August 25th Update:
Isaac's blood counts soared yesterday. They were over 7K! That's the highest he's ever been while on chemo. It seems Isaac just needed a little extra time to boost his counts. We were very thankful for the high counts. So Isaac had his 39th chemo this morning. It was a smooth, short little appointment.
August 22nd Update:
We rechecked IZ's blood counts this morning and to my surprise they were worse than Friday's. :-( I guess it's not uncommon for kids on chemo to need this "booster medicine" a few times a week from what I've been told. However in the over a year that Isaac's been receiving it he's never needed it more than 1 dose within a week or 2 timeframe. Now all of a sudden we have to give it to him 3 times in 6 days! Poor Isaac is not a fan on getting a shot, but what kid would be I guess. Thinking I should have went to school for nursing instead of getting my accounting degree (seems it would have better suited me for this new role I've had to enter). Lol. I'm not quite sure I'll ever get use to giving my son a shot. #hardtodo #wishusluck
So Isaac will receive another injection tonight and then we'll recheck his counts again on Wednesday.
Good thing he's one tough superhero. :-)
August 19th Update:
We took Isaac in to recheck his blood this morning to ensure he wasn't neutropenic anymore. In the past, every time we've had to give Isaac his booster shot at home his counts sky rocket the next couple of days and we are good for the week. Unfortunately, today's results weren't so great. Even after his booster shot on Wednesday, today he's still considered neutropenic. His counts did rise compared to Wednesdays counts but still not high enough.. Shucks. :-( So this means that we'll give him another dose of his booster shot tonight and recheck again on Monday. So our prayers will be the same that he stays away from germs, sickness, etc. Wish we would have known about his counts earlier in the day because Nick and I took the lil guy to the Iowa State Fair this morning (probably not the germ free zone we are looking for). ;-) but we had fun!
August 17th Update:
Isaac went in like normal for his weekly check of blood counts this morning. Unfortunately the results weren't ideal. His neutrophil count was VERY LOW (only 90)! So needless to say Isaac will not be getting chemo tomorrow. Instead, Nick and I will administer his "booster" shot tonight before bed (definitely not looking forward to that). Praying that Isaac will miraculously sleep well tonight as this medicine we have to give him comes with "bone pain" as a side effect. :-( Giving it to him right before bed is always suggested so the child sleeps through the pain. However Isaac has regressed with his sleeping lately and has been waking up numerous times a night, so this will be interesting.
So please pray that Isaac's counts will bounce back fast and that he can stay away from germs and stay fever free. If he gets a fever while being neutraphenic then he'll need to be hospitalized (needless to say we would like to avoid that). Thanks as always!
Isaac's tumor has remained the same size and is considered stable. :-) The enhancement has once again decreased which may suggest "less active tumor cells". If that's the case then that's very good news. The "official" report doesn't actually say that but that's our doctors interpretation and I'll go with it. ;-)
Thanking God for another positive report.
August 11th Update:
Today Isaac's getting his next dose of chemo. He's also due for his monthly antibiotic so it will be a slightly longer appointment but thus far Isaac hasn't minded as there's always fun toys to keep him occupied here.
So technically we are on week 35. However in talking with our University of Iowa oncologist last week she thought that we could "count" the 2 weeks that he missed recently due to his blood counts being too low for chemo. thus, today we are now considering Isaac at Week 37!! Also going forward we will still count the weeks even if he misses in the future. This news made my day because now we will have a "for sure end date" for chemo such I believe is in December. Then we'll get his next MRI in the beginning of January and also we'll meet with a surgeon to discuss removing his port. Not going to lie, it's going to be so nice to get rid of the port and not have to worry about fevers!!! Can't wait!
For the time being, we will take each week by week but am thankful that we are getting close to the end. :-)
August 4th Update:
Today the Dose family will travel to the University of Iowa Hospital for Isaac's next MRI. We are arriving around 9am and Isaac's two MRI's are scheduled for 9:40 and 10:30. Once again Isaac won't be able to eat or drink this morning so that is always a challenge but we are hoping for the best. Wish us luck on that part and please join us in prayer that Isaac's tumor is shrinking or stable. Thanks!
