The Week Keeps Getting Better

10/27/2011: 11:33 AM

The week started out a bit rough but continues to improve.

Davis was very nauseous and tired on Sunday evening and decided to regress to some behavior we thought was behind us.  He refused to take his last dose of medication. After hours of pleading and arguing, Davis was so worked up, he was out of control. Near midnight, Davis had a panic attack and couldn't breath. The thought of Davis suffocating terrified me, and I called 9-1-1 while Kyle worked on settling him down by encouraging deep, slow breaths. Thankfully, Davis was able to calm down before an ambulance was dispatched. Davis finally relaxed enough to fall asleep in the recliner in the living room. He never did take that last dose of medication. Luckily, it was a side effects medication and not chemo medication. The house quieted down and all were asleep by 1:00 AM. Poor Annakate! There was no way she could sleep through all of that chaos, though she didn't complain. She has such a tender heart. She worries as much for Davis as we do. 

Wii = PE at home

Monday. The night before had been erased from his memory and the new day brought with it a better frame of mind and a good start. We were headed to Charleston when I checked in with his school. Sadly, there were several students who were out sick from his class or exhibiting signs of sickness in his class (little coughs, headaches, scratchy throats).  Davis had to stay home. Davis might feel great, but since his immune system is suppressed, he is at greater risk for catching a virus or infection. Since he is unable to fight off infection by himself, he has to be hospitalized so the doctors and medication can fight the infection/virus for him. So there are times when he is perfectly well and capable of going to school, but the health of others prevents that. It's inevitable; kids get sick. Davis, however, didn't handle Monday well.  He didn't see how it was fair that he had to stay home. His "not fair" list has grown longer and longer over the past few months, and I get sad for him and for me that I can't fix some of the injustices that go along with cancer and its treatment. The only comfort that I can offer him is telling him over and over again that this is not permanent, and this will not last forever, but to a 10-year-old, I am sure that it sounds like too much of a cliche to be true.

On Monday, he devoted himself to school work, Wii playing (I told him that it was his PE time), and sitting around and complaining in true 10-year-old fashion.

On Tuesday, he went to school. The kids in the class are feeling much better and  appear healthy. Davis takes a few more extra precautions to be at school (wears mask all of the time, extra hand washing, etc), but he is so happy to be back. He has been attending school all of this week.  He fizzles in the afternoon. He doesn't really have the energy to sustain the activity of a full day. On Tuesday, he took a nap at school. On Wednesday, I picked him up early so he could come home and rest. That's ok. He loves school, and he loves being there.

Davis's appetite has increased some. We can relax a tad because he is eating and choosing healthy choices, but I can't truly relax until he starts putting on weight. We head to the little convenience store in our village, I and I Deli, and Davis orders a hot ham and cheese sandwich every morning. I offer to make him hot ham and cheese sandwiches, but Davis seems to think that no one can make them as good as Tim can, so we will continue to eat Tim's hot ham and cheese sandwiches as long as Davis craves them. His appetite seems to be the best on the morning and decreases as the day moves along.

What else is going on? Hmm. Annakate received a trophy in the mail for being a good sister to Davis. She is enrolled in this organization called SuperSibs. The organization sends her something to make her feel special about every month. This is such a great program. I hate to admit it, but I don't find myself doting on Annakate like I used to. Instead of doing her hair in the morning, I am getting Davis dressed or giving him his medication. Instead of reading her bedtime stories, I am helping him with his homework. While Kyle and I do make an effort to devote individualized attention and time to her, the program helps us by surprising her with encouragement. Plus, she feels so important.

We love living in the country. We have fantastic neighbors (In the country, everyone within a five-mile radius in any direction is your neighbor.) who look out for one another, and the space allows the kids to run and explore. I love the opportunities that country living and nature provide to my children. The wildlife alone creates our own hands-on encyclopedia. Over the course of a week (depending on the season), it is not uncommon to see hawks, owls, vultures, quail, deer, raccoons, stray cats, skunks, opossums, snakes, and coyotes in our yard. Yesterday was no exception. My normal morning routine includes opening my kitchen blinds allowing the natural light to flood in to warn everyone -mostly me- that morning is indeed here. I think I gasped before a smile broke across my face when I saw our neighbor's horse grazing by the trampoline.  What a delightful surprise to the morning! No worries. I called my neighbors and the horse was home safely in its fence in no time. I sure hope the horse manages to make it over again sometime. I think my neighbors sure hope it doesn't.

Tomorrow, Davis will get a CBC. We should know where his ANC (immune system) is then. The chemo last week should have made it drop, but we don't know how much. His ANC and his overall health will determine how much he can do this weekend. We have never really trick-or-treated in the traditional sense. We usually stop by a few houses that belong to family members. Davis doesn't eat candy, chew gum, or suck mints (We let him; he just doesn't like that type of stuff.), so he doesn't really care to trick-or-treat. I think a great deal of the weekend will be devoted to make-up school work from the two weeks that he missed. We will head down to St. Louis on Monday for chemo. He plans on wearing his Halloween costume, a doctor, to clinic. 

My kids love Andy Anderson. Andy makes some great
balloon creations. Davis asked for a circle, and Annakate
asked for a square. They thought that was hilarious.

Davis has developed mouth sores (very common). He has been pretty fortunate to not have too many until now. I believe that it is the methotrexate that he receives in his port that is causing them, because that was the only new chemo added. Methotrexate causes mouth sores. He has been faithfully using Biotene for months, but it simply isn't enough. He has started using a rubber-finger style tooth cleaner for infants, because even the softest of toothbrushes still cause his mouth to bleed. The doctors will check out the mouth situation on Monday. I hate it that he has mouth sores. I don't want anything to hurt him or impede his ability or desire to eat, but I can't help but think that if this is the worst of it, he is still very blessed.

We continue to pray every day for our son. We still pray against side effects, for Davis' emotional well-being, for the health of the kids in which he comes in contact, for healing and CURE. I can't help but feel that there are many life lessons to be learned from this experience, and I thank God for the blessings - the silver lining in all of this - that we have received and continue to discover. We still pray for courage, strength, and endurance, because sometimes they appear to be in short supply. We know that we still have such a long road ahead. We are so moved by your thoughts and prayers. I can only imagine how families are crushed under the weight of carrying this burden - this battle - alone. We are overwhelmed and grateful for the support we have. Not one day goes by that we don't feel both amazed and unworthy of your relentless thoughts and prayers.

We will keep you posted.