Family - We Love Nick

This week has been a blessing to us. We have really enjoyed the old Nick again and seeing him smiling and playing with his brothers. He is feeling much better, but we understand we still have a long way to go. He received his shot on Tuesday and nurse checked his strength. His legs are very weak and the doctors are planning on lowering his next dose of the Vincristine and doxorubicin. We are going to try and taper him off the steroids, which is causing most of the pain in his legs. Many of you might wonder, what the steroids do. Steroids are very powerful in treating leukemia. They work with the Vincristine (chemo) to attack the red blood cells and marrow. Unfortunately, one of the side effects is pain and a lot of it in the legs. We are hoping that tapering him off might alleviate some of the pain and make him feel a little more comfortable.

Onto the goods news. We will be celebrating Nick's Birthday this weekend, as a family. Since we can not have a party for him at all the tumble places out there (too risky for germs and he is too weak to play), we have decided to take him to a hotel for the night. It will have an indoor pool for all of us to play in and just enjoy the night away. Greg is working on the place as I am writing. We started a tradition in our family and if it's your birthday then we (the rest of us) make breakfast in bed for you. Nick is looking forward to having breakfast in bed at the hotel. (And, mommy is excited she does not have to cook). The weather should be sunny and nice on Saturday, so we hope to walk around the city and eat some yummy food.

Good Week for Nick

Hi all - this is Aunt Amy. Nick is having a much better week, than last week. I think the blood transfusion has really helped him feel better and the fact that this is a no chemo week. Nick visited yesterday with Joey and spent all morning playing around the house. They really enjoyed themselves, and Nick got out of his house for the day.

At the end of April, the Shannon's and extended family will be attending the Tomorrow Fund Stroll to help raise money for the fund, which provides financial and emotional support to children with cancer and thier families who are treated at Hasbro Hospital. We are ordering T-shirts and looking forward to all spending the day together. Anyone interested in learning more about the tomorrow fund, you can go to www.tomorrowfund.org. Nick has reached the half-way stage for the shots - yippie! hopefully the weather continues to get nicer and Nick can enjoy some more time out of the house. Aunt Amy