Nine more...

​Blake came home on Tuesday afternoon.  Did I actually say we were hoping for Sunday?  Ah well.  Things went fine.  But it just took awhile for all the Yellow Slime to leave his body.  On Tuesday, when the Yellow Slime was almost gone, they gave him a few units of blood because his hemoglobin levels would not come back up.

Wednesday morning he gets an ear check.  Thursday he goes back in for Red Punch.  Then a break for a couple of weeks.  Hooray!​

He has 9 treatments left.  They come in sets of 3.  One Red and two Yellow.​  We hope that we can stay on schedule and be done by Thanksgiving.

We are excited about this next round, because the Red Punch is about to get better.  For those of you who want some details, keep reading.​  So far, every time he gets the Red Punch, he's been given two different drugs.  8 hours of doxorubicin and 4 hours of cisplatin (given twice! so 24 hours of chemo over 2 days).  The cisplatin is particularly strong.  It has hearing and cardiac potential side-effects.  It also causes extra nausea.  This coming treatment will be the END of cisplatin.  As you read above, he'll still have two more doses of Red Slime. But they will be only Doxorubicin.  That means no more ear checks, no more echo-cardiograms, no more cardiac leads and hopefully less nausea.

Hopefully this all makes sense.  Thanks for all your prayers.  We're looking forward to a big break in a week.​

Half

Chemo #9 is in. That means chemo is officially half done. we're hoping for a Monday release--we got a slow start on Thursday for a variety of reasons.

Next Thursday is scheduled for Red Punch.

As you can see, his leg is healing great.

Today (Saturday) is our 60th hospital day.

Thursday

We go back in for chemo on Thursday.  We hope for an early admit, so the chemo can in not too late, so we can home sooner than later.  We are anticipating that this will be a boring, uneventful stay.  It's the Yellow Slime, so they'll give steroids to protect Blake's lungs.  We pray for a Sunday home date.​

Back to school special

​Three kids went back to school on Wednesday.  Victoria started her freshman year at Redlands High.  Jacob started at Cope Middle School.  Blake will be home this semester.  I'm back to work and so is Jen, so we're all busy.  

Blake has tonsillitis, ​but the antibiotics are helping.  He goes in for chemo on Thursday morning.  

Fun day

LA County Museum of Art. Later we went to Farmer's Market and The Grove.

Respite

Blake came home on Saturday afternoon.  His chemo level barely came down in time and we never know how quickly the Methotrexate will leave his system.  The doctors had to switch from yellow to red when we had trouble getting a hearing test.  So Tuesday coming up he'll get a hearing check at 2pm and then check in for the Red Slime.  Then a two week break.

Everything continues very well.  All positive news and the doctors and nurses continue to say that 95% is very,very unusual and positive.  Please pray for:

• A good couple of days rest.  We're going to get away for a few days.
• Pain management for Blake.  His knee feels great, but his ankle is healing slower.  
• School starts for the family sooner than later.  Please pray for all of us as we balance work responsibilities and everything getting more hectic.

Back to 4800

We saw the surgeon again on Monday and he continues to be pleased.  Blake needs to move his ankle and lower leg a bit more, so that the muscles get used to supporting his leg again.  He said Blake is ready for chemo again.

So on Tuesday morning we'll give 4800 a call and see when they have a bed for us.  He'll get Red Punch.  That's the mega-2-day dose that has lots of nausea.

We hope and pray for that this is the beginning of the end!

Medical science

The surgeon removed 6.5" of Blake's tibea.  There is a cadaver bone with a titanium rod running through the middle.  The surgeon was pleased that tumor was not in his leg muscle.  

Extra! Extra! Read all about it...

We saw both doctors today.  And got the best possible news all the way around.  Dr. Bedros (the oncologist) was very pleased.  Dr. Zuckerman was also very pleased.  Everything is healing well and all is in proper alignment.  Dr. Bedros said "You really couldn't ask for better news."!  He described 95% kill rate as "very, very good." A few details:

• No weight-bearing on his leg for a while.
• Chemo will probably start again early next week.
• The small lump in his lung is of no concern.  They will monitor it, but they are not concerned.
• Pray that the chemo does not cause the skin graft to unattach.
• Blake will stay on his original chemo roadmap.  That means 12 more treatments over 18 weeks.  Each treatment has been a 5 or 6 day hospital stay.

