Chemo - Week 43

September 22nd Update:

Isaac's counts soared this week thanks to a little cold he's been fighting.   this was actually good news because we've been struggling with counts the past few weeks..  then today at his chemo appt they had his meds ready super fast so I totally thought this would be a very quick trip.  Unfortunately Isaac's port started having problems.  It wasn't returning any blood. They had 3 different nurses try to mess with it but no luck.  So they gave him some special medicine to try to break down whatever was causing the blockage.  It ran over 30 minutes; luckily after waiting,  his port started working just great.  So long story short,  it ended up being a little longer of a morning at the hospital but we are down to 9 chemo's left! Single digits!!

Chemo - Week 42

Sept 15th Update:

Isaac had his 42nd treatment today! That means only 10 more left now! Woo whoo! 

His blood counts were just barely high enough yet again. But that's Isaac for you, he seems to always push it to the limits. ;-) 

The appointment went well but was long, they were pretty busy which always takes longer. In addition Isaac had his monthly antibiotic which goes over an hour. 

Isaac brought his little Kion/Lion Guard stuffed animal to help him to be brave today. :-)

Chemo - Week 41

Sept 8th Update:

This BIG 3 year old just celebrated his birthday yesterday. He had good counts which was a great birthday present. Yesterday when we walked into his blood work lab he was greeted with cupcakes and balloons from wonderful, Tanya. Isaac was so excited to get balloons! It's so amazing as a mom to see her child so loved by people who use to be complete strangers. 

Then today Isaac had his 41st chemo treatment which was super fast. It was a pleasant surprise. Isaac brought in his favorite birthday bagels from Panera for all the nurses and doctors. :-)

Here's a photo from Isaacs birthday. Enjoy!

Chemo - Week 40

Sept 1 Update:

We made it to week 40 on Thursday! Only 12 more to go!  Isaac's counts on Wednesday were a little disappointing as they went from being the highest they've ever been last week to barely meeting threshold for chemo this week. But never the less we still made it. Isaac was pretty resistant to the procedures this week unfortunately. He normally does so well but ever once and a while he just isn't having it. ;-)

As a side note we walk into the back where all the check up rooms are and Isaac sees his awesome nurse, Morgan, and the first thing he says is "Hi Morgan, I'm gonna be a big brother!" :-) just right when and where he said it was perfect because we were right outside the nurses station so the rest of the staff heard too. Everyone was excited! 

Here's a pic we took last week. Isaacs little superhero sibling to arrive in March!

Chemo - Week 39

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. 

Low blood counts

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. :-)

Low blood counts - Week 38

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!