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    Friday, November 23, 2007

    Thanksgiving and Results

    We had Thanksgiving yesterday, and it was wonderful. Literally everything was provided for us. Our neighbor across the street fried us the best turkey I've ever had, 3 different neighbors dropped off desserts, and my family (aunt/mom/dad) provided all the fixins. I don't know if it was just the shear blessing or not, but it seems to me that it was the best Thanksgiving food ever. I ate 'til I hiccuped! It was truly wonderful.

    The day was made all the better when Cole took a poop! It was huge. A 12 wiper, at the minimum!

    Cole went to clinic today, and he got some fluid and some blood. He's not back from clinic yet (Gary went with Dalynn and Cole), but I'm hoping he'll feel better once he's had some blood. I spent part of the day at clinic, and he was pretty tired. He was also tired yesterday. A lot of times, though, getting blood ups his energy levels, so here's hoping!

    We got his bone marrow biopsy results back, and they were good, but not where we were praying they would be. He has 22% blasts (cancer cells) in his marrow as of Wednesday. To give you perspective, he had 85% blasts when he was admitted to the hospital. That's a marked improvement, even if it isn't the magic 5% we've been praying for.

    We're praying that he be 5% by this Wednesday coming up. If he is, he'll be considered a rapid responder. If he's a rapid responder, then we're pretty sure his treatment will be easier. I say "pretty sure" because they haven't specifically stated this, but they keep talking about him being a rapid responder being a good thing. Our nurse, Teresa, was very positive about him reaching this number by Wednesday.

    This also means he'll have another bone marrow aspirate this Wednesday coming up. Since he's sedated, these procedures aren't that bad. Only side-effect so far has been some tenderness from where they take the biopsy.

    Something both sweet and sad happened this morning. Gary and I were in the kitchen fixing Cole his 3rd breakfast when Cole asked for some milk. I responded with "okey-dokey-cala-ma-jokey", a nonsense phrase I use sometimes. As I was turning to pour the milk, Cole made a noise. I wasn't sure what it was, so I looked up quickly. Turns out he was laughing. It had been so long since I heard him laugh that I didn't know what it was. :'( It was good to hear him laugh, but it underscored for me how difficult things have been recently.

    Here are some things to pray for:

    • That Cole have less than 5% blasts in his bone marrow by this Wednesday (the 28th of November).
    • That Dalynn and I will get some much needed rest. Cole has been waking up at night about every 3 hours to eat, and it's starting to take a toll on both of us, but Dalynn, especially. The massive appetite is a side-effect of the steroids he's on, so they'll be with us for til he's through induction.
    • That the Lord will orchestrate and provide for continued care for Logan while we attend clinic. My mom is with us through induction, but she can't be here forever, so we're going to have to have some kind of game plan soon.
    • That Cole's treatment will continue to go well, that Cole will be healed, and that he will have more really good days, including more laughter.
    Some praises:

    • Logan is an amazingly awesome baby. He took to a bottle basically the first time he was offered one (thank you Sara Beth!) and he's not batted an eye lash when he's supplemented with formula.
    • We've had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday with Dalynn's family.
    • The care Cole is receiving is excellent and the people that are giving him his care are awesome. Everyone is so concerned not just about Cole's treatment, but about our comfort, as well. The nurses, especially, are wonderful.

    4 comments:

    Suzanne McCarthy said...

    Michael and Dalynn, it sounds like you are doing incredibly well, even though you are exhausted. I know that God will continue to do immeasurably more than you ask or imagine. Praise the Lord for 22% blasts. If the numbers dropped from 85 to 22 in the first week, then surely they'll drop on down to the magic 5% this next week. And praise the Lord for poop and laughter! Psalm 77 says, "Your ways , O God, are holy. What god is so great as our God? You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples." Praying that God will give you all kinds of grace to get you through the days ahead. I love you guys, Suzanne

    Suzanne McCarthy said...

    Michael and Dalynn, it sounds like you are doing incredibly well, even though you are exhausted. I know that God will continue to do immeasurably more than you ask or imagine. Praise the Lord for 22% blasts. If the numbers dropped from 85 to 22 in the first week, then surely they'll drop on down to the magic 5% this next week. And praise the Lord for poop and laughter! Psalm 77 says, "Your ways , O God, are holy. What god is so great as our God? You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples." Praying that God will give you all kinds of grace to get you through the days ahead. I love you guys, Suzanne

    Suzanne McCarthy said...

    Michael and Dalynn, it sounds like you are doing incredibly well, even though you are exhausted. I know that God will continue to do immeasurably more than you ask or imagine. Praise the Lord for 22% blasts. If the numbers dropped from 85 to 22 in the first week, then surely they'll drop on down to the magic 5% this next week. And praise the Lord for poop and laughter! Psalm 77 says, "Your ways , O God, are holy. What god is so great as our God? You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples." Praying that God will give you all kinds of grace to get you through the days ahead. I love you guys, Suzanne

    Suzanne McCarthy said...

    Michael and Dalynn, it sounds like you are doing incredibly well, even though you are exhausted. I know that God will continue to do immeasurably more than you ask or imagine. Praise the Lord for 22% blasts. If the numbers dropped from 85 to 22 in the first week, then surely they'll drop on down to the magic 5% this next week. And praise the Lord for poop and laughter! Psalm 77 says, "Your ways , O God, are holy. What god is so great as our God? You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples." Praying that God will give you all kinds of grace to get you through the days ahead. I love you guys, Suzanne