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.