Prayers answered, again....we came home early yesterday!!! I think everyone was really surprised that he cleared the methotrexate as quickly as he did. The doc came by on Friday night and she was thinking Sunday or even Monday....so I was pleasantly surprised when John called Sat morning and said we were cool to leave!!! Yea!!

Eli is doing really well. His counts when we left the hospital were up (1830) so we should be able to get out a little bit this week. Tea Room is going on at church...we may get take out again and have another picnic!! We go back to clinic on Wed and will probably need some more blood....so another long day....but we are HOME!!!!

Things here are going well. Eli woke up at 3am and threw up, so we gave him ativan on top of the other meds. That one makes him "happy". At 3:30 after everyone was gone and we had gotten him all cleaned up I turned out the lights and got back into my "bed". Then I heard "Moommmy, Mommmy where are you? Are you sleeeeping?" I told him to go back to bed and got again, "Mommmmy, Mommmy are you sleeeeeping?" It was really hilarious, although I wasn't laughing at 3:30 in the morning!!!

We started him on the glutamine today so hopefully he won't get any mouth sores....if he does, maybe they won't be so bad. It is a HUGE yellow bag full of chemo that he has been hooked up to for the past 22 hours, only 2 hours to go and we will be done with this round. This is another of those that they tell us to always wear gloves when changing his diaper...how scary is that, I'm supposed to wear gloves to keep myself protected from this chemical and there is a direct line pumping the stuff into my baby....that said, it is a miracle drug of sorts with leukemia, so if it works, so be it.

We didn't play much today, he seemed to be a little out of it. I imagine it was partly due to the chemo, but also partly due to the ativan. Please keep the prayers coming that we get this stuff out of his system quickly and things return back to our "normal". Thanks!!!

Well, more prayers answered!! Eli's counts were 1320 so we got to stay. The day at the clinic went as well as could be, with the one glitch being the long wait before he got his LP. We got there at 8:30 and they finally took him back at 12:30. Both of us were starving and quite thirsty...when he woke up he ate an entire big bag of cheetos in one sitting!! But there were no complications and we got a room up here quickly. Clinic was packed with people. It seems there were lots of new people, too.

We will get our chemo beginning at 11pm. They have to hydrate him for 6 hours prior to the methotrexate, so they will give him the vincristine right before that and then begin the methotrexate. It infuses over 24 hours, so we will have a while to see what affect is has on him. Then we stay another 48+ hours to make sure it leaves his system. If it doesn't leave fast enough they will give him a "rescue" drug to help.

The nurses up here are so amazing....Eli came running in and visited with everyone...then we went to the makeshift playroom at the end of the hall (they are renovating the atrium) for a while. John brough the boys up and they played for a while then went home. Like before, things here are very familiar which is so much easier on both of us. It isn't as though we enjoy it, but there is none of the nervousness that was here in January. Please keep praying that Eli handles the methotrexate with ease and we are able to go home soon!!! Thanks.

We are preparing to go to the clinic tomorrow morning...hopefully Eli's counts will be at 750 or higher and we can stay and begin the chemo. I am really nervous about this new round with the new drugs, and I would like to just get it started.

Please pray:

Eli's counts are up
Eli handles all of the chemo well
I am given peace through all of this...although lots of this has become very clinical to me, it is so hard watching my baby go through it...

Thanks and I will let ya'll know how it goes!!

Here is a pic of Eli "blanketed" in prayer. We have been given 4 amazing prayer blankets and they are all beautiful....we use them frequently. I got one also from the ladies at our church and it is wonderful when I am trying to have my "alone time". Thanks to everyone that helped make these, they are really wonderful.

What amazing weather we are having this weekend!! It really is refreshing to the soul to have such beautiful days...Our week has been a good one. We went on a few walks with Eli's friend Abrielle and Cher but mostly stayed close to home.

