Celebrating Christmas and Preparing for Round 4

We had a great Christmas. Jennifer's parents and brother celebrated with us and spent gobs of time playing with Carson and Francesca.

Just as expected, when it came to presents, Carson and Francesca made out like a bandits...as they should. Santa brought a Secret Service play set for Carson, complete with an Air Force One and a presidential limousine. It took us a while to figure out the puzzle of Chinese packaging, but we were finally able to liberate the limo so it could be used as a jump obstacle for the monster trucks.

Santa didn't have to bring the monster trucks. Those came with the boy.

Francesca made out with a couple of nice coats, among other things. Jennifer got a new coat. Even I got a new coat. Hmmm...do you detect a trend here? Although we suffered through last year, it seems as if none of us can find our coats after moving back from Florida. Now we are a step closer to acclimating in our "new" environment.

In medical news, Carson is doing well, although the first few nights after coming home from the hospital were rough. Shortly after getting home he developed sores in his mouth and throat - a side effect from the chemo. A runny nose exacerbated the problem at night making for some not-so-fun nights...and tired parents. However, now we are on an antiseptic mouthwash and antibiotics and things have improved considerably.

Yesterday we made our way to the clinic for our follow-up visit and all was well. Our next appointment is Monday, and if things are a "go" we'll head to the hospital to begin our fourth and final round of HDMTX.

We are forever grateful for the many cards, gifts, food, comments, and most of all, prayers. I can't begin to express how much they mean or how much they help. Suffice to say I don't think we'd get by without them. Thank you.

Paul.

Christmas Miracle Deja Vu

We are home again!

Our Christmas present this year is Carson coming home on Christmas Eve. HDMTX treatment number 3 finished up without much fanfare...and that's just fine with us. Carson again tolerated his nasty chemo concoction amazingly well.

A big thanks goes out to the doctors for bumping up his treatment by a day. Because of that we are able to spend Christmas Day at home...opening presents and doing all the crazy-fun things that kids should be doing on Christmas.

Ten years ago today.

Talk about deja vu. Christmas Day ten years ago we were in Texas and it was Francesca who was being released from the hospital.

A flashback to ten years ago today when we were caring for another sick puppy. (Check out those glasses!)

The amazing part is this...we really weren't suppose to be in Texas. This was 1999. Remember all the "year 2000" hoopla? I wasn't suppose to take leave. But, we were living in West Africa at the time. We weren't worried about all the computers in the world crashing, the electrical grid coming to a halt, or the water treatment plants shutting down. Heck, that was daily life for us! So, despite the travel restrictions put in place that year at work, my boss let me take leave for the holidays.

By the time we were admitted to the ER in Texas, Francesca was unconscious. Then we were told her blood sugar was 850...uh, just "slightly" higher than the normal 80 - 120. I was hoping it was from too much Sprite...but it was diabetes.

Francesca, barely two years old, was quickly transferred to the Pediatric ICU at Medical City Dallas where she spent two nights getting her blood sugar under control. Those were two long nights. There were only 12 or so beds on the ward...and a child died each of the nights we were there.

Once hooked up to fluids and insulin, Francesca sleeps for almost 24 hours.

At one point while in the hospital I switched on the tv to catch up on the news...only to learn that a number of soldiers had taken control of the city where we lived in Africa and there was shooting in the streets. It was a military coup. Had we been there we wouldn't have been able to get Francesca to the hospital...assuming the hospital there could have helped anyway.

Do we believe in divine intervention? Do we believe in miracles? Heck yeah!

Two Christmas miracles are at home with us this year, plus the celebration of another miracle - the birth of Jesus. Enjoy all the miracles in your life today because every day is a blessing from above.

Merry Christmas!!

Paul.

Start of HDMTX #3

Day 163 of our war on leukemia.

We did most of our digging out on Saturday...during the storm...and thank goodness we did. Otherwise we would have been digging for hours on Sunday. Depending on which weather report you believe, we received somewhere between 16 and 20 inches. The good news is we made it to the hospital at 9am, just as planned.

Loading up to head to the hospital.

A view of the outdoor play area. Uh, I don't think we'll be heading outside anytime soon.

Carson is concerned for the poor toys covered in the snow. Most can't even be seen!

When we arrived at the hospital we found nurses, doctors and administrators who had not been home since Friday. These same people did Carson's spinal on Sunday (usually these are done during the week), so we could start chemo a day early and have a chance to get home on Christmas Eve. Thanks guys for arranging this and letting it happen!!! 10 years ago we spent the 21st-25th of December in the hospital when Francesca was diagnosed with diabetes. Christmas in the hospital is not an anniversary we'd really like to repeat.

Fast forward to today. Things are going well. Carson is feeling great and eating well. We will finish chemo tonight around 9:00 tonight; then begin the waiting for the methotrexate level to get to less than 0.1%.

-Jennifer

Digging Out

Things have been quiet around the house the past few days...sort of.

We had a change in grandparent help on Wednesday. It took Carson a good day or two to finally remember to begin all sentences with "Grandma", not "Nona". And with as much talking as he does, that's a lot of wrong name calling.

Then this morning the big snow storm came. We spent the day either inside eating or outside digging out. And then there was more digging out...and then even more digging out. And tomorrow, before we can do anything, I'm sure we'll have to dig out again. The snow along our sidewalk is now waist deep.

Why did I sell the snowblower?

Tomorrow we are off to the hospital for round 3 of the HDMTX chemo treatment. However, before starting the chemo Carson will be having an LP (lumbar puncture to flush his spinal area with chemo) and a blood transfusion.

