Fever #4

December 29th Update:

Isaac got discharged late afternoon!! No more fevers and blood counts were high! Woo Whoo!

December 28th Update:

Isaac is still in the hospital today but he was without a fever all day. His blood counts were pretty low and is considered neutropenic so we had to give him his "booster shot", as we like to call it, to boost up his counts. Hopefully he'll show  improvement very soon. 

Tonight Nick is staying with him and i got some much needed down time at home. I'll head back over in the morning and if everything goes as planned we will be discharged tomorrow night.

Isaac was really happy when dad got there this afternoon with new toys to play with. A boy can only stay occupied in a hospital bed for so long... 😉

December 27th Update:

Isaac had a pretty good night but has had a fever the majority of the night/day. But once we were able to get some medicine in him a couple hours ago his fever broke. We are hoping he remains fever free the rest of the stay but it's a little too early to tell right now. We don't know much else (virus vs bacteria) but Isaac has been pretty chipper today but also a little sleepy. His mima (Gayle) came up to see him which made him pretty happy. Daddy is also here keeping him company. I am going to stay the night with him again tonight while dad goes home to take care of Georgie (our dog). Then Nick will come back tomorrow and stay on Monday night. We've been told we can go home Tuesday night at the earliest...  So here's to a few more days...

December 26th Update:

Tonight Isaac spiked a fever which landed him in the hospital yet again.  This unfortunately will be his 4th hospital stay due to fevers.😕 This one was a little unexpected though as he wasn't acting sick. In fact it was pretty close to bedtime and he was as happy as can be. However he felt warm to me so i took his temperature and to my surprise it was over his threshold..... so we got to packing for our next 3 day stay at the University of Iowa Hospital. As disappointing and frustrating as this is we do feel blessed that we didn't have to be in the hospital during Christmas. 😉 #alwaysasilverlining #trying2beoptimistic

So I'm staying in the hospital with him tonight and Nick will come in the morning and hopefully stay tomorrow night.  

Poor little guy had to stay up till 11pm until all procedures, vitals, questions, etc were done.  I bet he was tired; hopefully that makes for a smoother night. 😊

Chemo - Week #6

December 23rd Update:

Today we took Isaac to UIHC for his monthly  antibiotic.  We also checked his blood counts thinking that they would probably be too low for chemo this week but to our surprise they were really high today so Isaac got his 6th dose of chemotherapy today!

We walked into the infusion suite and lasting on the bed was a pile of presents for Isaac! He first saw a new Iron Man which he was of course PUMPED about!!  He also received a build a bear and at Tupperware box of misc little toys. What a neat surprise we received today! 😊

Chemo - Week #5

December 17th Update:

Isaac's blood counts were once again just over his target 500 count (@ 510). So we did go ahead and give him another dose of chemo today.  Similar to weeks past he stayed at the 50% dose.  The appointment today was short and sweet, just the way we like them. 😊  We brought a plate of cookies to the University of Iowa nurses as a thank you for being so awesome/as a Merry Christmas gift... Well Mr. Isaac was less than amused to give up those cookies. Let's just say we had a major breakdown, tears and everything. He did not want someone else eating "his" cookies.  He's kind of at that everything is mine stage. Gotta love it. The nurse eventually did open up the cookies and offer Isaac 1 which seemed to make matters a bit better. 😊

Isaac's next chemo appointment will be Wednesday, the 23rd. Hopefully that will be the only trip to the hospital we make this Christmas week.

Chemo - Week #4

December 10th Update:

Isaac's chemo appointment was unusually long today.  It unfortunately took 4 hours when we were expecting only 1!  :-(  Since Isaac's blood counts were just over his threshold they decided to keep his chemo dose at 50% when originally they were going to try boosting it up to 75% dose.  This took over 1 1/2 hours for the pharmacy to change the meds.  So, Nick, Isaac and I ate some cafeteria food for lunch :-)  Despite the unexpectedly long appointment Isaac was a trooper and managed to stay in high spirits the whole time (even with it being nap time).  Go Isaac!

December 9th update:

Isaac's blood counts are good enough today so he'll have his next chemo appt tomorrow (the 10th).  Once again they were just barely over his threshold but as always we will take it! 😉

Happy Thanksgiving!

November 26th Update:

This year we have a LOT to be thankful for. For starters we are thankful we still have our son. Even in the midst of what most would say is an extremely hard situation God has been with us and provided us blessing upon blessing. A lot of the blessings have come from our family and friends that have poured into our lives and waked this scary road with us. Thank you for being with us and for praying for our sweet little boy. Although I would never have wished this on us or anyone else for that matter, we are thankful that we've gone through it as it's strengthened our faith in God and helped us to rely on Him so much more.
We are thankful we were able to get Isaac the greatest medical care in Boston that he needed. We are thankful for all the awesome nurses here in Iowa that care for him during his chemotherapy treatments, blood work, and all those unexpected fever stays. And lastly we are just thankful that God is in control.  Happy Thanksgiving from the Dose family!!!

