"Once more into the breach..."

With the greenlight given from the doc, his Xbox under his arm and confidence in his stride our Hero returned to the hospital to start his treatment anew. Although not necessarily looking forward to the treatment part, he was looking forward to get an audience for his gaming. (The staff there said Joe was the first in the clinic's history to take Cytoxan while playing an Xbox.) All parties were happy to see that the Zofran and Reglan (anti-nausea medications) seemed to work really well when partnered with a bit of Bendadryl mixed in because the Reglan can result in the shakes. He seemed pretty impervious to it all though, at one point even being chastised for running around with his port needle in. :)

So it is with this trip that the not-so -un stuff begins again. The nausea should ramp up as the days go and everyone knows the fasting prior to treatments aren't fun for JoJo. But Mom is pleasantly surprised to see he is making good, sugar free food choices on his own. Ten days and counting with the strong, tough treatment so keep on, keeping on with the prayers and positive vibes. Stay tuned...

Patience Rewarded! Wait... you call this a reward?!

After a bit of what Mom is calling a 'vacation,' our Hero's ANC numbers have climbed back up to 923, which easily passes the 750 he needed to reach to resume his treatment. Although a big relief to all parties, the extra pokes for his tests haven't done much for his anxiousness but with this extra experience Team Taylor has been able to discuss and come up with a good routine that JoJo has essentially laid out for himself. He has taken a very active role in calmly determining that the numbing cream used before the needles is definitely the way to go. Joe remains in charge of his own body, as well he should.



Today our Hero heads back in to the hospital for a full day admit of Cytoxan but don't worry, he doesn't go alone - the XBox will be joining him. Our Hero loves to play while everyone is watching and then have everyone else play so they can see firsthand how good he is as well as to show the adults, there are a few things kids can do better than them. Even though Team Taylor knows the next little bit is going to be pretty tough, but they eyes remain trained on the prizes - 1. A clean bill of health for JoJo and 2. A much awaited trip to Legoland once the treatment is done and the numbers are back up. As always folks, thanks for keeping the prayers and positivity flowing! Stay tuned...

Sometimes it takes a bit longer for the sweet 'fruit' patience bares, to ripen

As the title of this entry would indicate, our Hero is closer but still not quite ready to start the next treatment protocol. His ANC climbed a bit to 568 but hasn't quite reached the magic 750 that is required to continue. Patience, young Jedi, patience. Although the numbers are reflecting it a bit more slowly than everyone would like, JoJo's energy is returning, which is obviously a welcome sight. Everyone just is very eager to make that final push to get the 'yucky stuff' finished! But while his body strengthens, Joe further prepared for the final pushes of the treatment by doing a little proactive shave. As his hair was falling out at a pretty quick pace, he opted for the Dad haircut and he looks as handsome as ever.

It's important to recognize that Team Taylor isn't limited to just one Hero. This week big brother Paul was recognized for being a bit of a hero himself. As those with big brothers know, they aren't always 'heroic' but as those that have big brothers also know, they can be pretty great too. Paul showed a bit of that greatness this week as a normally shy and soft-spoken Paul, spoke for ten minutes in class sharing the story of his Hero, his brother Joe. He told the class about all the needles and the pain and what his little brother was doing to beat this condition. As we've said before, Leukemia picked the wrong guy to mess with - but not only because of his heroic nature but because of the strength and heroic nature of those around him, people like his big brother Paul.

Keep the prayers and positive thoughts coming for healthy livin' and high numbers! Stay tuned...

UPDATE: Just a short little update to let everyone know everyone is getting tired of flexing our patience muscles. Our Hero's ANC numbers are still slowly creeping up but not enough to start and in addition the fact that his WBC looks to be going down a little bit has Team Taylor a little concerned as that usually results in the ANC numbers going down as well. Another set of tests on Friday, hopefully more information will be gleaned then. Other than that JoJo is feeling pretty good and looking good so, double up on the prayers and positive vibes. As always... Stay Tuned...

"Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet."

As we've all learned through our Hero's march, there have been and will continue to be, the frequent bump in the road or even an occasional detour. Well, this week was no different with JoJo catching a bit of a cold on Thursday. But being the warrior he is, he fought through it and didn't even have to go into the hospital. Unfortunately however, the bug didn't help Joe's numbers - Hematocrit - 35.2, Platlets L162, WBC 3.9 (which is actually up from last week and should help the ANC start to climb again) and ANC remained pretty stagnant at 468. As much as everyone would like to get started on the final treatments, Joseph's body isn't quite ready for the the Cytoxan and Ara-C treatments to start today. We're all hoping a good healthy week will do the trick for ramping the numbers back up.

Although feeling a bit down and out for the last week (as well as finding more and more hair on the pillow - Doxoburicin is not hair friendly,) our Hero has been up and around much more this week. The appetite is still pretty strong but the intake seems to be slowing a bit and the slow belly shrinking process seems to be starting. But JoJo is making good use of his time with a LOT of Lego work being done - not to mention revisiting the Indian Jones Trilogy in preparation for this weekend's viewing of the new Indy movie. (All of which Mom is fully on board for... as long as they can avoid a trip to Red Robin or TGIF for dinner.)