Please pray we can get to the hospital and that things will go smoothly again. Thanks!!

Paul.

Meeting with Santa

156 days into our war on leukemia!

Carson has been feeling really good. His energy level is...well...that of a normal four year old boy. He's so active you'd think they were pumping Mountain Dew into his port. For the record, this is not the case.

We went to the clinic today for a check-up and blood work. Carson has developed mouth sores - a common side effect of the chemo. Fortunately they don't seem to bother him. We now have a special mouth wash to help speed up the healing process.

Check out the fuzz on my head! With a longer period between treatments, Carson's hair is starting to come back. So far it's darker and coarser. However, it'll probably fall out again before we're through.

The big news of the day was Santa made a visit to the clinic and brought Carson a present!!! Carson looks a little timid in the picture here (okay..he is), but he warmed up later on. In fact, we ended up stalking Santa around the clinic after the doctor was finished with us.

Overcome with excitement...and feeling a little intimidated by the big guy in the red suit!

Thanks to Growing Hope for the gifts and for making today a special one for all the kids fighting cancer!

We are heading back to the clinic on Friday for more blood work. We may even need a transfusion of the red stuff. If everything works out we'll hopefully head back to the hospital on Sunday to start round three of HDMTX. We're shooting to start or Sunday so HOPEFULLY we can get out by Christmas...otherwise it'll be Monday, which means we probably won't get out before Christmas.

Paul.

Officer King Sent Home!

Even though hospital staff claim that Officer Carson King is being released only because his methotrexate level is below 0.1%, rumors persist that King is being discharged due to the friendly fire incident he was involved in earlier this week at the hospital.

In an obvious attempt to dodge the question, when asked for comment, Officer King remarked that "Santa bring me presents and we go to McDonald's". He then exited the building accompanied by his entourage which included his mother and grandmother, both of whom claimed he would be taking a nap as soon as possible!

-Jennifer

Rocket Attack

Carson finished up his HDMTX chemo treatment last night and has been on a fluids flush ever since. Despite the nasty medicine, he has maintained a big appetite and high energy levels. We'll see if that holds true over the next few days.

In the meantime, this is how we spend our free time:

Watch as Carson and the gang use rocket launchers to protect the oncology ward. (Uh, guys, I think you could use some more time on the practice range.)

If you are thinking we must not be having "tubey" or port issues because I haven't complained about them yet, you'd be wrong. True to form, tubey is already acting up and proving very difficult to for blood draws. Right now I'm praying we can make it through the night without having to re-access. More than that, Carson is close to clearing the residual chemo out of his blood. A better prayer would be for good enough numbers that we can simply take tubey out and go home!

We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Thanks to everyone for the help and the prayers!!

Paul.

Start of Round Two

Day 150 of a 1,276 day treatment plan...and going strong!

Carson's ANC on Monday was up to 930, so off to the hospital we headed for round two of our high dose chemo treatment.

Every time we come to the hospital we run into friends...and this time was no different. Before we even got a room we ran into Heather, and soon after met up with some other friends, too. They played hard - riding around the ward and running into people and things. Watch out!

Heather and Carson show off their syringe squirt guns...moments later they attacked me!

One of the preteen boys demonstrated to the younger gang members how to make squirt guns with syringes. Yeah....that wasn't such a good idea. You could see the little motor turning in their brains. Moments after the kids figured how that worked and each went through their mental checklist of what to squirt, nurses and parents were running for cover all over the ward.

The kids here are no different than anywhere else - they love to play. Lucky for me I had another pair of pants to change into!

So far so good with the chemo. Please pray that continues!

Paul.

Francesca Grows Gills

Well, as you might have guessed, Friday came and went and we are still not in the hospital. Carson's ANC was a hair below what was needed to start the next round of chemo.

Not to say we were terribly disappointed. Francesca was slated to race in the Tom Dolan Invitational Swim Meet, which is one of the biggest meets of the year for the swimmers in the area.

Watch as Francesca overcomes parental embarrassment and goes on to swim her best times ever!

Not having the hospital hanging over our heads, we were able to spend more time cheering Francesca on to seven - yes, SEVEN - new personal records. Way to go Francesca!!!!

As for Carson, we are heading back to the clinic on Monday morning and expect to be heading to the hospital for round 2 of HDMT immediately afterwards. Of course, we were thinking the same thing last Friday...and the Monday before that, too.

Whether we head back to the hospital tomorrow is really inconsequential. The HDMT will be waiting on us for whenever we show up. The important thing is Carson is feeling amazingly well. He is eating all the time...not as much as when he was on steroids, but a lot nonetheless. He is playing and talking nonstop. And even though that can be annoying, we love it.

Every day is a blessing.

Paul.

Real Men Bake

When the going gets tough.....

The tough get baking!? Did I read that somewhere?... maybe not. Carson and I have been hanging out at home waiting for his ANC to rise. So, we've been baking (and eating!) Christmas cookies to pass the time.

Carson has also been delivering cookies to the neighbors on his big wheel. I need to put his Santa hat on next time he's out as a "livewy man". That's a "delivery man" in Carson speak.

Friday we hopefully head back to the hospital to start our next round of chemo. At least we will have plenty of goodies to bribe the nurses and doctors with once we're there. If we haven't eaten them all by then.

-Jennifer

Carson working his magic in the kitchen!

Carson declares himself a "Good Cooker" by eating his creations.