February 13, 2012

SD's appointment was later in the day today than usual, but it turned out to be the perfect time for him to get a good nap on the road (we were particularly pleased to see this since he has recently been resisting naps). He woke up in the best mood as we pulled off the expressway to grab some lunch, and it lasted through the rest of the day. That is a pleasant circumstance any time, but especially appreciated on clinic days!

His ANC was less than half of what it was at his last appointment, but still well within range for taking his chemo today. He did great, as usual. Today he received his second dose of the monthly Pentamadine, as well as an anti-nausea medicine and the two chemo drugs. This was probably his shortest clinic appointment so far. We certainly could get used to this!

We received some very welcome news today. At this phase of treatment, SD may regularly go out and about! The poor guy has been cooped up at home since early December, only going to the hospital when he does get out (with the exception of one visit to church and a little outing to a restaurant and the library). We are excited about what this means for our family, and are particularly delighted for him! We still need to be careful; for instance, he won't be going to the nursery during church, but he will be able to attend services and see his friends once in awhile, if he feels up to it. It would be great to see him enjoy these last few months of nursery age in the nursery, but so far it looks like he might just miss the rest.

February 2

SD has begun his third phase of treatment!

After the trouble SD had getting on the 6-MP, we were not counting on wonderful numbers after a week on the full dose. Dr. Kurt told us that his ANC needed to be 750 in order to start Interim Maintenance I yesterday; that sounded like a reachable number, so we remained hopeful. We certainly did not expect his counts to be in the normal range - but they were! This is good news for a few reasons. Apart from the obvious reasons, we are relieved to see them so high at the beginning of this phase because his chemo will be increased with each dose, as long as his counts can support it. Going into this with high numbers gives him a better chance of handling the chemo longer than if they had been low yesterday.

While we were at the clinic, SD not only walked by himself, but also was pushing his own IV stand around!

SD has been doing well taking his meds at home, for the most part. Being in IM means one fewer medication he has to take at home every day, however, which is nice for all of us. The chemo he is receiving in Grand Rapids will be administered approximately every ten days. That gives us another break from traveling next week; SD's next appointment is scheduled for Monday, February 13.