APRIL 3, 2008

Today was a good day! After not eating for 2 days...Mr. T's appetite is back in full force.

Today he had 2 bagels with cream cheese...pears in the afternoon and later I bought him a 12" cold-cut submarine sandwich...and jello!

Hemoglobin is 77

Platelets are 21*

Neutro-polys are 0.29*

His counts will continue to go down before they can go up again! He is still not able to go to the playroom...but the child-care workers bring him any movie he requests..and of course he enjoys his Playstation games.

The nurses are great...when they have the time...they sit & chat with Mr. T...he's getting to be a real flirt! Even the maintenance workers talk 'gaming' with him. This is a very child-oriented hospital.

A nurse he knows well...remarked.."You're so good with gaming...who showed you how?"

He replied..."My Uncle G..taught me when I was 2 yrs old." And my dad taught me to watch cartoons."

Putting in my 2 cents...I said. "And who taught you to fish? Papa?" and he said.."No..he taught me how to find the porn channels!"

Good Lord! The nurse just laughed! When she left I said.."Tee...you know that's not true!" and he replied....."Well I found them on my own.....a few times when I walked in...Papa changed the channels fast...but I saw what he was watching!"

Somebody needs a good talking to!

APRIL 2, 2008

During the night Mr. T received the last bag of Cytarabine. He is still very nauseous! This afternoon, his nurse gave him an injection in his thigh...it's called L-asparaginase which is an anti-leukemic. He tried watching a movie and playing a game...but gave up after 5 minutes and asked me to tuck his afghan around him.

I just want everyone to know how much these kids love the comfort of their afghans when they are sick and needy. It's definitely a 'gift of love'....a 'super-hug' crocheted with love and compassion by more than 40 pairs of loving hands. How can you beat that?? Mr. T also insists on having his afghan when they take him down for x-rays or other tests. Never underestimate the power of an afghan. I think what made this afghan very important to Mr. T...was because everyone who made a square had included their name and where they lived. As Mr. T studied each and every card...he marvelled at all the places all over the world where each square was made. That is truly awesome!

Shelly @ THIS ECLECTIC LIFE gave my grandson the very 1st afghan that was made. She has almost reached her goal of making 140 afghans for kids with cancer. Please visit her and give her a 'thumbs up'!

Here he is getting a shot of Asparaginase into his thigh muscle.

Although he has been receiving Ondansetron (which is used to reduce nausea & vomiting) all along with the chemo drugs...he still needs gravol.

Now I have to figure out this camera..I find my shots are hazy.

APRIL 1, 2008

Finally we're admitted to 4North which is the Oncology floor. Mr. T has a double room. It seems that we have a full-house here. Every room is full......from babies to teens. Every child has some form of cancer.

Again today...Mr. T is still on Cytarabine..and gravol. He lost his appetite and refuses to eat anything or drink. The nurse said this is quite normal. I'm not too worried as he is a big boy for 12.
All the nurses on 4North came in to visit Mr. T. They all had to feel his dark, silky curls...they just couldn't believe the thick head of hair he has. I think he looks much better with a nice short hair-cut...but what do I know? He was planning to let his hair grow so he can have dreads!!
They couldn't believe how much Mr. T has grown in the past 2 years!
The nurses are great here...they come in constantly to see if Mr. T needs anything. He just wants to sleep with his comfy afghan!

1st CHEMO TREATMENT....

March 31/08

We arrived today at 8 a.m. Right away they gave Mr. T. platelets as his blood counts were extremely low. This afternoon they started the chemo. Over the next few days he will be receiving Cytarabine 100 mg. They also give him eyedrops at the same time to prevent conjuncvitus.
Hemoglobin is 95*
Platelets are 18*
neutro-polys are 1.01
Throughout the day Mr. T ate well.....just in the evening he started feeling nauseous...so they gave him gravol.
Seems I'm having difficulty posting...everytime I try.... I get a message saying Internet explorer will shut down...so I am saving each post till Younger Son comes to vist...as I forgot a necessary wire as well to put pics on laptop.
Will try again tomorrow.

THANK YOU.........

Your prayers and ours have been answered! Yahoo! Yesterday I got a call from the Oncology Doctor. They have found a bone marrow donor for Mr. T. They now rate a match by 12 instead of 6......and the donor is 11/12.

Isn't that wonderful? This is proof that there is Power in Prayers.......and I want to thank everyone who has been praying for Mr. T.

On Monday we leave for the Children's Hospital. There....Mr. T. will receive 2 treatments of chemo. The 1st treatment will take 3 weeks.....I'm not sure about the 2nd treatment...I was too excited to pay attention. From there....after his treatments we will go straight to the Children's Hospital in Toronto. That's where they do the bone marrow transplants. We will be in Toronto for more than a month!

I told Mr. T....that we won't be home on May 25th for his birthday.....but that we can pretend that his birthday is 'whenever' we get home.....whether its' June or July.....and he agrees. He just wants this over......he wants to be a 'normal' kid. It will be the biggest 'home-coming, BBQ & pool party' imaginable!

I have Mr. T's textbooks packed. As soon as we get to the Hospital.....Candlelighter's which is an organization that helps kids with cancer....will lend Mr. T. a laptop. They do this for all kids of school-age...so that they can keep in touch with their teachers, (home-work) classmates, and friends.

