Another one bites the dust!

Another set of shots out of the way! He chose to have them in his legs today instead of his arms. We'll come back on Friday and get done with our last heavy week of appointments.

Having only one appointment last week has sat well with him. He's been feeling better overall, more energy, less nausea and walking with a bit more pep. That should soon become the norm!

We got a letter from Make A Wish asking for copies of passports so they can continue the process of (hopefully) granting his wish for an Alaskan cruise. Apparently we would either go out of Vancouver or at least dock somewhere in Canada that would require passports. If it happens, we think it will be sometime next July. Mark and Sawyer did the application and photo process today to get theirs renewed. Sawyer was a bit disappointed that his passport photo will capture him with so little hair!

We've signed up as "Team McFadden" to participate in a fundraiser walk for the CURE organization that supports kids with cancer in Rochester. They've been wonderfully supportive of us and we feel good about trying to give back to them so they can help other families (particularly ones who don't have the fabulous support system that we have). The walk is only 4 miles long but it's along the river in Rochester in early September so it should be just a fun, relaxing event for a good cause.

We're looking forward to our trip to Cape Cod in a couple weeks as the end of a challenging part in Sawyer's life and the beginning of a "get-back-to-normal" phase. Hopefully we can find something special to do while we're there to celebrate! Our real celebration will be in January 2015 when he actually finishes his chemotherapy treatments (well, before that we'll be celebrating his graduation from high school), then the big, big party will be when he's 21 and can be declared cured!!!!!

Uneventful afternoon in the clinic

Sawyer had a wonderfully uneventful afternoon yesterday - well, uneventful for him. He received three types of chemo and was connected to a monitor for most of the afternoon, but all went well and we are in the final stretch of the more intense/invasive part of his treatment. He only has five more doses of Asparaginase and two more heavy doses of methotrexate and vincristine until he is officially in the maintenance phase which starts in mid-August.

Knocked off another one

One more set of shots, and one more "series" completed today! Free of appointments for the rest of the week! Next Monday he starts the final round of asparaginase shots and will be soooooo happy to get them over with. They should be it - no more are supposed to appear in the maintenance phase.

Sawyer's been feeling pretty worn out and more nauseous than usual since his Friday appointment. It may be due to the combination of drugs: asparaginase, vincristine and methotrexate. Last night was particularly hard. Please, August 11th, get here quickly!

Here's a photo of what he's usually faced with when he goes for his appointments. This is just one set of fluids, meds and needles to come before him during his recent visits. You can start to understand why he really has developed an aversion for heading to Rochester!

TGIF

This was a big week to get through - three appointments is quite a few, along with a blood draw on another day (four needle pokes and nine shots is usually enough for any of us over a many month span!). Today he got the usual asparaginase shots plus methotrexate and vincristine. His counts are really strong but he's feeling worn out -- physically and mentally.

Next week will be blessedly light, just one appointment on Monday to finish this round of shots. Altogether there are 8 more appointments between now and August 10th, then he'll officially be in the maintenance phase and keeps getting promised that he will begin to feel better and gain some energy back. Let's hope there are no surprises between now and then. We'll head to Cape Cod on August 11th for a week and we all hope he's feeling perky and strong to enjoy the trip. If nothing else, I think the "get-out-of-town-for-fun" trip will be really good for his psyche and will be a turning point in getting his usual life back.

Three more knocked off

Since the last post, Sawyer's knocked off three more appointments and sets of shots. He's tolerated them all well. We go back tomorrow for another set plus additional chemo. The visiting nurse will come today for blood work - they need to know his blood counts since he gets methotrexate tomorrow and the dosage will be dependent on counts.

Otherwise he's been feeling fairly well. We've discovered that taking an acid blocker like Pepcid AC cuts down tremendously on the nausea he's been having. He's a bit tired from the meds but otherwise decent. Driver's ed keeps him busy each morning (he has a little bit of homework associated with it) and otherwise he occupies himself with games, friends, tv and short hikes in the woods.

Back home and doing well

Sorry for the delay in updating the blog. Sawyer came home last Wednesday June 27th) after three days at Strong Memorial. His ANC was still critically low upon discharge (.18 with normal being above 1.3), but all of his other blood counts were in, or close to, the normal range. Much to his delight, he was not held for another day. Despite the angst in the events leading up to admission, his spirit and attitude seemed to bounce back once at the hospital and as he started feeling better. He really seemed to enjoy interacting with the doctors, nurses and other medical staff and in turn, they did (do) a nice job of making him feel valued.

On Sunday (July1st) he had more lab work (i.e. blood drawn) and his ANC recovered nicely with a reading just over 1.3. This was good news since it meant that he could begin the 'interim-maintenance' phase of his treatment which started yesterday (Monday, July 2nd) and included a lumbar puncture (spinal tap), methotrexate, and the first round of the asparaginase. His next appointment is this Thursday (July 5th) for another round of asparaginase. He seems to be tolerating this replacement chemo quite well which of course we hope continues for the remaining eleven rounds.