Chemo - Week #3

December 2nd Update:

Isaac's blood counts were high enough today to keep his chemo appointment tomorrow morning.  However they were still relatively low/just over the threshold so they will most likely keep Isaac's chemo dose at 50% for tomorrow visit.

The past week, Isaac has been doing well and luckily staying healthy.  😊

This coming Saturday Nick, Isaac and I will be participating in the North Scout High School Dance Marathon. We are looking forward to sharing Isaac's amazing story with the Lancer community!

Chemo - Week #2

November 24th Update:

Isaac had his second round of his new chemotherapy. He did AMAZING! Truly this was the best he's ever done during his appointments. Isaac's Mila and Papa were waiting for him at home when he got back so if course Isaac had something to look forward to. 😊

November 22 Update

November 22nd Update:

Isaac has been doing well since the first week of his new chemotherapy.  He has had no adverse side effects from the medicine.  Although he is still holding on to a little cough and snotty nose.  We are hoping that goes away soon and that it doesn't turn into anything worse.  

Isaac's next scheduled chemo appointment is Tuesday, the 24th.  

MRI Results...

November 18th Update

Yesterday we had a long day, but it ended with great news.  Isaac got his third MRI scan in the morning.  The kid was fussy as all get up which made for A LONG DAY for us parents.  All three of us were super tired when we got home so Nick and Isaac took a nap and mom stayed busy around the house.  After the boys woke up, we received a call from Dr. Sato, our Oncologist, stating "Isaac's tumor has decreased in size".  We were elated!!!   Praise God for all that HE has done for our little boy.

Today, Isaac started his new Chemotherapy regimen.  We restarted our clocks to Week 1 of 52...that's the bad news.  The good news is that all of Isaac's doctors are pleased with his progress to Chemotherapy and his overall development thus far!  What a little trooper.  Two BIG days for the little guy and he was a champ.  Today he was in great spirits giving high five to nurses everywhere he went and even shook his Oncologist's hand :)  Hilarious!!!

In addition to going for Chemotherapy, we also went back to the "U" today and reviewed the MRI results ourselves.  His tumor DID shrink in size, but is was also a slight decrease.  I think we can all agree that a slight decrease is better than none.  The picture also showed that his tumor is no longer pressing against his spinal cord and has decreased in overall width.  

We serve a BIG GOD and we thank everyone who continues to pray for this miracle child God has gifted us.  

Thank you for your prayers!

Here is a picture of us celebrating our good news...  There is a new doughnut joint in town.  Isaac LOVED his!

MRI

November 17th Update:

2:00pm
Isaac is home now. He was NOT a happy camper on the drive home. I'm not sure why exactly but it was a rough ride.  But now we are home which is a relief to us all. IZ has his blankie and his stuffed giraffe and is doing much better. He's already fallen asleep and hopefully will get a really good snooze. 😊

12:10pm
Isaac is out of his MRI. Nick and I are sitting with him in the recovery room. He is still sedated. We are now just waiting him to wake up.

He did pretty good throughout his process. However he did wake up with a few minutes to go and they had to give him another dose of "sleepy" meds.

10:40 am
Today Isaac is getting his next MRI.  His  appointment was scheduled for 9:40am but they were running late and we didn't get him fully sedated until 10:30. We will great results tomorrow morning.

Isaac unfortunately woke up early this morning which was a bummer because he really wanted his breakfast but I couldn't give it to him. But we survived with the help if Mickey Mouse Clubhousoe. 😊

November 10th Update:

Newest update on Isaac:

November 11th Update:

We met with IZ's oncologist to discuss Isaacs next treatment plan. Because we were already there we got his blood work at Iowa as well. His counts were good today 😊.

Isaac will begin a new chemo next Wednesday pending his counts still being good enough. 

November 10th Update:

Nick and I will meet with Isaac's oncologist at Iowa this Wednesday, the 11th to discuss treatment options for Isaac.  We know it's going to be a different form of chemo but we hope to understand a lot more after our meeting.  We'd appreciate your prayers for guidance and for wisdom.  I never knew how hard it would be to be a parent of a sick child and have to make these really hard decisions that will impact their lives.  So, we'd also appreciate you praying that God would give us peace knowing that we are in His will and this is what He has for our sweet little boy.  

Then, next week, Isaac will get his next MRI on Tuesday the 17th.  This is so we can have fresh scans before we start a new treatment plan; plus we were close to the 3 month from last one anyways.  We will then tentatively get results back on Thursday when we meet again with his oncologist.  

Depending on how the scan is Isaac will start his new chemo plan sometime next week.  

Allergic Reaction

November 8th Update:

Issac was able to go home the day after his allergic reaction.  He's been in really high spirits since being home.  

We are still waiting to hear about what's next for Isaac.  We will hopefully meet with our oncologist this week to discuss treatment options but what they will be is still up in the air.  We are blessed that we at least have other options but it's still been a hard situation to fully process and accept.  But we are believing that God will use this for the good and are hopeful that Isaac will tolerate the next treatment great.  