Friday's clinic visit was all that I prayed for. (Again, go God!!) Our big decision really turned into a non event...all of the drs agreed that since we are going to begin to give Eli methotrexate through the IV in high dose, it wouldn't be wise to also begin to give it to him IT(through the spine) This way if he does react we will know whether it is the methotrexate all together, or just the methotrexate IT. This is a VERY important drug for him and we don't want to be in a situation where we can't give it to him unless it is absolutley necessary.

Eli's counts are on the rebound...his platelets were at 148,000 up from 42,000 on Monday. His ANC only came up to 79, but all the indicators are there that they are on the way up. We just really don't know how much this sinus infection is going to alter the ANC. Because of this, we will be going to clinic on Wednesday and we will be admitted then if his ANC is 750 or greater.

If his counts are up, we will be in the hospital for 3-4 days or so. They have to monitor his blood to be sure the methotrexate has left his system.

The new antibiotic is working much better. Eli isn't throwing up, which is great. He is VERY moody...but that could be that he is a 2-year-old. Or it could be that he is going through all of this very yucky stuff that any adult would be complaining about night and day!!

Our weekend was a good one. The weather here was beautiful on Saturday. The boys and I went to the beach and spend some time. I still have some anger issues whenever I am out having a good time like that. I get angry that we cannot all be enjoying it as a family, and especially angry that Eli cannot be enjoying all of this like the other little ones his age. I know in the big scheme of things when we get past this Eli probably won't remember missing anything, but cancer really sucks!!

Today was another long day at the clinic. Eli has been having some real difficulty with the new antibiotic that the dr prescribed for this sinus infection that he has. He really has not been eating and has been throwing up whenever he has to take his meds. This time it doesn't seem to be intentional, his stomach just seems to be really queesy and when you put a med on it, he throws it up. So, today he was weighed and he has lost another pound. His glucose and his sodium levels were also down, probably due to the lack of eating. So, we got some fluids and also another transfusion. The dr switched the antibiotic to another that may not be quite so hard on him. Hopefully we will have some success. I hate that he is sick now, when he isn't getting any chemo. He still continues to be the same sweet, energetic little guy he always is....it truly amazes me.

Eli's ANC is now at 10...so we will continue to live in our bubble for this week. I hope his counts rebound this week because we have everything planned to start chemo on Monday and go into the hospital. John has tried to schedule his trips around us being in the hospital for 3-4 days every 2 weeks for the next two months, but if the first treatment is postponed, they all will be. Please pray that Eli's counts will rebound quickly.

We didn't have our conversation with the dr today. She had been on vacation last week, so we agreed to come in on Friday and talk to them then. So, our big decision gets to be put off for another 5 days.....this is perfect for me, the propetual procrastinator!!! I will let everyone know how it goes....

Our week has been full of ups and downs...

My appointment on Wednesday went wonderfully. The doctor took some additional pictures and said that although he did see some "webbing" in the bone that could be slight fractures, he didn't think it was enough to warrant a cast. (Go, God!) He did say that I jammed the bones in my elbow together and they are collapsed in, so I am not supposed to lift, push, or pull anything over 1 lb. (So officially Eli now weighs 1lb) and I need to exercises to try to get them back to normal. I have another appointment in a week or so and I think I will have to do some physical therapy. I have been having some additional pain, but I think it is just because I am using the arm and elbow and it is no longer in the splint or sling. I am taking Tylenol on a regular basis, and that seems to take some of the edge off.

Eli and I went to the clinic and MRI yesterday. The MRI showed that the lesions have again lessened considerably, and the onc is now really wanting to give him the Methotrexate when we do another LP (Lumbar Puncture). I told her that we really want to have everyone's opinions on what we should do and why next week before we make our decision. Her opinion was that we really want to go full guns when we get into remission because if we were to have a relapse, it is much more difficult to reach remission again. Makes sense to me, but at what cost? We don't know what the long term effects of this will be on my little boy....but then I can handle some additional tutoring for school when he is older...especially if he is cancer free!! So, we will get the opinions next week and go from there. I am trusting God here, and I really believe he will lead John and I to make a decision that we feel confident about.