I will be bringing my son's laptop as I did in the past....so I can blog daily and keep everyone up-dated on Mr. T.'s health.

Please don't stop praying. Mr. T. has got to get a lot worse before he can get better. The chemo treatments can be quite an ordeal to get through.

I will try to take pictures and post them so you can follow Mr. T.'s journey to health.

Thank you Shelly @ THIS ECLECTIC LIFE & Marcia @ Tumbled Words for going above & beyond the call of duty. You can bet that Mr. T. will be taking his home-made afghan with him to the Hospital. And I want to thank all the other bloggers who have sent warm wishes and prayers. Your prayers have been answered!

UPDATE.....

I apologize for not posting sooner. The past few months have been very difficult for me & my family.....and the long dreary days of winter haven't helped either.

I know there are many of you out there that have been praying for Mr. T....and hoping that he can get a bone marrow donor soon....but that hasn't happened yet.

We are still waiting patiently....so please don't stop praying! I'm convinced that the reason that Mr. T and I are still at home...is because of all the big-hearted bloggers out there who continually keep us in their prayers.

Talking about big-hearted people.....please go visit Shelly @ THIS ECLECTIC LIFE . They do things 'really big' in Texas....and surely, Shelly is proof of that. As some of you know....Shelly has a goal of creating 140 afghans for kids with cancer. As of today...she has almost reached that goal with the help of many wonderful people from all around the world. If you visit her site....please click on 'Share a Square' in the upper-right hand corner of her blog and be ready to be overwhelmed when you see the multi-colored squares that have been sent to her from all over the globe. As of now she has enough squares to finish the afghans & more....but she could use some help putting the afghans together....or making little bags to put the name cards in. Although we don't live in the States.....Shelly sent my grandson, Mr. T. the very first afghan that was made. He loves it....he finds it warm and cuddly....as it was meant to be. To think that 40 prs of hands made this afghan....so you know this afghan was made with a lot of love....and it brings a lot of comfort to my grandson when he is not feeling well.

Shelly doesn't stop there.....she just keeps on giving. This week she really out-did herself. She researched how to be a bone marrow donor.....and she did it. Did I tell you that she is PETRIFIED of needles?? (except for crochet needles)........and she hates the sight of blood, especially her own....but with Mr. T's picture in hand.....and her LAST WILL in the other.....she did it! THANK YOU SHELLY!

She did it for Mr. T., my grandson and for all the kids out there who desperately need a bone marrow donor......and if Shelly can do it.....you can too!

Please visit Shelly @ THIS ECLECTIC LIFE to read about her experience on St. Patrick's Day and to see what she went through in order to be a donor. She even took pictures so everyone can see it's not as bad as you think. Just think....you WILL save a life......and all it takes is a few hours of your time. Now...isn't it worth it?

Mr. T continues to do well....although his immune system has taken a real beating. The oncology team has decided to continue with the phlebotomy treatments as he still has too much iron in his blood.

This week all the numbers are low:

RBC is 3.85* normal is 4.5-5.2

HGB is 102* normal is 120-160

PLATELETS are 23* normal is 150-450

NEUTRO-POLYS are 0.78* normal is 1.8-8.0

The Oncology team tell me to keep a close eye on Mr. T.....and watch for bruising or bleeding. No rough-housing or wrestling....no contact sports.....etc. I do notice that he tires easily and he's not eating as much. If his numbers continue to drop...he will become neutro-penic and then he won't be able to go to school or have friends over.

On April 8th....he will be having another bone marrow test done...and I promise to keep you up-dated.

Mr. T....becomes a teenager on May 25th! Help!! He turns '13' and this year wants to have his 'pool party' & BBQ with all his friends. I hope that we get to stay home till then! I want to give Mr. T a party he won't forget!

Again......I thank you for all the warm wishes and prayers!

WAITING & HOPING...

There is not much to tell you....Mr. T and I have been going for bi-monthly appointments at the Children's Hospital for his phlebotomy treatments. This is the treatment used to remove iron from the blood. They tell us that the treatment is going well...they hope that by January he will no longer need them. It appears that the treatment is working....the amount of iron in his blood has been returning to normal...so that's something to look forward to.

As for the bloodwork.....his readings have been going down as well...very 'slowly'...but gradually...which means his platelets are 50*...normal is in the range of 150-450........and his neutro-polys are 1.75* and normal is 1.8-8.0...........so you can see they are lower than normal.

Mr. T. feels good....he is looking forward to Christmas.......even though his immune system is taking a beating.....he has the perpetual cough...but no fever.....he has to use his puffer every day....no exertion...no shoveling? no vacuuming?? but he sure can reach for the cookie jar!!

We are patiently waiting for a bone marrow match. As you know...Mr. T's name is in the bone marrow registry......this is a world-wide registry....and I have faith that they will find a bone marrow match very soon.

Unfortunately....his biological dad was not a match....I've been told that 70% of biological parents aren't a match......and that's why we have a registry.

Hopefully.....Mr. T. will find a match in the New Year! That's my Christmas Wish!

Right now...Mr. T. is not thinking about that at all......he's hoping that Santa brings him Guitar Hero 3 for Christmas.....and Nanny is hoping she gets 'earplugs'!!

Let's pray that Nanny gets her wish and Mr. T as well!