November 6th Update:

Isaac did pretty well throughout the night. Mom only got a few hours of sleep but hey that's life. If we can go home today then I can catch up then. 😊

November 5th Update:

Today Isaac and I went in for his chemotherapy appointment. We were an hour or two into his appointment when Isaac started having an allergic reaction to the chemo. He was coughing a lot.  At first I didn't take notice but when it persisted and Isaac's face went a little pale, his oncologist (who was luckily with me at the time) asked if he had a cough to which I said no. She immediately got up and went to the door and called in 4+ nurses who rushed in and stopped the chemo, started benadryl and other meds.  I didn't even know what was going on; it all happened so fast. The doctor asked someone to page the "Rapid Response" team. Once I heard her say those words I started getting very nervous/scared. I then asked if Isaac was having an allergic reaction to which they all said yes...

Isaac then developed a rash on his stomach and on his back while the coughing got worse. The nurses were going to town putting on monitors on him and such.  They kept listening to his breathing to ensure that he could still get air down his throat.  I just sat there holding my little boy praying he would be OK...  Probably 5 minutes into this episode I mustered the courage and asked "is Isaac going to be alright?". I was previously trying to be brave and keep it together for Isaac to keep him calm but I just needed some reassurance (as a mother I was battling all the worse case scenarios in my head).  The nurses immediately reassured me it was going to be OK. This was a huge relief but of course I started crying after they tell me he is going to be OK. 😉 go figure. 

I'm not sure how many minutes past but they finally got him squared away and the rash eventually went away and the coughing stopped. Isaac became very sleepy (probably a combo of no nap today and the benadryl) and took a little nap on me. Later they then told me they were going to admit Isaac for overnight monitoring just to be safe. 

In the midst of all this I called Nick (I'm crying of course).  He left work right away, ran home to get overnight gear for Isaac and mom and made it to the hospital probably within an hour. 

We are hopeful that the night will go well and that we'll be discharged tomorrow morning-ish. 

Not 100% on next steps, but one thing is for sure that we'll stop his current medication and we'll have to figure out the next best option. Our oncologist at Iowa will work with our oncologist from Boston to develop a new plan. Please pray that all doctors involved will have wisdom on this. We knew going into this particular treatment that an allergic reaction was possible (but typically does not occur this early into treatment) and that we might need to find other treatment options eventually but it doesn't make it easy to be in this position now. But we know God has been with us this far so why stop trusting him now. We are hopeful there will be a rainbow after this storm. 😊

Thanks as always!

Nick and Allison

Happy Halloween

October 31st:

Isaac is finally over his sickness.  That pesky cough stayed with him after his stay in the hospital but I think he is officially over it.  :-)  Unfortunately, he gave whatever he had to Mom but I think I am on the mend as well now.  

Isaac is going Trick-or-Treating for the first time tonight.  He is going to be a Minion.  I know, I know, you would have thought we would have dressed him up as a Superhero but we choose to all be Minions this year instead.  ;-)  

Chemo - Cycle 1, Week 3

November 4th Update:

Isaac's blood counts were great today! So I'll be taking him to the University of Iowa Hospital tomorrow afternoon at 2 for his next dose of chemo. This is unfortunately right during nap time which is definitely not ideal but I'll count my blessings and be happy that the counts were finally good enough. 😊. You can't win them all. 


October 28th Update:

Today Isaac went in like normal for his blood to get checked. Unfortunately his blood counts were too low.... So that means that we will not have chemo tomorrow and instead mom and dad have to give Isaac another dose of his "blood count booster" medicine as an injection tonight 😕. Booo!!

Fever #3

October 23rd Update:

Isaac is doing well.  If he can stay fever-free today then they are going to let us go home tonight!!  Woo Whoo!!!  We are very happy about that.  There's just something about getting to sleep in your own bed!  Yesterday, his fever went away 2-3 different times but found a way to creep back up each time.  So, we are hoping the fever stays away for good this time.  
This hospital stay has been a little harder than the past 2 times.  Because Isaac came in with a cough and had the fever the first 2 full days, we are kind of on lock down.  With it being cold and flu season the hospital takes precautions a little more seriously.  Isaac can't leave his room at all.  Even Nick, and I aren't supposed to leave the room unless we change our clothes.  So just going to get more water in a common area is a "no no"; we have to ask the nurses to get it for us.  :-(  So, we are a little stir-crazy in here but are trying to make the most of it.  

Thanks for your prayers.  We are hoping and praying that his fever does not come back today so that we can in fact go home tonight.  

October 22nd Update:

Throughout the night Isaac maintained a103 temp. Nurses came in each hour to get vitals, so neither Isaac or mom had a great night sleep. However, we managed to get little cat naps in between some of the checks. Then this morning at 5am, his fever broke but has since climbed back up to 101.7. 😕.  

Overall though Isaac is being such a trooper! He's in slightly better spirits this morning but has just been laying down looking exhausted. But on the bright side all his blood work has come back good and he tested negative for the more common viruses going around. 😀

October 21st Update:

Unfortunately Isaac woke with a fever this morning.  So, we are now in the hospital for a minimum of 3 days.  :-(

Please keep our little guy in your prayers.  Thanks you!

