One more chemo down!  Andrew went in for chemo on Tuesday of last week and we were released Thursday the 25th.  Andrew did pretty well, it made him very tired but the vomiting was limited which we were happy about.  We are still very concerned about his weight and he did get another feeding tube put in.  We celebrated Taylor’s 11th birthday on Thursday night and Andrew was full of jokes and pokes for his big sister which made us all very happy.  He will be going in for his quick iv chemo tomorrow and so far aside from his weight loss and fatigue he seems to be just fine.  Thank you so much for the fun comments he really enjoys reading them!  He will be doing a web cast this week so you can see his cute mug.

Andrew is still enjoying his pool therapy, and this week had Taylor come and help him.  They were hilarious, fighting over the basketball hoop, and playing tug o war with the floaties, all activities the therapist usually does with him.   However, I think the sibling rivalry helped make a much more exciting session.

He looks so determined!

  So Andrew went to the doctor yesterday and he has lost more weight.  The doctor is worried now because he is down to the 10th percentile for his height and weight and it doesn’t seem that his body is absorbing the calories he is consuming.  Historically he has lost at least a pound during his chemo treatments and he his blood counts are high enough that he will be getting chemo on next Tuesday.  It is because of this that he will be getting the feeding tube put back in, and multiple tests to see what is causing him to continue to drop weight.  He is very upset about it since he is trying very hard to eat at least 2,000 calories and it has not helped.  He has been throwing up every morning for the last week and a half, but it is only bile no food.  We are trying very hard to help keep his spirits up.  Keep the positive thoughts flowing for us.  Thanks everyone who checks the website regularly and have allowed this wonderful boy to touch their heart.

So here is this week’s update.  Andrew has begun throwing up again, daily, which sucks but he was able to gain a tiny bit this week so we are very happy.  His blood counts are still not recovering, we are hoping that they will, and he is not showing any signs of illness so we have not given him another transfusion.  However, this could  post bone his scheduled chemo admit on the 23rd of this month.  If his body is not strong enough we will need to push it back until it can handle more chemo.  We should know by the 22nd. 

We found out he has a huge cavity in one of his permanent molars and will need to have it filled to prevent a root canal in the near future.  You wouldn’t think this was a big deal, however, while kids are on chemo they are not allowed to have their teeth cleaned etc…because of the huge possibility of the germs in their mouth getting into their blood stream since usually the kids teeth bleed when they are cleaned.  So we will be getting his blood counts taken and pump him full of antibiotics right before and pray for the best. 

He visited with the neurological psychologist yesterday and Andrew enjoyed it quite a bit.  Andrew has some memory loss/troubles that we need to work through but we are hoping a lot of it is in direct correlation to his chemotherapy he is undergoing now.  That is all for now check back soon.

So Andrew’s transfusion went ok last Friday.  We were hoping it would make a big difference, but he lost all his color and threw up a lot.  He lost a pound between Friday and Tuesday, and his blood counts were still incredibly low.  However, he is still trying to eat as much as he can (half and half with whole milk is his staple drink).  We are hoping when we go into the doctor today that his weight and blood counts will be up.  We all have been enjoying your comments and words of encouragement so keep ‘em coming!