Dear Family and Friends,
Praise! Praise! Praise! Cody had a great day today. He was up and about and he actually ate some food and kept it down; His white cells and platelet counts are up. In addition, his MRI showed that his tumors are smaller! Huge victories on the mountain of challenges.
Amidst the challenges added to the cancer treatment, he remains with a good and spunky spirit. With all of these trials, he has developed a great sense of humor. A very needed and joyful bright light. He does not complain at all. Since March 23, the start of the recurrence, he has had only 2 small melt downs...and he apologized after. He is amazing.
This week he had a 2 hour MRI, which normally is a breeze for him, however, this time around, he still had the packing in his nose from the sinusitis surgery so breathing with this apparatus clamping his head down was difficult so the experience was over the top. This one traumatized him....if he wasn't claustrophobic, he is now. He did say, for the next one he wants to be sedated.
The days start running together so I don't remember which day he had what done to..but he had a CT scan of his sinus area one day, a CT scan of his lungs another, the MRI Tuesday, then a biopsy of his lungs today.(He is beginning to glow in the dark).Saturday morning he will have a procedure to install a catheter in his groin area so they can start harvesting his stem cells. He is not looking forward to this. After the catheter is installed, they will start the harvesting, which will take any where from 1 - 6 days. They run the machine for about 4 hours a day to collect until they have what they need, then freeze them. On the last 3 cycles they give them back to him "to recover his bone marrow".
In the next couple of days we should have the results from the biopsy to determine what is growing on his lungs. We do know that it is not a tumor. Next week we should also get a new road map of his treatment as the original one is too much for him to handle. His immune system was so compromised with the first cycle that he got a strep infection in his blood, sinusitis, the mystery thing on his lungs and an unexplainable rash over his entire body. His strength and tenacity are beyond comprehension.
Several people have inquired about blood and platelet donations. We got the paper work going and Monday I should have the contact information available and will send in the next update.
Thank you so much for your continued prayers for peace, strength and God's presence for the three of us. He is listening.
All His,
The Days
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Friday, April 24, 2009
Cody's Cancer has returned
Dear Family and Friends,
We are at CHOC today. This morning Cody had a broviak (spelling?) access line installed and is in GREAT spirits. He amazes us with his beautiful attitude. He is speeding down the hall ways with his IV pole already. Dave, Poppi and I ducked out for a quick lunch. When we got back, he was in the room next door encouraging a couple of guys to join him in the play room. He did manage to get them out of bed and rolling down the hall ...was awesome to see his positive spirit in action. We are all at peace and have suited up for the battle.
He is scheduled to have bone marrow tested tomorrow and will more than likely start chemo on Thursday.
Appreciate your prayers.
Dallas
We are at CHOC today. This morning Cody had a broviak (spelling?) access line installed and is in GREAT spirits. He amazes us with his beautiful attitude. He is speeding down the hall ways with his IV pole already. Dave, Poppi and I ducked out for a quick lunch. When we got back, he was in the room next door encouraging a couple of guys to join him in the play room. He did manage to get them out of bed and rolling down the hall ...was awesome to see his positive spirit in action. We are all at peace and have suited up for the battle.
He is scheduled to have bone marrow tested tomorrow and will more than likely start chemo on Thursday.
Appreciate your prayers.
Dallas
Monday, April 20, 2009
Fridays surgery went well
Fridays surgery went well. (sinusitis). One side was almost completely blocked...it is now clear...except for the gauze still stuck up his nose. We are hoping that comes out today. He is having fewer fevers and his counts have improved slightly since last week. This is a good thing as it appears he is getting over what ever it is he had (still don't know for sure..only know that it MAY be some sort of pneumonia, but not conclusive as all biopsy results are not in. But so far, all things have come up negative).
We will be having another MRI some time on Wednesday....then meeting with the team on Thursday. My prayer would be that the MRI is clear and will leave the doctors scratching their heads in disbelief.
They are also looking at starting to harvest his stem cells this week. This is brief, but wanted to give you an update before I loose my Internet connection.
Thank you for your continuous prayers,
The Days
We will be having another MRI some time on Wednesday....then meeting with the team on Thursday. My prayer would be that the MRI is clear and will leave the doctors scratching their heads in disbelief.