Update on Isaac:
Isaac's fever got up to 103.5 but with some medicine it's now down to 102.7. He's been very sleepy all day long. You can just tell he just doesn't feel well. 😕 . 

Chemo - Cycle 1, Week 2

October 16th Update:

Isaac did great yesterday at Chemo.  He has had no negative symptoms. :-)  He will continue to get his blood checked twice a week (Mondays and Wednesdays).  Depending on the counts, we may have to give additional injections at home (to boost blood counts) but let's keep our fingers crossed his levels remain over 500.  


October 15th Update:

Isaac is going in for his next dose of chemo on Thursday, October 15th.  This will be his 2nd Week of Cycle 1 of the Maintenance Phase.  He got his blood checked on Wednesday and his levels were high enough.  :-)  Ever since we gave him that 1 injection of meds his blood counts have been a LOT higher than they have been in the past.  The medicine clearly helped.  We are happy we only had to do the shot the one time last week.  :-)

Chemo - Cycle 1, Week 1

October 10th Update:

Isaac has had no negative side effects from his chemotherapy last week! However, we did get his blood counts checked on Thursday and they were quite low again. So we had to give him the injection I mentioned below that evening. Poor little guy didn't like daddy holding him down while mom gave him a shot in the arm. But I think mom and dad had a harder time with it. It was pretty difficult to have to do that to our son. 😢 so kuddos to all the nurses out there that do the tough jobs for the sake of our kids, it can't be fun for you to poke and prod children all day. Ever since Isaac's diagnosis I have had a much greater respect for nurses - they are AWESOME!  

Besides not liking the shot, Isaac has been his normal, happy self. I think he had been wearing himself out playing during the day because he's sleeping like a champ at night. The other day he slept from 8:30pm till 9:30am!! That's a new record for Mr. I Pie. 😀

October 3rd Update:

We should be receiving Isaac's new medicine Monday (Oct 5th).  This medicine is to help boost his neutrophil count which has been the reason he hasn't been able to get chemo for the past 2 months.  This medicine is in the form of an injection.  That means that mom and dad will be playing nurse at home.  We'll give him this shot daily until his counts come up.  We originally had some issues with insurance causing a delay in getting this medicine but now that we have worked through that, the doctors say we are going to start chemo on Monday.  Because he is sensitive to the chemo they are going to give him a 50% dose.  

This will be Week 1 of Cycle 1 of the Maintenance Phase.  Isaac is scheduled to have 8 total Cycles.  Each Cycle consists of 4 weeks ON chemo and then 2 weeks OFF of chemo.  That is pending his blood counts though.  At the rate he is going, he'll have some "unscheduled" off weeks in between which simply pushed everything back a week.  ;-)   Prior to this Phase he was in the "Induction Phase".  

It's been about 2 months since Isaac has received chemo.  I'm not going to lie, it's been kind of nice to have this break.  Isaac has enjoyed every minute of it.  He continues to be a busy little boy who plays and plays and plays.  However, we are ready to get things rolling again.  So bring on Monday!  

Sept 30th Update:

Isaac's blood counts continue to be lower than we want. They originally said they were close enough to the threshold so they were going to start Isaac on Chemo tomorrow.  However, they called back an hour later and said they changed their minds and we are going to wait another week.  We are still having some insurance issues with getting this special medicine to boost Isaacs blood counts. 😕

Low Blood Counts

September 24th Update:

Isaac's blood counts are still too low to begin Cycle 1 if the Maintenance Phase. 😕This unfortunately has been a reoccurring problem for many many weeks now.

We are going to try out a new medicine to help boost his counts. So we'll keep our fingers crossed and pray for favorable results.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Isaac!!!!

BIRTHDAY BOY

Isaac's 2nd birthday was on Labor Day/September 7th.  I had bought him donuts for his breakfast but he insisted on eating his normal cereal instead (go figure).  ;-)  Then, we got dressed.  We had bought him a superhero shirt to wear on his birthday and it had been hanging in his closet for a couple weeks.  During these weeks he has requested to wear it but we never let him and kept telling him it had to wait for his birthday.  So, needless to say he was pretty excited when Mom busted out his new superhero shirt for him to wear!!!  :-)
After that we went to the park where he played for quite a long time.  

For lunch I took him to Chick-fil-A (Isaac's favorite).  He loves "chicka, fry, and pop" (pop meaning lemonade).  :-)  He took his afternoon nap and when he got up Dad was home from work and so he got to spend time playing with daddy.  

For dinner we had invited some of our good friends over for pizza and cupcakes.  These friends of ours also just so happen to have kids that are Isaac's age and are his closest buddies.  So Isaac was pretty excited for them to come over and play.  We even busted out his favorite "Uptown Funk" song and all the kids danced to it; Isaac had a blast!!

