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)