening meds)
• Bread - just plain

Now, I have to say...he didn't eat it ALL. He mostly would take a few bites, then say he's done and send it back to the kitchen. Thirty minutes later, of course, he'd ask for it again. If nothing else, we have lots and lots of food in the house. We never know what he's going to think of next.

Of course, with all this food in the house, it's not easy for the rest of us...especially me, the human garbage can. There's always something cooking...some sweet smelling aroma floating through the air. It's tough resisting the urge to eat your way through the day!

Carson is still tired, but was at least more talkative today...which is a good sign he's feeling a little better. He went on a ride in the car (to the drive thru at McDs), and he talked the entire time.
If we could get the rest of the body feeling as good as the jaw muscle, I think he'd be in really good shape!

This evening Carson wanted to go for a ride in the stroller down to the bike trail. This wasn't just to go to the bike trail, but rather to see the fire station which is down right next to the bike trail. Our timing couldn't have been better. As soon as we got there the firemen pulled one of the fire trucks around back to wash it. And then they tested the chain saws! And then one of the ambulances got a call! Carson was absolutely beside himself.

Is there better entertainment for a 3 year-old boy?? Thankfully they didn't know we would have PAID to watch this!

For Jennifer and I, we are trying to get our lives back to "normal". Some things have not changed. For instance, we went on a six-mile run this morning. We are still slow. I went out to Fountainhead to ride the mountain bike trails earlier in the week. Yeah, I still stink. We gave the dogs a bath. And we still wonder, "Where the heck does all that hair come from?"

It's not the same as the normal before leukemia, but at least some things haven't changed. :-)

Monday is round four of chemo. Go Carson!!

Paul