We wanted to get the word out that our friend Dave Schappell is running the Honolulu Marathon as part of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Team in Training. We are touched that he is honoring Adrian in this effort. Please check out his fundraising page, where you can make a donation:
http://pages.teamintraining.org/wa/honolulu09/daveschappell
We will certainly be rooting for Dave and are glad that this will benefit such a good cause.
Everything continues to go smoothly for us in terms of AJ’s treatment. He is more than halfway through phase II of treatment and seems to be handling it well. We did have one small speed bump last week, but turned out to be a relatively minor issue. AJ developed a fever on Thursday, and anytime a fever is present we have to immediately call the hospital and take him in for evaluation. Even though his blood counts have been good, he is still on chemotherapy and is immune-suppressed. Fever could signal an infection or virus, and may even indicate there is an issue with his port. We took him into the hospital on Thursday, and his white blood count and ANC were elevated, signaling he was fighting something off. Everything else looked pretty good, so he was given a round of antibiotics as a precaution and we were told to bring him back the following day. On Friday we took him back, and by that time he had a little bit of a runny nose but the fever was on its way down. There was nothing that indicated anything serious except that it was probably just a cold virus, so we were told to keep watch over the weekend. We were thankful he did not have to be admitted to the hospital. As of Monday, he is feeling better and all of his blood counts look really good (all within normal range):
HCT (red blood cells): 34.2%
Platelets: 537K
White blood cells: 11.4K
ANC (neutrophils): 7718
AJ is completely tapered off the steroids, which is evidenced by his lack of appetite. While he is still quite a bit heavier than his normal weight (he peaked at 44 lbs), we have been told he will likely lose weight over the coming months so we are trying to make sure he is getting sufficient calories. Another thing that has definitely changed over the last couple weeks is his energy level. Instead of sitting around and eating all day, he is up and playing and even doing some outings during the day. Camille is thrilled to have her big brother back as a playmate. Sometimes things almost seem “back to normal” even though we know that things are not normal and that we have a long journey ahead of us.
We have gotten somewhat back on a schedule by going back to work a couple weeks ago. We continue to have great coverage at home with our nanny and family. Sarah’s sister Laura spent almost a month with us, and Sarah’s mom came for a few days last week. Brian’s parents are now in town, and will be here to help us celebrate Camille’s 3rd birthday this weekend.
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