I can't believe I haven't found time to update the blog for Joe until now!  We wrapped up the soccer season and fled right into November busy with homework, friends and family.  Joe is doing great at school.  He really loves his classmates and truly feels like a Sacred Heart Spartan!

He, his class and the school has worked hard on keeping the boys healthy.  Each time I go to Sacred Heart it seems "KA" is in the hallway washing their hands!  It's gone a long way to keeping Joe healthy.  This weekend however, he made it safely through a low grade fever, it seemed he had a minor cold, but symptoms and fever subsided by Saturday evening, never reaching the 101.0 degree level, which requires us to check into Children's.

We were sorely reminded that steroids are a rough one in November.  We had to skip a treatment to avoid steroid dosages and it's proximity to the flu shot.  This amounted to Joe taking his 5-day steroid dosages twice during the month of November.  It was rough getting it out of his system this time the body remembered the last dose so quickly, and ramped him up on the second dose right away.  We hate seeing Joe unhappy, sad, crying, overly hungry, uncomfortable and irritable all because of a pill!  Poor guy, it's just not him.  We'll need prayers that this next dosage beginning 12/10 is easier than the last.

It's been great only going to the hospital once a month for treatment and blood work.  We return on 12/10 for treatment and blood work.  We are working towards a clean bill of health and big numbers so we might travel to Maui for Christmas with the whole Taylor clan.

Being in the holiday season reminds us of how far we've come since last year and how wonderful it is to be past the intense, cruddy treatment we endured this time just a year ago.

Joe still of course has a lot of pills to take every week.  11 pills a week, (but when cut up like 19), and the weeks he's on steroids that amount goes up to 44, that's a lot of drugs for a 6 year old.  Plus the monthly port infusion of Vincristine and quarterly spinal of Methotrexate.  This may increase (as it is protocol if their numbers are "too high", the need to make sure the chemo is doing it's job and keep the numbers at a slightly lower than normal level to indicate it's working on the bodies cells involving the healing process. 

Geez, it's no cake walk, but we will of course gladly (take our medicine) to keep Joe on the path of healing.  It's just hard to ascertain how he's feeling, if he's "himself", if his energy is where it should be, if we should "push him a bit" with cleaning up, studies, attitude, etc.  It's a fine line, but we are learning.

Much love to all during this wonderful Christmas Season!

Love

Angie, Kevin, Paul and Joe