As always, keep the prayers and positivity coming! Stay tuned...

This stuff is a pain in the butt... literally!

Our Hero plods on bravely and in the view of the nurses, they are very happy with how he is doing considering the intense nature of this phase of the treatment. But even with that, JoJo has his challenges and tough stuff. As we mentioned last time, one of the meds causes a breakdown in his soft tissue in areas like the mouth, the nose, the throat and well... his butt. So yes, sometimes this stuff can literally be a pain in the butt. But the pain meds have helped with that and even turn Joe funny and talkative.

But as hero knows, it's not all parades and Yiayia's lasagna. Sometimes it's tough to figure out why need to be, as Joseph puts it, "in his personal business." A man needs his privacy after all! This is a lot to wrap your head around. But he isn't much for complaining, Joe, like his Mom and Grandfather, just prefers to be grumpy instead. I think we all agree, our Hero is entitled to feel anyway he likes.

It appears JoJo also is feeling entitled to eat whatever he likes - he eats roughly twenty meals per day. Below is a list of what he ate between 6:10am and 12:30pm on Tuesday:

Oatmeal w/ raspberries
2 soy sausages
1/2 of a peanut butter bagel
1 piece of bacon
Lays chips
Corn dog
Mini pizza
Cheetos

He truly is a slave to his cravings but with the end of this part of this phase in site, they will subside so it's ok to indulge him. (The funny thing is, if he's not eating food, he's talking about it - if anyone was wondering Blanca's eggs are the best, Dad's are the worst, but his pancakes are the best.)

Yesterday was the trip to the doc for lab tests and it was a mixed bag. His Hematocrit (37.6) and Platlets (262) are great, while his WBC (L1.5) and ANC (413) need improvement. But none of this is a shock although it may delay starting the next step as his body needs to be ready (specifically that ANC needs to get back up over 750.) But even the delay is not a huge thing as only 1/3 of patients going through are ready to go right away, another 1/3 need an additional week and a final 1/3 need two weeks before they are ready to start the Cytoxan and ARA-C for two weeks. Although it's tough on everyone to see him at less than 100%, our Hero continues to inspire and march on so keep the prayers and positive thoughts coming! Stay tuned...

Everyone needs challenges!

Although our Hero has slowed down a bit under the weight of his medication and well... his weight (the steroids have tacked four to five pounds onto his frame), Wednesday was a call for celebration as that was the last day of the Doxburicin. The Doxburicin isn't just tough on the cancer, it can be tough on heroes as well as it creates a breakdown of Joe's soft tissue. With that, it's of the utmost importance to keep the areas of breakdown (mouth, hands, feet, etc.) clean and free from infection. Mom is looking like a gunslinger in the old west but instead of a six shooter she carries Purel and wipes. The germs don't stand a chance!

JoJo's numbers this week were still strong (Hematocrit: 37.9; Platlet Count: 262; ANC: 2032; WBC: L3.2.) Doxburicin takes the numbers down Doxburicin takes the numbers down and Dexamethasone brings the numbers up so it will be interesting to see what happens when a break from both happens and if all goes well the goal is to have a week off from May 14th to the 21st in which his ANC stays above the minimum of 750 so he will be cleared to start the last phase of treatment.

As far as the fun stuff, with the desire to try to satisfy our Hero's appetite while keeping his weight as controlled there are some very specific things on Joseph Taylor's 'Good Eats' - turkey is fantastic, popcorn is amazing, strawberries are delicious and although it's hard to get, JoJo has some connections, Yiayia's lasagna is out of this world. :) With the help of his blanket and plenty of time on Mom's lap, Joe's spirit and determination has been amazing and serves as an inspiration to everyone.

But if the challenge of trouncing this illness wasn't enough, our Hero's reputation (as well as his desire for new challenges) has preceded him. Joe Taylor has been named the "Kirkland Chief of Police for the Day" that will involve a police motorcade and a swearing in ceremony with the Governor. Now not only will JoJo be ridding his body of cancer, he will be ridding the rough streets of Kirkland of crime! So collect all your outstanding parking and speeding tickets and hope for a benevolent Chief when the day comes. Stay tuned for more news on that! Keep the prayers and positive thoughts coming everyone!!!

A Little Numbers Update...

Although they are steroid enhanced numbers, we won't be putting an asterisk next to the most recent great test numbers for our Hero:

Hematocrit - 35.6
Platlets - 276
WBC - 4.5
ANC - 3438

After taking another round of Vincristine and Doxorubicin, Team Taylor was directed to be a bit more liberal with Joe's anti-nausea medications so he will go from receiving one does a day to receiving three doses a day in hopes that that will provide some relief. Seven days of steroids down only 14 to go!

Keep the prayers and positive thoughts coming! Stay tuned...