They are also looking at starting to harvest his stem cells this week. This is brief, but wanted to give you an update before I loose my Internet connection.
Thank you for your continuous prayers,
The Days
Friday, April 17, 2009
Quick prayer request
In a few minutes, (about 6:00 PM California time) Cody will going to do yet another exploratory "treatment" to try and figure out why his white cells aren't coming up. We had a CT scan from the neck down Wednesday, and another CT scan from the neck up last night. We have met with and infectious disease doctor yesterday and an ENT doctor today. It appears he has sinusitis. His sinuses are blocked, lymph nodes swollen and spots on his lungs. The spots are being treated as if it were fungus. (they aren't sure what it is...a fungus, bacteria or virus, but are pretty confident it is not a tumor) The two may be related....the lung and sinus issues.
The treatment tonight is to retrieve what is in his sinuses for a biopsy, while there, clean it out a bit. The purpose is to pinpoint what is robbing him of his white cells and where it started so it can be treated appropriately and swiftly. They feel that once they know, they can treat it and his white cells will start coming back. We re pretty much at a stand still with cancer treatment until his cells start coming back.
So...it appears, we will be here for awhile..at least another couple of weeks....which is OK. I'd rather be here in his condition, and so would he.
Pray for wisdom for the doctors in treating this mystery cell robber swiftly so Cody's white cells can come back up and we can get on with the primary battle. In spite of all that is going on....Cody remains in good spirits, albeit, tired .
Thank you for your continued prayers.
The Days
The treatment tonight is to retrieve what is in his sinuses for a biopsy, while there, clean it out a bit. The purpose is to pinpoint what is robbing him of his white cells and where it started so it can be treated appropriately and swiftly. They feel that once they know, they can treat it and his white cells will start coming back. We re pretty much at a stand still with cancer treatment until his cells start coming back.
So...it appears, we will be here for awhile..at least another couple of weeks....which is OK. I'd rather be here in his condition, and so would he.
Pray for wisdom for the doctors in treating this mystery cell robber swiftly so Cody's white cells can come back up and we can get on with the primary battle. In spite of all that is going on....Cody remains in good spirits, albeit, tired .
Thank you for your continued prayers.
The Days
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
A visit from Mickey Mouse
Quick update on Cody. We have been here at CHOC since 4/4 and will likely remain here for another week or two. This is actually the best place for Cody right now as we have available, everything we need immediately. Cody is actually OK with staying in the hospital as long as needed. He has an amazing attitude. However, today he did have some complaints about drinking the 2 liters of contrast so we could do a CT scan.He never complains, so he when he does, he is given a ton of grace and space to do so.
In the last week, he has received, almost daily, either platelet or blood transfusions. His white blood count and platelets remain low, even after the transfusions. He also has had fevers as high as 103 in the last few days. Sometime this afternoon, he will get a CT scan to check for any viruses or bacteria that might be robbing him of his fighting cells. Even with these challenges, his attitude is amazing.
We were supposed to start cycle 2 of chemo today, but because his counts are low and we still need to harvest stem cells from him after counts go up, chemo has been postponed until those things happen.
Even though he is a little old to appreciate Mickey Mouse, Mickey did bring a smile to his face when he visited yesterday. CHOC does a great job of keeping the children distracted.
Will give you updated info re: scan as it is available. Please pray for white cells and platelets to go up and that the scan will reveal what is robbing his cells so the doctors can treat accordingly and immediately.
Thank you for your continue prayers.
In His Love,
Dallas
In the last week, he has received, almost daily, either platelet or blood transfusions. His white blood count and platelets remain low, even after the transfusions. He also has had fevers as high as 103 in the last few days. Sometime this afternoon, he will get a CT scan to check for any viruses or bacteria that might be robbing him of his fighting cells. Even with these challenges, his attitude is amazing.
We were supposed to start cycle 2 of chemo today, but because his counts are low and we still need to harvest stem cells from him after counts go up, chemo has been postponed until those things happen.
Even though he is a little old to appreciate Mickey Mouse, Mickey did bring a smile to his face when he visited yesterday. CHOC does a great job of keeping the children distracted.