Chemo Week 13

September 10th Update:

Once again Isaac's blood counts are too low for chemo this week.  :-(  This makes 3 weeks in a row that he has missed due to low blood counts and this makes 5 weeks in a row that he hasn't had chemo (the first 2 weeks were "scheduled breaks").  Isaac's oncologists think he is more sensitive to the chemotherapy than perhaps other children receiving the same regiment.  Never-the-less, Isaac continues to act normal and it has not slowed him done at all.  :-)  


September 3rd Update:

Unfortunately Isaac's blood counts have been rather low for a few weeks now.  :-(  Last week he was supposed to start back up with his chemotherapy regiment.  However, they were too low then too.  Prior to that he had a scheduled 2 weeks off.  So as of today he has had 1 whole month off!  You would think that would be enough time to get those blood counts up and running but apparently now. ;-)  But luckily he is still remaining healthy while at home.  

Although we aren't going to our chemo appt anymore today I still am taking him to the Hospital so he can get his antibiotics (which are overdue now).  This will be Isaac's last appt as a 1 year old.  This coming Monday Isaac turns 2!!!  :-)

MRI Results

MRI Results Update:

After having the doctors review the MRI scans again, I've been informed that Isaac's tumor did still shrink but just slightly.  So, the results are not as favorable as we originally thought but never-the-less they are still favorable.  

August 26th - MRI Results:

Today Isaac had his first MRI since having surgery.  We were originally supposed to get the results tomorrow but were pleasantly surprised to receive them at 5:30 this evening.

The result. . . . . .  Isaac's tumor SHRUNK!!!!   We are beyond excited!  

Typically in kids going through the chemotherapy regimen like Isaac's you don't see much shrinkage.  Typically they expect the tumor to remain stable.  So to say the least we are beyond ecstatic that Isaac's shrunk.  And I might add it shrunk pretty significantly (in my opinion).  

All I can say is PRAISE GOD!  He has been our ROCK during this time and has not left our side ever since we embarked on this unwanted journey.  We couldn't have come this far without Him.  So Thank God that He is the Great Physician and a Healer!  We also would like to thank those who have come along side us and have been praying for Isaac and our family.  Often times God uses people like you to show his love in tangible ways.  I can't begin to describe how thankful I am for so many great friends in our lives.  I received so many texts this morning offering up encouragement.  So thank you everyone!  

God does answer prayers and he definitely did today.  :-) :-) :-)

MRI

Wednesday, August 26th
Isaac will get his first MRI since having surgery in Boston.  The MRI is scheduled for 11:20 so we will arrive an hour before to get things ready. Unfortunately Isaac won't be able to eat anything in the morning so we could have a grumpy toddler on our hands ;-)    

Please pray for favorable results!  We will keep everyone posted when we find out (which will be Thursday).

Yes, Isaac is sitting on Georgie in his crate.  Good thing Georgie is laid back and doesn't seem to mind.  :-) Love my boys! !

Week 12

August 20th Update:

Isaac has had another "off" week.  :-)  We got his blood checked yesterday and to our surprise they were pretty low again.  :-(  We originally thought that having 2 weeks off of chemo would have helped raise his blood counts but apparently not the case this time.  I think IZ is still recovering from his fever last week.  He still has a cough but besides that you would never know his blood counts are low.  He is super active and has been playing non-stop.  His new favorite game this week is having mom chase him up and down the halls of our home.  This can get very tiring for this momma but IZ lights up when we play so I muster the energy.  ;-)

As stated in previous posts Isaac's next appointment will be Wednesday the 26th (ironically Isaac's original due date).  Isaac will be getting his first "check" since having surgery.  He'll have another MRI.  Unfortunately Nick has to be at work this day so I will be taking Isaac myself but on the flip side Nick will be able to come the next day to the appointment when we get the MRI results back.  We are both anxious yet a little excited to be getting the MRI results.  The goal is stability of the tumor (no growth) but I am praying for shrinkage!  Time will only tell.  

In all we know that it is all in God's hands and we are trusting that Isaac will fully recover from this.   

Fever #2

August 12th Update:
Isaac's blood counts shot back up today which was great but a bit surprising.  Because of this and because he has been fever free for more than 24 hours they decided that they will discharge him later this evening.  He was originally needing 2 more doses of antibiotics but instead they will give him 1 dose of a slightly different antibiotic that will cover him for 24 hours. :-) This was very unexpected news for us but very good news!  We are thrilled to not have to stay another night and instead be here for only 2 and 1/2 days instead of the full 3!! Woot woot! 

Isaac has had a number of visitors which has made the time in the hospital much more bearable.   My grandma and grandpa Green, my brother and his girlfriend (Jordan & Melissa), and some old friends of ours from the Quad Cities (Chris, Joy & their son Cody ) visited on Tuesday.  Then our good friend Karen stopped by today while she was working here at the hospital.  :-) We continue to feel blessed by the support we are receiving.  Thank you everyone! !



