Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to all. We had a good week, although we were upset that we weren't able to go to New Jersey to spend the holidays with my family. Jamey got shots on Wednesday and Friday, so we were here. He's been feeling okay this week (par for the course, since I took a few days off), although he started feeling so-so last night, and not so great today. We went to the Silverstone's house on Thursday and had a lovely time with them. Orly, Doug, Leora and Yoni came up on Friday, and we spent Shabbat with them. That was really nice - we had a great time with them. They are so fun - just wonderful. We went to Barnes and Noble last night after Shabbat ended (Jamey's favorite place), then to have some pizza.

I took this coming week off of work because we are so unsure of how Jamey might feel. He goes in tomorrow for his next round of chemo (very strong chemo), so we'll see what happens after that. I hope he is okay. He's gotten a lot so far, and it peaks 1-2 weeks after he get it, so I'm a bit ambivalent about how he'll be this week. He also starts the steroids again tomorrow. I'm not sure either of us will survive this round. They have a terrible affect on him (not just his appetite, but his concentration and personality also). At least it's only for a week.

The Week in Review

This week has been torturous. Jamey has had no energy and been feeling terribly all week. He stayed home from school with Vivienne on Wednesday and Thursday, but we forced him to go on Friday. There, he fell asleep in class, then went to the nurse to lay down. Yesterday we had the Kaminows over for Shabbat, and he could barely eat with us. Today he was supposed to play with a friend, but he was too tired. He finally got a little energy to go out, but that quickly went away and he was too tired to enjoy going out to dinner with our good friends. We feel so bad for him - he has headaches and nausea - and there's absolutely nothing we can do. On top of everything, he is going in every two days to get two shots of chemo. When we went today, he saw the injections and almost fainted. :-( I know this is only for 6 weeks, but it seems like forever . . .

To top it off, VIvienne goes back to Israel tomorrow. We will miss her so much - she's been a great source of comfort and support. Wish she could stay . . . .

Delayed Intensification

We started delayed intensification today after a two week break. The break was wonderful - Jamey had energy and was in great spirits. We were all nervous for today, knowing that Jamey wasn't going to feel well after going to the clinic. He was given 3 different chemos today, two of them injections, and a flu shot.

After the clinic we went to lunch and the bookstore, and Jamey was doing great (although he had a terribly difficult time trying to pick a book - three or four new ones just came out that he's dying for). After we picked up Noah and Coby from the bus, though, he took a dive and started throwing up and feeling horribly. Since then, he's been a basket case, too nauseaous to move. It was really difficult, in fact, to get him to take his pills tonight. I feel terrible for him - he feels as if this is a never-ending saga. When you're 11 years old, this is a lifetime.

Some days I can't believe we're living this life . . .

November 6, 2007

We got Jamey's blood counts - they look good. His ANC is up (we could've predicted this - he's back to his old self). Yeah!! This means, though, that we will start the delayed intensification phase next Tuesday. I have to say that I'm a bit nervous about this. It's supposed to be very difficult. He starts off on Tuesday with a spinal tap and some pretty heavy chemo (daunorubicin, vincristine, and some other stuff). We expect his blood counts to drop the following week. We're just counting the days until January . . .

The boys are doing well. We have our final soccer games this weekend - it's been a great season for Noah and Coby.

Picture from the Chabad Torah dedication

Jamey received a special blessing from the Rabi and we dedicated from the Sultan family a word from the Torah.

November 4th 2007

We got back from the hospital on Monday October 29th. Unfortunately we spent more time there than we had anticipated. We were there from Thursday - Monday, and it was a long and boring stay for all of us. We tried to entertain ourselves as much as possible by renting few movies, and playing some games. Jamey played with another boy who is 12 (his name is Jacob) who was also diagnosed with Leukemia (a different type). Jacob can't really leave his room and has been there for 2 months. I believe he has 4-5 more months at the hospital (at least). We played cards and they also played the Wii in Jacob's room. Despite all the two boys are going through, I think they had fun. Karen and I rotated our stay with Jamey. Karen's mom and my mom also stayed with Jamey during the day. We were so happy to come home on Monday afternoon, and we are REALLY glad this phase is over. We have about 2 weeks of break where Jamey does not need to go in for Chemo and then we will enter the final phase before we enter maintenance. It is called Delayed Intensification, which is about 6 weeks of heavy Chemo in/out of hospital with different types of Chemo. This is similar to what we went through the first 4-6 weeks and we anticipate a lot of side effects.

We are all enjoying having my mom around. She is great and the kids enjoy being with her which they do not get very often. My mom is really great and helps a lot in the hours. The cooking is superb! I missed it. Since my work is very close I go home for lunch and hand out. This weekend was busy with of soccer games. We also went to the Chabad House; they had a ceremony for a new Torah. We got to write a letter in the Torah and Jamey got a special blessing from the Rabbi there. It was nice.

I am tired now; it has been a long day. Take care.