I don't know where to begin. We have done so much and been a little bit of everywhere over the last few weeks.
Shortly after I my last post, Kyle and I headed down to Florida for a few days. It was our first real couple vacation since Davis's diagnosis. We met up with some friends and had such a great time. Kyle and I went parasailing for the first time. I don't know what I was thinking with my fear of heights and Kyle's motion sickness. All in all, I did awesome. Mind over matter. Kyle? Not so much. He had to take a couple Dramamine just to be able to get on the boat. He started getting motion sickness when the parasail turned corners. . . .He kept it together, but the rest of the day was shot. He slept on the beach, while I played in the water by myself.
We discovered that Davis's ANC (immune system) was over 5200! That was quite a surprise. (Healthy children are at 1500 and above). We knew what that meant. Davis's chemo regime was increased. He is now at 80% of full dose. If you remember, last year Davis had to take a long break (a few months) off from chemo because his counts remained neutropenic. In order to prevent that from happening again, his team has slowly increased his chemo as his body adjusts to it.
We also discussed Davis's growth. I questioned his doctor as to whether or not the chemotherapy could stunt his growth. Dr. Schapiro told us that the chemo might delay puberty and growth spurts, but as soon as the chemo is out of his system (fall 2015), his body should autocorrect. Davis isn't going to be a giant by any means (Kyle and I are both average height), but there was some comfort in finding out that there isn't any permanent stunting caused by the chemo.
Another good report from Children's. I guess we will keep on keeping on.
Last weekend, we went up to Wisconsin to spend some time with Kyle's brother and his family. Another great weekend. One of our nephews turned three and our newest addition (nephew) was dedicated at church. We sure love spending time with them.
Poor Annakate. She has been sick with multiple symptoms (back pain, fever on and off, dizziness, etc) for a week now. We have had her to the doctor twice now, and it looks like another trip tomorrow. So she is going to miss her first day of school. I reassured her that the first day is the best day to miss because as a fourth grader, she already knows all of the rules and she won't have any homework to make up, but I can tell she's sad. Actually, this evening in the car, she was so sick, she had lost her spunk. She couldn't muster the energy to respond. My poor baby needs your prayers. We are thinking (and praying) this sickness is just a stubborn virus and nothing more.
I am praying for the safety and well-being of my children and my students this school year. Please continue to pray for Davis and all those little kids who are burdened by cancer. I know you know but sometimes I absent-mindedly forget how absolutely horrific cancer is. And please remember Annakate in your prayers. I know her health concerns seem rather minute in comparison to Davis's, but I just hate to see my baby sick.
We will keep you posted.