August 11th Update :

Today Isaac is fever-FREE!! :-) This morning he is as happy as can be which makes a stay in the hospital a lot easier.  His blood counts are unfortunately still very low but there is no bacteria thus far so we are thankful for that.  Here's to 2 more days.  :-)


August 10th Update:

Unfortunately Isaac woke up bright and early this morning (@ 4:30) with a fever.  :-( Boooo
So we packed our suitcases and headed to the University of Iowa Hospital.  Within an hour they had him all hooked up,  taken blood samples,  and started antibiotics.  Isaac is currently napping on mommy.  :-) 

We will once again be here for a minimum of 3 days.  But in the bright side we are familiar with a lot of the staff as we were just here 8 days ago ;-)

Although he's been pretty fussy today I managed to get a Lil smile as we watched Toy Story (his new favorite movie)

Chemo Week #10

August 5th Update:

Isaac's blood counts are good enough to do chemo tomorrow so week 10 here we come.   They are still pretty low but have risen since last week so we'll count it as a plus.  :-)

After week 10 Isaac will get a much needed 2 week break from chemo.  Then on the 26th of August Isaac will get his first MRI since surgery.  

Fever :-(

August 1 Update:

Isaac was released from the hospital today!!  Unfortunately his blood counts did decrease again and he's considered neutropenic now.  But luckily they decided to still let us go home. Given the situation of being in a hospital for 3 days, Isaac was a trooper and did pretty darn good but there's nothing quite like being home.  We are feeling blessed to have Isaac back home with us and are looking forward to sleeping in our own beds tonight!  :-)


July 31st Update:

Today Isaac has been fever free!  :-)  According to Daddy, he did great overnight.  Nick stayed with him last night so that I could go home and get a good night sleep after staying with him in the hospital on Wednesday night.  During the day both Nick and I were here.  Isaac has been full of energy today.  We rode in his cool car a bunch, played in the kids play room and even found time to catch some sunshine at the hospital playground.  

Isaac's port is still "accessed" so we have to be careful with how hard he plays but for the most part he was able to do a lot and has been a very active little boy today.  

We are hoping to go home tomorrow (Saturday) but it will depend on him staying fever free and his blood counts.  Unfortunately his blood counts have been dropping somewhat significantly the past 2 days.  One count in particular was rather low today and is very close to the bottom threshold that we'd like to avoid...  So, only time will tell.  Isaac should be getting blood drawn early in the morning tomorrow and I'd imagine we'd know whether we get to go home by 10 or 11am.  Keeping my fingers crossed that Isaac's blood counts will remain stable and not decrease further.  

Thanks for your continued prayers and support!  God is good!

July 30th Update:

Isaac's fever has decreased since yesterday but hasn't quite gone down to normal yet.  We will be here for sure till Saturday and perhaps longer pending any new findings in his blood.  

To our surprise he will go ahead and still get chemo today because his CBC (complete blood count) were still at a high enough level.  So week 9 is still a go!  He's taking a nap now and will get chemo later this afternoon.  

Isaac's grandma (Allison's mom) took a half day from work today to spend with Isaac.  So he's been in pretty good spirits from having his mima here!  Gotta love those grandmas! ! We also managed to find this sweet car for Isaac to ride around the hospital in. Needless to say that's been a big hit!  

Here's a pic of when iz decided he wanted daddy to ride in the car with him.  ;-) haha.  Oh the things parents do to keep their kiddos happy!  ;-)

June 29th Update:

Today started like any other Wednesday.  I woke up with Isaac around 7am. We had breakfast and we went to go get his labs done.  He went with daddy to the gym later that morning.  A little after lunch Isaac seemed really warm so i decided to take his temp as a precaution.  To my surprise it was 101.5! :-(

For children going through chemotherapy a fever can be very dangerous so anything over 101 means an automatic 3 day stay in the hospital.  Booo! :-(  So we packed up and headed to the University of Iowa Hospital.

He got his port accessed soon after arriving and they started him on antibiotics right away.  They are testing his blood for infections but currently we don't have any inclination as to what's going on.

Besides having a mental breakdown when we entered his hospital room Isaac is doing well.  He still has a fever but is resting comfortably in my arms as I'm writing this.  Poor little guy but we know he is TOUGH AS NAILS!  Thanks for your prayers!

Chemo Week #8

July 22nd Update:

Today Isaac went in to get his weekly blood test to see if his counts were high enough to receive chemo tomorrow.  Last week they were barely high enough to get chemo.  So, much to my surprise his blood counts today were high enough!  :-)  Actually 3 of the 4 increased somewhat significantly in my opinion and 1 stayed the exact same.  

So that means Week #8 here we come!!!

Go Isaac!

Progress Report on IZ

July 21st Update:

People ask all the time how Isaac is doing and how he is handling chemo.  So I thought I would write a little progress report on the past couple months since his diagnosis/surgery. But first here is a little snapshot of the past few months in picture form.  The April picture was taken 2 days before Isaac's diagnosis (on Easter).  You can clearly see that his torticollis (head tilt) was pretty evident at this point in time.  We had a feeling going into the MRI that something would come about because his head tilt was getting worse but nothing could have prepared us for hearing the words "Your son has a brain tumor".  :-(  YUCK! That was a dark day.  But praise God for brighter days in our future.  :)

Already in May you can see that his head tilt was basically gone.  He was roughly 1+ month post surgery and was playing outside on those warm days.  June/July have been similar; we've filled the days with a variety of new and exciting activities.  He loves to play with his baseball and bat when he's outdoors, and loves to shoot basketballs and kick soccer balls indoors. Isaac continues to love the song "Uptown Funk" and would dance to it all day if I let him.  He is inseparable with his 2 new figurine toys: Hulk and Spiderman.  He loves to color and watch the movie Shreck and Madagascar 3.  He is a busy and strong-willed little boy.  

