A New Grocery List

One of the things that happens when Joshua's blood counts drop is that he has to be put on a restrictive diet. On that diet, he can't have fruit because of the rare case that there might be some bacteria in it. It's always a good day when his blood counts are up to the point when he is not 'neutropenic' meaning he is restricted on what he can eat.

Last night he destroyed pineapple, bananas, strawberries, and grapes.

Good News, Friends

Delayed intensification, a.k.a. the rough 8 weeks, a.k.a. the hardest part of treatment, a.k.a. living at the hospital - is over. And it went out with a whimper rather than a bang. We expected that Joshua's blood counts would once again bottom out before he got to move into the new phase of treatment - maintenance - and apparently they did, but they did not cause him to have any fever and consequently no more hospital time. That's great. Wednesday he officially begins the maintenance phase that will last for about 30 months, or the next 2 and 3/4 years or so. During that time, he will still be getting chemo, but most of it will be given at home with regular clinic visits. Just as a practical reference, it is during this phase of treatment that kids go back to school if they are of age.

On another note, we thought Joshua was going to have another bone marrow test on Wednesday to chart his progress and give us some exact numbers about the leukemia that hopefully does not exist in his body any more. He will not have that test. According to the doctors, there is no reason based on his other blood work, labs, etc., for them to suspect anything out of the ordinary is happening in his body, so in their words, "No test needed." I guess we would like something a little more definitive than that, maybe because it's more dramatic, but we'll certainly take the oncology team saying that we don't need to have that test. We are operating under the assumption, then, that Joshua is fully in remission, and that he is not undergoing chemo at this point to necessarily fight the leukemia as much as to maintain and fix the bone marrow so that he does not relapse.

It seems almost trite to say, "Thank you" to you, the army of friends who continue to stand beside us, because the Lord has been moved to action because of your relentless badgering. There is a strange story in the gospels about the judge who is stirred into action because of the annoying woman who won't shut up. She just keeps asking, and asking, and asking for justice. In some way, that's supposed to be like our prayers except that God is not grudging in His responses and does not find us annoying.

In my imagination, I'd like to think that the Lord heard time and time again about this little boy - who incidentally shares a name with His own son - and that so many people had talked about him and thought about him and prayed for his well being that there was no other option than for Him to act.

Recovery

Well, friends, we are reaching a milestone in this journey. Joshua was released from the hospital on Friday after receiving his last treatment of the delayed intensification phase, or the "rough 8 weeks" as we have been calling it. The chemo he got on Friday will not really affect his blood counts until about a week after its administered, and at that time will probably cause fever and make us have to check into the hospital again. But at least we know that we will be checking in to recover from the bad 8 weeks.

Where do we go from here? Well, we're not exactly sure. His treatments will continue for another 2 to 2 and a half years, but they will become increasingly less frequent. We will also in the next couple of weeks have another bone marrow test to know exactly where we sit in his overall progression of healing and battle against leukemia. So there is still alot to go.

But today, Easter Sunday, Resurrection Sunday, is a day to celebrate. Joshua feels fine. He looked for Easter eggs today. He put on his Superman outfit and battled the forces of evil that reside in our couch cushions, all the while yelling, "He is alive! He is alive!" I'm pretty sure Joshua doesn't really know what that means (if indeed any of us really do), but maybe in some way his experience is a tangible reminder that Jesus was, is, and will be making all things new.

A New Room

Yesterday, while playing in the playroom and waiting for music therapy to start, we received the news that we would be moving to a room outside of the mylosuppression unit. If you remember, the mylosuppression unit allows Joshua to move around in the hallways even when his counts are low because there is a special filtration system to protect him. There was a kid that needed a transplant that needed Joshua's room. So I guess it's good that Joshua is the healthiest kid, but bad because the healthiest kid got bumped. Though his new room is great, without that special air system, he is confined inside it. This is difficult because Joshua asks often about going to the playroom, going on a walk, or seeing other children. But, of course, Joshua makes the best of each day given to him. We are making up new games, rearranging the room, and finding new ways to explore the same space again and again.

Joshua's counts are up and he is eating again - both good signs of another short trip home. Tomorrow Joshua will receive more chemo and another spinal tap. The effects of this chemo will most likely come sometime next week. Thanks for praying about his fever; he seems to have gotten over that and is enjoying life more now. After tomorrow's treatment, we only have 1 more treatment during this particular phase. Hopefully his counts will not fall so much so that the last treatment has to be delayed any more.