The Shannon Family-- Still Waiting

We all (dad, mom, colby & nick) headed to clinic today to find out how Nick's counts were doing. Colby enjoys going to clinic and we feel it is always a good idea to bring him when we can so he can see the port being accessed and the medicine given to Nick through IV. Colby has also met a few other children at the clinic (with cancer). The interaction with the kids and seeing the energy in these kids is a very positive reinforcement for the whole family. Now we know that everything does not always run smoothly at clinic and Nick gets upset and cries sometimes, but Colby is there to help his brother out. Colby has mentioned that he feels 'scared' for Nick when he is upset, but he still stays in the room and just watches. The nurses have said to us many times.... that the process will get easier and they will 'get used to it'. I am not sure exactly what will get easier.... seeing your child pumped with toxic chemo or giving him the shot in the leg. Either way, I am just glad when we are done for the day. Getting back to today, Nick's counts had gone up, but the ANC (if you remember last time, this is a ratio to determine how his immune system is) was low, well actually at zero. His port was de-accessed (pulled out) and we will return Monday to take counts again and see if he is ready for the next chemo round. Nick is very wound up and running around like crazy these past couple of days. It is hard to tell that he has very low counts and is susceptible to getting sick at any moment. For now, we will just keep him inside and try to keep him busy. Again... lucky we have the WII.

Boston Marathon support 2009

Happy New Year! We wanted to let everyone know of an opportunity to support an old family friend and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society at once. A long time friend of the family, Bob Williams, is running his 5th Boston marathon this year and is raising money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. If you would, please take a look at his site: http://pages.teamintraining.org/ma/boston09/bwilliadtr.

Nick did get to spend New Year's at home with mom, dad and his brothers.

Thank you for your support and prayers for Nick.

Aunt Christa

The Shannon -- Back at Home

We were able to come home today..... on many restrictions. Let's back up a bit. It took the nurses about 1.5 hours to access Nick's port the other night. Partly due to Nick being stubborn and the ER trying their best. We ended up having a nurse from the 5th floor come down and access the port. Nick's fever broke before the next day (Sunday I think). He did receive a blood transfusion, which went great so he did not need the platelet transfusion. He was back to himself again in no time. They drew blood yesterday to see how his 'counts' (the everlasting work to see how everything is working) and they were still a little low, so we decided to wait until today. Today's counts were good, but the ANC (again another technical term to show if his body is susceptible to getting sick, put mildly), was very low. The doctor gave us the option of heading home and keeping him 'in a bubble' or staying one more night. I explained everything to Nick and he decided he wanted to go home and keep his port accessed... in case he has to go back to the ER at night again this week. We decided it was better to try and be home as a family as much as can and take the consequences when they come. Colby is always really excited when Nick is home and able to play with him. Thomas even gets happy and jumps around on his jumper. We will see what happens in the next couple of days and go from there. Nick was suppose to start his next 3 week chemo treatment but will probably be pushed off until Monday. He did receive his shot in the leg this week. (that does NOT effect his counts). He did good and cried like everyone should when it hurt.
We would to wish everyone a VERY HAPPY AND HEALTHY NEW YEAR. TO 2009! GOD BLESS YOU :) Greg, Karen, Colby, Nicholas & Thomas

The Shannon Family-- Back in the Hospital

Hello All,
A bit of a surprise for us today. We had planned a sleepover at Grammy's and house and Karen dropped the kids off and came home. Nick fell asleep on the couch and worried Grammy took his temperature. It was high enough to send us to the ER. At the ER they access his port and draw blood for cultures and counts. His blood counts came back REALLY low, which means he earned himself a couple days (we hope only a couple) in the hospital. He will probably receive a blood and platelet transfusion tomorrow. Nick is snoozing now, but not to happy about having to stay. He knows some of the nurses on the 5th floor, red pod and is getting more comfortable during his stay their. It is frustrating not knowing what causes his little body to change so quickly and how to prevent this in the future. We can only try and do our best to look for signs in him. Greg and I are on vacation this week, so at least we can juggle our time with the kids and wait for Nick to get better asap.