Round 3

Chemo went well yesterday. Thank you so much for all of the prayers, positive thoughts and kind words!

I always dread chemo days for obvious reasons, but I do look forward to it because it means we are moving forward on our journey. As we get closer to Medical City, the knot that is constantly in my stomach always gets worse. Yesterday more so than last week for some reason. My legs were also shaky and I know I was annoying Ryan with my constant involuntary sighing. I was getting annoyed at myself for not being able to suck it up. I guess it is just my body's visceral reaction to this whole process.

Jackson on the other hand did really well! I am so proud of him. The worst part for him is taking his shirt off--he does not want people touching his boo-boo! Once we get past that part, he's ok.

His weight was back up which made Momma very happy. All those bites I hand fed him paid off! Also, his blood pressure was normal. It had been high the whole time we were in the hospital and it was high again last week. The doctors weren't really concerned with it, but said we would monitor it. I'm thankful it's back to normal because I don't think we need anything else to worry about.

So that was the good news!

Bad news: his counts are looooooow. Last week his ANC (absolute neutrophil count) was 690. This week it is 120. For reference, when we were in the hospital and his blood was checked before chemo, his ANC over 8,000. So that shows how drastic the drop is.

The ANC is the gauge for the risk of infection. Anything under 1,000 is considered neutropenic, which means a high risk of infection. Under 500 is a very high risk. Fever and infection are the biggest concerns when undergoing chemo.

What that means for us is even more hand washing and germ preventing. We will be on lockdown again this week. Contact is what we have to avoid.

In order for Jack to be able to receive his big chemo next week (all three drugs), his ANC will have to go up to 750 and his platelets have to be at 75, 000. We will really be praying for those numbers this week so that we are able to stay on course with the chemo.

If those numbers are not reached, then we get sent home and he gets no treatment for a week. That means the tumor gets a week off! Mommy no likey! I want action and results, so please pray that we see those numbers next Monday!


{Yesterday was National Cancer Survivors Day, so he was given a balloon and a goodie bag when we got there}


{this boy loves balloons}


{Barbie cash register that he was convinced was a phone}


{getting a hug on his leg}


{playing cars with Daddy while waiting}


{he could play cars all day}


{sweet mohawk dude}


{new car from Nurse Amanda}


{Nurse Amanda is now my favorite}


{"Mommy I want my gwasses"}{also, notice the second prize from the nurse}


{ten minutes later}

♥♥♥