Chemo Update:

Chemo has been going pretty well.  He finished his 7th round last Thursday.  Twice his blood counts were too low to administer chemo so we had to forgo those weeks.  When that happens he gets a "break" but it extends the 60 week treatment plan out 1 additional week.  Unfortunately his "missed weeks" don't count.  :-(  But on a brighter note, IZ has experienced very few side effects.  In fact the past month or so he has experienced ZERO side effects!  Praise God that he is tolerating his treatment well!  We count it a blessing and are so thankful for a God that is healing our son!  These summer months I've been blessed in that I've had different family members step up and go with me to many of his chemo appointments.  They are often times long days and it's difficult to go by myself so when someone else tags along it makes the whole experience better for us all.  :-)  

Physical Function:

I wrote in a previous post that the 2 main areas of concerns that lead up to Isaac's diagnosis was his torticollis came back and also that he was experiencing some left sided weakness (mainly in his arm/hand).  I'm happy to report that his torticollis is basically gone and his left side function is getting better everyday.  Isaac had been going to a Physical Therapist prior to surgery but has only gone once since surgery as his gross motor movements are now appropriate for his age.  He has however been going once a week to an Occupational Therapist (OT) to enhance his fine motor skills.  It's amazing to see how much he is progressing in this area.  When we first started OT Isaac was VERY reluctant to using his left arm/hand for anything but now he uses it A TON more.  His therapist and I were talking the other day that sometimes we really have to think about what hand is the "bad hand" because he is using them the same.  He still favors his right hand and will most likely be a right-hander but his left hand is looking a lot more normal now and he will use it spontaneously where as before he would just get by with only using the right hand.  Our prayer and hope is that Isaac will regain full strength back into his arm/hand and that a stranger not knowing his condition wouldn't be able to tell that he prefers one over the other.  

I'm so proud of our little guy.  He has defied the odds and is a determined little booger.  He progresses daily and is constantly learning new things.  The past few weeks he has been learning a new word basically everyday it seems and is talking up a storm with us.  He's starting to use 2-3 word phrases.  It's a joy and privilege for Nick and I to see our boy get to grow up and meet all the milestones that a normal/healthy toddler would.  

We can't begin to describe how thankful we are for everyone that asks us about Isaac, and that continue to send us cards gifts, letters of encouragement, and that reads this blog weekly.  It's comforting to know that there are so many out there still thinking about and praying for IZ.  We serve a BIG God and in my mind He is doing BIG things for Isaac and we couldn't be more thrilled about it.  We know that we still have a long and daunting journey ahead of us but we aren't alone.  

Joshua 1:9

Be STRONG and COURAGEOUS declares the LORD

Do not be discouraged

Do not be afraid

For the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go

This is the verse we dedicated Isaac to when he was only 1 month old; it's proved so true in our lives thus far.

Chemo Week #7

July 16th Update:

IZ had his 7th go at chemo today. Unfortunately it took slightly over 5 hours :-( but IZ did so great throughout the entire appointment.  Mima (Nick's mom) came with again which was super helpful.  However this will be her last time coming along as she's heading back to Texas next week.  We'll miss her and Tom for sure;  it's been extra nice having them around this summer.  I'm not entirely sure how Isaac is going to manage.  ;-)

His next appointment is scheduled for next Thursday but with his blood counts already a bit low this week I wouldn't be surprised if they dropped down too low causing us to miss another week.   But we will see.  :-) positive thoughts! !


July 15th Update:

Isaac went to get Labs done today and his blood counts are back up so he is good to go for tomorrow's (16th) chemo appointment. :-)  Although his blood counts did improve and are at a high enough level to receive chemo they are still pretty low so we are hoping and praying they don't decrease too much after this round.

Week #7 here we come!

June 9th Update

Isaac's blood counts were unfortunately too low this week so he had to miss his chemo.  :-( So we will take this week off and then start back with Week #7 next Thursday, June 16th.  

This week he caught mom's cold and has had a little bit of a runny nose and had a low grade fever.  Luckily it never got high enough to be too concerned.  :-)  So we are counting our blessings and trying to keep him from too many more germs.  