Will give you updated info re: scan as it is available. Please pray for white cells and platelets to go up and that the scan will reveal what is robbing his cells so the doctors can treat accordingly and immediately.
Thank you for your continue prayers.
In His Love,
Dallas
Thursday, April 09, 2009
The start of a roller coaster ridenew
Dear Family and Friends,
Well, it has been a bit of a roller coaster ride this first couple of weeks, but today is a good day. Even though we have walked this road before, it still has lots of pot holes and ruts.
The first week we had to psych up and suit up to prepare for this battle. I now think I know what a soldier going to war, having once been there, must feel like just prior to deploying. The first time, we only anticipate what it must be like; the second time, we know what lies ahead, turning our stomachs venturing into the known unknown. I don't know how anyone gets through this type of thing without God.
Last week was rough, we were at the clinic just about every day for either hydration or blood and platelet transfusions...the chemo kicked in...in a big way. It is hard to see the havoc it plays on Cody's body. The good....the great thing is amid the pain, cramps and vomiting Cody still is gracious and his humor stays intact. He has never had pity on himself or questioned God...he is an amazing young man and we are so very blessed to have him.
Saturday night at 2:30 AM he got a fever of 101.5, which is an automatic do not pass GO, go directly to ER....which we did and have been here since. By the time we got checked into CHOC it was 5:30 AM. Long night for both of us. It was determined that he had positive strep bacteria in his blood stream, nothing caught from anyone, just his white cells were -0- and we have all kinds of bacteria in our bodies just looking for an opportunity to blossom...which it did. This is the 3rd day of negative cultures. They typically want him to have 5 days of being clear before being released so we have a couple more days to go. However, depending on his white cell count in the next couple of days, they will start harvesting his stem cells to freeze and return to him for the last 3 cycles of chemo. This process takes 2- 6 days
Yesterday his hair started falling out. So "Child Life" (they assist the children so their stay will be more pleasant) had a hair stylist come in. At Cody's request he got a mohawk. He wanted to dye it red or black....but under the circumstances (and because I couldn't find any colored wax at CVS) we spiked his mohawk.....we had some good laughs. It should be good for another day or two before it all falls out.
For those of you that are praying , thank you for your continued prayers...for those that are not.....now is a good time. :)
Blessings,
Dallas
Well, it has been a bit of a roller coaster ride this first couple of weeks, but today is a good day. Even though we have walked this road before, it still has lots of pot holes and ruts.
The first week we had to psych up and suit up to prepare for this battle. I now think I know what a soldier going to war, having once been there, must feel like just prior to deploying. The first time, we only anticipate what it must be like; the second time, we know what lies ahead, turning our stomachs venturing into the known unknown. I don't know how anyone gets through this type of thing without God.
Last week was rough, we were at the clinic just about every day for either hydration or blood and platelet transfusions...the chemo kicked in...in a big way. It is hard to see the havoc it plays on Cody's body. The good....the great thing is amid the pain, cramps and vomiting Cody still is gracious and his humor stays intact. He has never had pity on himself or questioned God...he is an amazing young man and we are so very blessed to have him.
Saturday night at 2:30 AM he got a fever of 101.5, which is an automatic do not pass GO, go directly to ER....which we did and have been here since. By the time we got checked into CHOC it was 5:30 AM. Long night for both of us. It was determined that he had positive strep bacteria in his blood stream, nothing caught from anyone, just his white cells were -0- and we have all kinds of bacteria in our bodies just looking for an opportunity to blossom...which it did. This is the 3rd day of negative cultures. They typically want him to have 5 days of being clear before being released so we have a couple more days to go. However, depending on his white cell count in the next couple of days, they will start harvesting his stem cells to freeze and return to him for the last 3 cycles of chemo. This process takes 2- 6 days
Yesterday his hair started falling out. So "Child Life" (they assist the children so their stay will be more pleasant) had a hair stylist come in. At Cody's request he got a mohawk. He wanted to dye it red or black....but under the circumstances (and because I couldn't find any colored wax at CVS) we spiked his mohawk.....we had some good laughs. It should be good for another day or two before it all falls out.
For those of you that are praying , thank you for your continued prayers...for those that are not.....now is a good time. :)
Blessings,
Dallas
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