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.

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Back on the Steroids

We had a great weekend and definitely one to remember. We spent Saturday at Auntie Lisa's lake, going paddle boating and fishing. Sunday we decided a family day to the beach was needed. The weather was a little overcast and windy but that did not stop us from having a blast. The waves were huge and the boys brought their boogie boards. Nick was riding the waves and crashing in the water. It was nerving wrecking for me to watch him because he would go under and it took a few seconds before I could see him come back up. He would come up smiling and running back into the ocean. We have not seen Nick be so strong in the water and enjoy himself so much. The bigger the waves the more fun he was having. Colby had a rash on his stomach from the day before at the lake so the salt water stung a little. He eventually got through it all and joined Nick in the water. We've been telling Nick this week that when he feels sad or something does not go his way to remember the ocean and waves he road into shore.
I took Nick to clinic this week. It was uneventful.... which we always like. His counts were good and the doctor has decided to increase his 6MP dose, Vincristine, Methotrexate and 5 days of steroids. As I mentioned in the past, we would like him to be at 100% dose for all his chemo. The doctors have decreased it in the past because of his virus's and being neutropenic. Hopefully he will stay fever free during this cycle. He seems to break a fever everytime we increase the dose. Steroid week is only half way through and he seems okay. He does have little meltdowns over little things. We have 2 weeks left before school starts and I am looking forward to it. The summer has been great and I am sure the boys enjoyed not having a schedule and staying up late most nights. I will be meeting with Nick's teacher next week to update his 504 plan and already write down the dates he will be out of class for Sept.
Counts:
WBC: 4.2
RBC: 10.0
APC: 2,500

On a very positive side note: I spoke with Nurse Pat on monday about our Make A Wish Trip and planning it during the start of Nick's cycle. She said since we are in the maintenance phase of his treatment we can push the start of the cycle out 1 week. Yes, we can go on the trip and Nick will actually be PILL FREE the entire time.