Busy! Busy!

Sorry to be so neglectful and not post an update for Joe, but we've really been into the swing of life after a long hibernation of staying close to home.

Joe's numbers on 8/13 were good enough to get his Vincristine and start his monthly 5 -day dose of Dexamethasone,  but not  to stay on his 1x weekly Methotrexate, and 1x daily Mecaptopurine. His Hematocrit and Platlets were good, but his WBC 1.8 and ANC 568 were low.  The Dex naturally drives the ANC up so we were good to go on vacation to Priest Lake, ID but without many of our pills.  Good and bad. 

We head back for labs 8/27 to see if we are to resume the Methotrexate and Mecaptopurine at reduced levels based on his numbers.

He's been very happy and healthy.  Making up for lost time all over the place.  Our vacation in Priest Lake, ID at Hills Resort was fantastic.  "Cabin Camping" as they call it was very fun and outdoorsy, lots of boating and lake time.  The sandy beach was 50 feet away and lots of water activities followed.  One of Joe's new friends had a mini-bike without training wheels.  It's safe to say, after a test run in the driveway in Kirkland, Joe can now ride a bike without training wheels after practicing on the dirt trails in Idaho.  BTW, big brother Paul can now water ski after some training and a variety of persistent parents!  We met some great new friends that we look forward to traveling with again in the future.

Next up, "Chief For a Day" in Burien.  Joe has been selected to represent Kirkland as the "Chief For a Day".  They've made him a full uniform!  There are 28 children representing 28 precincts in King County.  We look forward to the police motorcade and "swearing in ceremony" Thursday 8/28.  Our family will be picked up by squad car that morning and taken to the festivities!

Kindergarten starts 9/2!  We are looking forward to more normalcy for Joe.  Germs, germs stay away.  Pray for smooth sailing!

Much Love, 

Angie

Happy Summer!

Reporting in to say Joe is doing very well.  We were able to take our mini-vacation to Spokane as planned for a family wedding Friday 8/1.  We were also able to visit Silverwood Amusement Park in Idaho!  Roller Coasters, water rides, magic shows, fake tattoos the whole works!  We also welcomed a new cousin Rhett Jeffery Huber the morning on 8/1, an overall great weekend!

Joe's numbers were still at an acceptable level, Hematocrit 35.0, Platelets 351, WBC 3.7 and ANC 1200.  They want his ANC to be 800-1200 while on maintenance.  We will not be in for blood tests until next week Wednesday 8/13.  Hoping we stay above an ANC of 800 we will then be able to take our next dose of Vincristine (30 more doses by my count; 1x monthly until 2/2010).  

If we are not at the levels desired (750 ANC) they then adjust the medication to get him where he needs to be.  Steroids start that day again (8/13) for 5 days; the good part about that is they make his numbers shoot up, which gives him better ability to fight infection obviously and wiggle room as they come back down when he's on just Mecaptopurine and Methotrexate oral chemos which drives the numbers down.

Tutoring for Kindergarten is going very well, he's got upwards of 16-18 letters down, word sounds no problem!  He's been working very hard at his catch up studies, we are super proud of him.  A thank you to Stef Johnson for "Zoo-Phonics" package and his tutor Leighanne Metter for working so hard with Joe this summer.

As we speak he is at Suncadia Lodge in Eastern Washington with Papa, Yiayia and cousin William because it's their turn to vacation with Yiayia and Papa until Wednesday 8/6.

We hope to venture back to Idaho to Priest Lake Sat. 8/16 in lake cabins with Matt, Kristi and the kids, along with some new friends.  We hear there are 4 families with boys 5 & 7 attending that week in our group!

You would all be over joyed with Joe's energy and enthusiasm.  We sure are.

Thanks for checking in!

Angie