First Clinic Day

Sawyer went to his first out-patient clinic today where he received his last dose of vincristine. This is the next to last treatment in the induction phase. Next week he will undergo a lumbar puncture (spinal tap) and a bone marrow biopsy. According to his attending nurse practitioner, all indicators at this time point to him being in remission. In other words, they don't expect to find any leukemia cells in his biopsy. While this is indeed welcome news, his parents are holding their breath awaiting the results. Assuming all goes well next week, Sawyer will enter a six or seven month consolidation phase. During this time, he will continue to receive weekly doses of chemo along with four, one-week in-patient treatments that will occur every other week sometime in February and March. The successful completion of the consolidation phase will result in Sawyer entering the much desired maintenance phase. We hope this will lead to a full remission followed by a declaration of being cured in about five to six years. It will be at this point that we will finally be able to exhale, relax and feel a sense of relief.

Sawyer was taken aback when he learned that he weighs 126lbs. This is well below what he weighed last summer, ~142lbs. He also got a look at himself in the mirror without his shirt and was equally shocked by the loss of muscle mass. This fueled his post appointment desire to stop in at a Friendly's to down a couple quesadillas, a bowl of soup and half a turkey club sandwich. The nurses and nurse practitioner assured Sawyer that once he reached the maintenance phase, he should be able to quickly regain muscle.

We are home now where Sawyer quickly fell asleep on the sofa after a cup of tea. The combination of the chemo and several nights of disruptive sleep have taken their toll.