HOME!!

It's been quite a week for us. On Monday the doctors (residents at the hospital) woke us (at 2 am) up because Jamey's blood pressure had dropped dangerously low. They tried different things to get his pressure up, then called the fellow to find out what to do. It was really scary. They thought he might be getting septic, which leads to septic shock. They decided on a third antibiotic and to give him a lot of fluid. That seemed to help a lot, and his blood pressure went up. Luckily, the antibiotic seemed to knock the bug out of his system and he did not have a fever at all on Tuesday. Yesterday we were given the happy news that his ANC had gone up a bit and they allowed us to come home. YEAH!! At least he has several days of vacation left . . . We got home in the afternoon and hung out with Leora and Orly. That was definitely a nice way to spend the afternoon.

On an aside, the hospital was really great about spending the holidays there. They had gifts for the kids who were there (check out Jamey's new bike!), as well as for the siblings. They made a real effort to make sure that children didn't feel as if they were missing the holidays. Kudos.

Vacation Week, Continued . . .

Hi,

Just a quick note to let you know how Jamey is doing. He's still in the hospital. We thought we had a handle on his fever yesterday, but it returned and has continued. His ANC is WAY down, so we don't know when he'll come home. This is a pretty sorry way for him to spend his vacation. :-(

Vacation Week

Jamey went into the hospital on Friday with a fever. Today it finally broke, but he's had around 104 much of the weekend - it's been pretty miserable. The doctors said he'll have to stay there for about a week (poor thing, his whole vacation!). His blood counts are still going down, so that means he'll definitely be in there for awhile. :-(

Wedneday, December 19, 2007

Jamey woke up with a lowgrade fever today. He had a fever last Wednesday also, which is a bit worrisome for me (although the docs don't seem worried). They think he's battling some type of virus. I have to take his temperature every 4 hours, and if he continues with one, he'll get a very strong antibiotic. I hope Jamey is feeling better by tomorrow. I hope he doesn't end up in the hospital.

One of the mothers on my ALL list-serve wrote about how it's been documented that many parents suffer post traumatic stress syndrome when this is over, and I can totally see that. The ups and downs of living with this (along with the everyday stresses of life) are unbelievable. It's hard to see Jamey feeling so poorly, to constantly worry about the possibility of a relapse (because that is ALWAYS in the back of my mind) and the late-effects of the chemo, to know that there is very little I can do for him. All this weighs on mine and David's minds heavily.

Another person on the list-serve wrote this poem.

> THE LITTLEST SOLDIERS BY Cheryl Jagannathan, mom to Robby Putnam, dx'd 1/93 and still a fighter today..
>
> The medals on our chests
> Are broviacs for meds
> Helmets won't stay on
> Cause no hair is on our heads.
>
> Our weapons of destruction
> We take every day
> We fight the battle within us
> While we struggle on to play.
>
> We fight with honor and courage
> No marine could do as well
> We are only children
> Living in this hell.
>
> So bring on the medals
> The purple hearts of wars
> The gold cross, the silver star
> To place upon our scars.
>
> For we are the children of cancer
> No one has fought so hard
> But every day we struggle on
> Our life is our REWARD!

December 13, 2007

Sorry it's taken so long to post, but we're wiped by the end of the day. These last few weeks are definitely difficult (although Jamey had a couple of weeks off and they were wonderful). Yesterday he had a long chemo. We were in the clinic all day, and he got a fever at the end of the day. We were lucky because his blood counts were high, so they let him come home after giving him a very strong antibiotic. He was feeling better this morning, but dragging again this afternoon. I think part of it is that he is very nauseous, and that definitely takes its toll on him. I hope he feels better tomorrow.

It's been a terrible week for us on another front, as well. Another person who is close to us was diagnosed with cancer (this makes two people in the past month). What is going on?????

We have something wonderful to look forward to, though. The day for Jamey to begin the maintenance phase is on our calendar for mid-January (yeah!). This is a big deal because we hear it is much easier. We have also decided to go visit the Varons in Spain in March for a much-needed vacation. We've been looking up tickets (but are too nervous to buy them until Jamey is definitely declared to be in maintenance), and are VERY EXCITED about these prospects.

Happy Hannukah.

December 1, 2007

This has been such a crazy time. I took a little time off work to be available to Jamey, but he wasn't too bad for the most part. He started the steroids again on Monday, though, and they have really taken their toll. By Wednesday he was starting to feel bad. Yesterday he went to bed at 5:00, and today he could barely move. He's been very tired and his legs are killing him. I wish there was something we could do to help him, but there is nothing. The steroids are also making it difficult for him to control himself. He yells, then he feels bad about losing control. This sucks. I can't wait until delayed intensification is over and we can go onto maintenance. Everyone says it's easier.

We're very excited, though, because we think we might go to Spain over spring break and visit Eva, Todd and the kids. Something to look forward to.