April 18, 2013

SD began Maintenance cycle 4 today! Going into it we weren't certain whether he'd be able to have his procedures done because of the cough he's had for a couple weeks. It's been gradually getting worse over that time and he spent a lot of the night last night coughing. After listening to him this morning, the nurse ordered x-rays of his chest and sinuses to make sure sedation would be safe. Thankfully he was cleared for all procedures and everything went smoothly.

His counts have continued to improve since Monday, so he is going back on his oral chemo starting today. Some of his dosages have actually increased because he's reached a new weight bracket. He'll need counts rechecked in two weeks to make sure he's handling everything. He has gone through the whole accessing ordeal four times in just under two weeks, which is pretty hard on him; even when he just has a blood draw through his port and no chemo, it takes a lot out of him.

After clinic today we brought the kids and Grandma Cleary to the butterfly exhibit at the Frederick Meijer Garden. It was a short trip due to rain, but quite enjoyable for all!

April 15, 2013

SD is off chemo until further notice.

It all started about 2 weeks ago. It's sometimes hard to tell when SD is pale because he is such a fair-skinned boy to begin with, so we go by his nails and lips. When his lips turned pale after two days of pale finger and toe nails, we decided to have his blood counts checked.

His hemoglobin level had dropped to 8.6, so that would explain the paleness, but it wasn't low enough for a transfusion. All of his other counts were solid, which was quite encouraging; we thought that maybe he was starting to handle 6-MP at full dose at last!

DeVos wanted a recount one week later. By then SD's color had returned so we were completely surprised by the results. His hemoglobin was now 8.1 and all his other counts had plummeted into the severely neutropenic levels. Because of this, SD was taken off chemo for an undetermined length of time.

We had him checked yet again the following Monday (the 15th), and there was not much difference in his numbers, but every area had gone up. What a relief!

SD waiting for his counts on Monday.
After being accessed for the third time in ten days, he's rather weary of it.

March 16, 2013

SD has been doing really well since our last update. At his January 24 clinic he began Maintenance Cycle 3 (Maintenance is made up of 12-week cycles, with a spinal tap at the top of each cycle). His chemo dosages stayed the same because his hemoglobin count had decreased just slightly since his previous clinic, but everything else looked good.

SD was so hungry when he woke up from sedation that he was scarfing down his favorite treat with both hands!

At his February 15 clinic we were instructed to resume full dosages of everything! We actually have mixed feelings about this because he has never done well with the 6-MP at full strength, but we are excited that he's been healthy enough for long enough that the doctors want to try again.

SD likes to be the leader when we walk anywhere. Maybe because he's the first to reach buttons that way?

At his March 15 clinic, SD's counts came back quite a bit lower than their previous level. We expected this because of the change in chemo, but are hoping and praying that they have reached their lowest point. It'll be five weeks before his counts are checked again unless he gets very sick or shows signs of needing a blood transfusion, and obviously we would like neither of those things to be necessary! So far, even with his lowered counts he has remained energetic and playful, but he appears to be coming down with the cold his little sister has had this week, which seems to be affecting his mood and comfort a bit the last couple days.

Prayer requests:

1. That SD's body will handle the full doses of chemo from here on out or that we'll quickly find out the right dosage for him.
2. That if he does end up needing a transfusion, we'll recognize it. Last time he needed one we were shocked because he was happy and energetic and appeared as healthy as could be expected at the time.
3. That the steroids he's currently taking will not affect him too harshly. While he was on the lowered doses of methotrexate and mercaptopurine (6-MP) he handled the steroids surprisingly well. Last month was not quite so easy because he had gone back to the full dose of methotrexate, and now he is on the full dose of 6-MP, which is not something his body takes to.

January 22, 2013

We'd like to extend our apologies to our readers for the long delay between updates, but in this case no news is definitely good news! SD has been doing wonderfully on the lowered chemo dosages. Although he caught a cold the week preceeding Christmas, he recovered in under a week (we're used to his cough lingering for a couple weeks), and at his last clinic his ANC and WBCs were the best they've been in a long time (apart from when they shot up during his October PICU visit). In fact, they were so solid in spite of the recent illness that we've been instructed to increase one of his medications back to the full dose even though they usually wait to see three months of good counts. SD's counts have been good for two months now and it shows.

SD with his poke prize: a tiger!
These two were inseparable during the early January steroid pulse.

SD managed to escape going to clinic during the entire month of December. This allowed our family to enjoy a wonderful Christmas in Wisconsin with many family members and an unexpected extended trip into the U.P. to visit more family! With the five week break, however, comes a shortened time between his next appointments (and steroids). The three weeks have passed much too quickly. Please pray that SD's little body will continue to keep up with the medications, as this month will see him undergoing more chemo in a shorter time than he's had since Maintenance started in August.

November 28, 2012

One year ago today we received the mind-numbing news that our son has leukemia. We are so proud of him for how he has handled his treatment thus far and profoundly thankful to God for the same.

Our rosy-cheeked munchkin, enjoying the snow he's been anticipating since July.

One year down, two years and seven months to go.

November 1, 2012

It's been a busy month! After SD's 6-day stay in ICU, we returned home on Tuesday the 16th for a few days until his follow-up checkup in Grand Rapids on Monday the 22nd. Then Grandma Cleary watched the kiddos while Stephen and Mandy went to the Stratford Festival in Canada. As soon as we got back, both the kids and Stephen got sick (mild fevers, coughs, sore throats, and runny noses!) and we spent the next week closeted at home.

SD has been getting a little better the last couple of days, but we still weren't sure if he would get his regularly-scheduled spinal tap this morning. He still had a regular cough, his lungs weren't clear, and his bottom was still quite sore from his ulcer.

While we waited to hear about his counts and whether his lungs were healthy enough for sedation, the cap on SD's line fell off. This resulted in his needing to be re-accessed. They took a culture and put him on an antibiotic to protect him in case anything got in the line. Not a fun start to the day, but SD took it well, considering that he'd had a hollow needle stuck in him about twenty minutes before and was just settling in when he had to get all the tape ripped off his chest and start over again.

The doctor decided to leave the decision whether to sedate SD up to the sedation techs. Since a spinal tap is such a quick procedure they went ahead with it. We were pleased that this wasn't a wasted trip!

October 15, 2012 (Evening)

SD's counts have gone through the roof today! This is so very encouraging! His body should be much better able to start healing itself now.

His pain level has remained far more manageable today. He's been getting more independent again, wanting help with very few things and moving around quite a bit more. He is still quite touchy, but has also showered us with plenty of BIG smiles.

SD did very well during his CAT scan! Mandy was able to sit on the table with him the whole time and he lay perfectly still when he was supposed to. The scan showed no hidden abscesses! Of course, he is inflamed and has the one visible ulcer, but that is apparently improving, judging from the lessened pain and reduced redness.

SD's oncologist said that tomorrow we will "discuss a discharge plan". So far we know that SD will need to be on antibiotics at home, administered through his port using a pump. This is different from when we gave him chemo through his port, but our social worker said that a nurse from Munson will come to our house to train us how to do it. We're hoping to get him home tomorrow (although it will possibly be Wednesday) and see our little girl!