Update:

Nicholas finished treatment on 11/18/2010. He will continue to go for blood work for the next 3 years. He is still in remission.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

The Shannon Family - Clinic Visit

Hi All,
Time for another update. Nick's visit at clinic yesterday went very well. His counts were good enough to receive another round of chemo. He was scheduled to receive the chemo this Thursday but we backed it up a couple of days, which is good news to us, we keep moving forward. (Dose #5, out of 10). Nick was complaining of leg pain yesterday and there was some concern of a blood clot, which is very serious. After taking a look, the nurse confirmed it was just soreness and Nick was able to get his shot. (shot #14, out of 30). Greg said he was great at clinic... getting into a routine, which is comforting and scary at the same time. Nick is so wise in so many ways... things he should not know, but does. He gets excited every time I take his temperature (which is often, since I am constantly worried) and it reads under 100. He knows he is taking his 'cranky' medicine now and is concerned if he will feel leg pain again from the chemo. The good news this week.... he gets to go to daycare tomorrow and see his friends and then off to Michael's for a play date after. He will be one tired and very HAPPY boy by days end. His counts are okay:

White Blood Cell (WBC): 2.9 (Normal 5.0-15.0)
Red Blood Cell (RBC): 8.7 (Normal 10.5-13.5)
Platelets (PLTS): 201 (Normal 150-400)
APC Number: 1,300 (above 1,000 is good)

As parents, Greg and I have seen/met many people through clinic and on the 5th floor who need more help than us. There have been many flyer's posted at Hasbro for bone marrow drives. The kids who needs them range in age from 4months to 21 years old. This is there last chance at life. If anyone is interested in becoming a bone marrow donor, you can log into www.marrow.org and join the registry. The drives at the Hospital are free and I can fill you in when I have dates. I believe the online registry is a $50 charge, although there are some months it is free. I am sure you are wondering if Nick will need a transplant? At this point, no. We continue to prayer that his body accepts the chemo and does the 'work' necessary to cure him of cancer. Let the 'steroids' begin. (It is actually humorous to us now)