The MRI also showed us what has been causing Eli to cough at night..he has a sinus infection. He hasn't had a runny nose, but he has been coughing when he sleeps....the drs have been listening to his lungs and they sounded fine, and we thought maybe he just had some reflux. So we tried Nexium and that didn't do anything, so I took him off of it...and now we know. The dr said that many children have these as a recurring issue during chemo and we will just have to watch it. So, he is on yet another antibiotic. And to think, I was so worried about him being on any antibiotics because of the whole "kids becoming resistant" thing. Now it seems he has been on everything in the book.

On the bloodwork side, Eli's bloodcounts are now bottoming out. (Yuck). We were really hoping that we just weren't going to go so low this time, but his ANC was at 80 yesterday and he needed platelets yet again. He was borderline for blood, so we will probably need that on Monday. The dr said with his counts so low she wouldn't be surprised if he ran a fever this weekend and we had to be admitted. For some reason, lots of kids just run fevers when they get so low. So we are homebound for now. John and I were hoping to start the IM phase on the 23rd of April, but we will have to wait to see. Eli cannot begin any additional chemo until his ANC is at least 750.

There have been so many great miracles this week.....a friend who though she may never have another baby found out she was pregnant....way to go, Erin Beth......and precious little JoJo Greenwood got a new heart last night...WOW. I am full of hope for our future, I believe God will take care of Eli and my family.....Happy EASTER!!!!

Our counts are back down.....I took Eli to the clinic yesterday and his ANC was back down to 540...his platelets were also at a low 10,000..so we had to stay and get some. My mom went with me to help me out with the arm out of commission.

Eli got his last Vincristine treatment for this round. Now we are out of the "Consolidation" phase. When his counts go back up we will begin the "Interim Maintenance" phase which will last another couple of months. He will get a new drug, high dose methotrexate, which will put us in the hospital for 3-4 days every 2 weeks. I am extrememly nervous about the new drug. It is known to cause extreme mouth/throat sores and sensitivity to sun as well as other fun stuff. We will also begin all of this with another LP. The good thing about entering "IM" is that our 3 year treatment time begins now. As my mom said, we haven't really been doing anything for the past 3 months...they don't count...HA!!

We go in on Thursday for our MRI and bloodwork after that. I go in to the Orthopedist on Wednesday.

Please pray for:

a clear MRI and a clear direction on where to go with Eli's intrathecal treatments
Eli's counts to rise and his platelets to stablize
Eli to continue to feel well

Also, please pray for a little boy, Luke, who is fighting the fight of his life and his family.

Thanks..I'll keep you posted!!

I wanted to show you a pic of Eli with his "teammate" Suzanne!! This picture along with a great article written by Beth Bush was in the Daniel Island News as Suzanne promotes the "Loose change for Leukemia" at the DIS. Suzanne is close to meeting her goal of $4,000, 80% of which goes directly to those that need it....anything over $4000...100% goes on to those that need it!!!

Please exuse all of the typos and the short entrys...I am finding that living with one hand and arm is quite limiting.....Happy Easter everyone....hope it is full of Allelluia's...I know ours will be!!!

Well, John Took Eli to the clinic on Monday and his platelets were at an all time low of 7,000!!! He got a bag of platelets and his chemo and John said all went well. The good news was that it seemed as though his blood was beginning to recover, as his ANC was 410. The drs didn't want to get excited aboutit though. Well, John took him back today and he is at 1080!!! Everyone at the clinic was so happy....yea!!!!

I took Jake and Sam to the local roller rink yesterday......Jake had wanted to go for a while...anyway, I put on the skates and proceeded to fall and break my arm. I have never broken a bone in my body, yet here I am....my arm is in a splint and I see the orthopedist on Wed.

Jessica Bachand and family were in town and she took the kids to the beach and watched them while J and I went out for dinner. They are moving to Charlotte next month, it will be nice having them closer....

Please pray that Eli continues doing so well, I am a little nervous about the MRI next Thurs. Also pray for my arm to repair quikly and the pain to lessen. Thanks!!