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.