We are thrilled and thankful.  Our doctors are amazing.  

Praise God!  

Busy, busy, tired

On the fourth we all went with some friends for a potluck and fireworks.  On Thursday, Jen's friend Kim came to visit and she and Blake did a bunch of art stuff together.  Including making homemade paper!

Blake's pain has been manageable and he's stayed on Norco.  Changing his dressing every day is probably the worst part.

Two days of activity seem to have worn him out.  He woke up at 9 on Friday morning, took his pain meds and is still asleep at noon.

Home

Blake came home on Tuesday afternoon.  The healing is going great.  If you didn't catch my update before, the tumor was 95% killed by the chemo.  We'll get a full update from the oncologist at our next appointment, but 95% is great.  Meanwhile, no appointments for the next week.

Healing--updated

The doctors continue to be pleased, the walks are getting longer and the pain is decreasing.
Just talked to the surgeon and got a pathology report. The cancer cells are 95% killed by the chemo! Dr. Bedros said that a number of factors will determine Blake's ongoing treatment, but 95% is very good news.
The surgeon also said that Blake's skin graft needs to completely take before he can go home. It's looking great, but they want to make totally sure before he goes home.

Progress

Well, there's still lots of pain. But there's lots of progress. On Friday (day of picture) Blake's physical therapist got him out of bed twice. Using a walker, he went for a walk around the bed the first time and across the room and back the second time. It hurt a lot, but the surgeon said he'll heal faster if he moves sooner.
The skin graft was taken from the back of his left thigh. The doctor said that this site is often the most painful area.
Saturday morning, the anesthesia team took out the two nerve block catheters that were numbing his lower left leg. So the transition to oral pain meds is underway.
Overall, everyone is very pleased with his progress.

The day after

Blake's in some pain but doing ok. Everything is going as we would expect. Prayers for ongoing pain management are appreciated. He's not up for visitors yet.

Surgery success

The surgery went great. The doctor had to perform a small skin graft at the biopsy site. He inserted a rod and a cadaver bone. As the connection between the new bone and ankle is fairly small, he will probably need six weeks of non-weight bearing before the bone will attach. They gave him a nerve block, so his leg will be numb for about a day. The pathologist checks the ends of the tumor to make sure that that the surgeon removed all the tumor. The ends were cancer-free, so that assures the surgeon that he removed it all.
We'll receive a full pathology report on the tumor in a week. That will tell us if the chemo was working.
The surgery was 7 hours. Our good friend Gary is a LLU anesthesiologist and checked in for us a couple of times! Between Gary's help and LLU's pager system, we got numerous updates that things were progressing well. Thanks Gary!

Here we go...

9am Thursday  (sorry for the typo!) Wednesday morning is surgery.  It will be on the second floor of Loma Linda Children's Hospital and will last around four hours.  Please pray:

• That the surgeon will be able use a rod (not a plate)
• That the tumor and all cancer will be removed
• That the tumor has DEAD cancer cells (the chemo is working)
• That the cadaver bone and Blake's bones will grow strong together (chemo can inhibit this process)
• Wisdom and skill for the doctor and nurses
• A good night's sleep tonight for the whole family

Next week we will receive a pathology report and will know more about the condition of the tumor and the success of the chemo.  

Surgery

We met with the surgeon today and are very pleased.  He believes that he can remove the tumor and strengthen Blake's leg with a rod and a cadaver bone.  No amputation!  

After the surgery, we'll know more about how the tumor was affected by the chemo.  Right now, its hard to know for sure.  But tentatively, things look good and the tumor has not grown.  

The surgery will be on Wednesday and will last at least 4 hours.  He'll be hospitalized for probably 3 to 5 days.  He should be able to stay on the same floor he's received his chemo, so that will be familiar and comforting.  His recovery/phsical therapy needs should be moderate, as no joints are involved.  

Many thanks for all the prayers!

Home

It's Monday afternoon and we're home.  We have a surgery appointment on Thursday.  The surgery will be next week.  The doctors are fine with all the progress so far, so we are thankful.  

Six chemos done.  12 to go.  Wow.

Visitor

Heidi's here to visit from Montana. Good times in the iso room!

smooth sailing

The yellow slime is disappearing at a super fast rate and the steroids have kept all lung pain at bay! He came in with a bit of a cough and sniffle, so he's got an isolation room. That means no roommate and everyone in the room wears gown, mask and gloves.