Now on tap... Interim Maintenance

Now that our Hero has fully rebounded from his bout with the flu and challenging round of treatments, he is ready to start the next phase of his treatment, Interim Maintenance. This is a phase that last roughly two months not including a week of recovery. The theme of this part of the treatment - medicine, lots and lots of medicine. Below is a little break down of what Joe is washing down with his juice, meals and snacks:

• Bactrim - an antibiotic that he takes every Monday and Tuesday morning and evening. This will help fortify JoJo against pneumonia and other respiratory problems.
• Methotrextate - this is six and a half pills of a chemo medication that is washed down every Wednesday night with lots of juice.
• Dexamethasone - this is a steroid that Joe received neither from Roger Clemens nor his trainer that he will be taking 2.5mg of five days out of every month in the morning and the evening. For all those who remember, the last time he took steroids, our Hero had the appetite of 5 Joe Taylors (and that's really saying something) and ended up gaining 12lbs. This time that hasn't been an issue, but instead resulted in an irritable boy who has trouble staying asleep. But then again, who of us wouldn't be a little irritable if a pill we thought was going to allow us to eat like crazy wasn't doing that anymore?!
• Mecaptopurine - this is another chemo medication that JoJo will be taking Monday through Thursday (1 tablet) and Friday through Sunday (1.5 tablets.)

In addition to the meds, Mom also thinks he'll have to take IT Methotrexate (Sedation Spinal) one a month during the phase - but she'll be checking with the Team Taylor Medical Staff to verify that. But even with all of that, combined with Joe's lack of fondness for taking pills, he's been heroic and taking them like the champion he is and it's everyone's hope that the next time he goes in (not until next Wednesday) that the simple finger poke he's getting shows that his numbers are still doing great and he won't have to go back for two weeks! That would be a BIG boost to JoJo's morale for sure.

Per the doctor's suggestion, Joe has started going back to school a little and although it was a little rough at first, he seems to be warming to it a bit and empowering him to have a say in the length of his stay has been a help. But after a long weekend of Joe stating he didn't want to go back to school, he has begun telling stories of his class and his friends. He's rapidly returning to the active and happy JoJo to everyone's delight.

Thought we might take a moment to give a bigger overview of where we are in the process of our Hero's treatment and what is next. After he completes this phase is the challenging and appropriately named Delayed Intensification which will last for roughly two months as well. It will be a tough phase but the reward will be a return to semi-normalcy when our Joe enters the final stage - Maintenance. This is a three year phase that consists of the medications listed above.

As always keep the prayers and positivity coming and stay tuned... Mom said she's going to send along a picture of the special haircut Dad gave our Hero. :)