Besides being a little sick the past few days, Isaac has been busy hanging out with family.  On Wednesday we made a day trip back to the Quad Cities to spend some time grandma.  Nick's aunt Alecia and cousin Kara (from Texas) stayed the night with us on Thursday.  Then today another one of Nick's cousin is getting married so IZ will get to spend time with LOTS more relatives.  :-)  He's been loving getting all the attention (but it's not like that doesn't already happen).  ;-)

Oh and have I ever mentioned he LOVES his doggie, Georgie.  :-)  

Chemo Week #6

July 2nd Update:

Isaac had his sixth dose of chemotherapy on Thursday. Similar to week 5, he received only one of the chemo medicines which made for a shorter appointment. :-)  Nick's mom came along. It's always nice for Isaac and I to have company for these appointments.  :-)

Isaac did great as usual and has suffered no negative side effects. On the way to the car we got stopped by a University of Iowa employee who was riding a golf cart and asked if we wanted a ride. We of course said "YES" because #1) MiMa had just broken her toe and #2) Isaac always sees these carts each week and says "beep beep".  IZ was lighting up the whole way through the sky walk; he absolutely loved his little ride. The man even beeped the horn for him.  ;-)

This picture was taken later that evening. 
(Mima, IZ, & Daddy)

Chemo Week #5

June 25th Update:

Isaac had his 5th chemotherapy appointment today.  During Weeks 5 and 6 Isaac gets a break from his normal regiment  and only gets administered 1 chemo drug.  Lucky for us, it is the drug that doesn't take very long to administer.  So his appointment today lasted just under 2 hours!  That made this mamma very happy.  :-)

During the port access this morning Isaac was somewhat fidgety. There comes a time when they have to sanitize the port site and wait 3 whole minutes for it to dry before they can stick the needle in the port and get going.  You might think 3 minutes isn't very long.  However, you are sadly mistaken; it is a very long time to hold an almost 2 year old still while trying to keep his fingers from touching the site, and while trying to keep him from breathing directly on the site.  :-(  We were at 2 1/2 minutes when Isaac decided he wanted to start clapping to the music we were listening to but clumsily touched the port causing the nurse to re-sanitize and wait an additional 3 minutes.  LOL  Can't keep this child from dancing!  :-)

Besides this mishap, Isaac did great.  He received a little care package from Child Life after his appointment.  It was a box full of little toys and trinkets to keep him busy.  It's amazing to see him being blessed each and every week.  It's the little things in life that mean the most. :-)

When we got home he was in very good spirits and wanted to watch Madagascar 3.  Here's a little video of him dancing (once again) to the the music.  :-)  ENJOY!

chemo week #4

June 18th update:

Today Isaac received his 4th dose of chemo. His blood counts rose this past week which was great news (last week they were too low to administer chemo). Nick's mom, Benita, is with us today which made the appointment a lot easier.  Isaac is enjoying having her home from Texas for the summer.

Isaac has continued to be a fighter these past 2 weeks.  A few days ago he had a low grade fever but fought it off before it reached the "critical" zone.  Unlike most children a low grade fever can be very serious for Isaac because of his situation.  For instance when Isaac gets a fever of 100.4 this equates to a 3 day hospitalization for our little boy. :-( Clearly we are wanting to avoid that at all costs.  :-)

This past week I started stripping our deck as it needs a new paint job.  IZ has been momma's BIG helper by helping me "hose" off the paint.  He loves holding the hose and spraying water all over.  

Relay for Life

Relay for Life (June 5th):

Last Friday, June 5th, Nick, Isaac and I participated in Relay for Life which was held in Cedar Rapids, IA.  Nick and I have both participated in Relay for Life in the past but this year was EXTRA special to us. 

 

For those of you that don't know Relay for Life is a nationwide event that raises money for the American Cancer Society.  It's a fun filled night with live music.  Of course, Isaac started dancing right away.  ;-)  People come and walk around a track all through the night. They have luminaries lining the track.  You can dedicate a luminary for anyone that lost the fight with cancer, survived it, or is currently fighting it.  As we walked the track we found Isaac's...

As many of you know Nick works are Target and we were blessed by so many of Nick's team there.  They made Target t-shirts that said "#TeamIsaac" on the back.  They also made Isaac a shirt that said "I am Isaac".  :-)  It was so heartwarming to see so many of Nick's co-workers support us through this fight.  

At one point of the night they honor cancer survivors during the "Survivor Walk" around a track. The American Cancer Society defines "survivor" as anyone who has ever heard the words "You have cancer".  It doesn't matter if you already fought and are in the clear or if you are in the midst of fighting.  Thus, this makes Isaac a cancer SURVIVOR!  So, Nick, and I were able to walk around the track with Isaac during the survivor walk.  This was a special time for us.  They lines us up in groups by the time period which you were diagnosed.  Isaac was in the 1 year or less group.  Each survivor received a medal and 1 ribbon per year you have lived with your diagnosis.  Since Isaac was diagnosed this year he received 1 ribbon. Next year he will get 2, and so on and so on.  We saw some people with a whole lot of ribbons ;-) Good for them!

I have a feeling that this is an event that will be close to our family's heart for a long time in coming.  We foresee our family going each year and it will be exciting to see Isaac grow up and be able to walk as a survivor with an increasing amount of ribbons each year.  :-)

  

Nick's parents were even able to make it for the event.  They drove all the way from Texas and arrived just in the nick-of-time.  Here is a picture of Tom (Nick's stepdad) and Isaac taken by a giant HOPE sign... so fitting.  :-)