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    Thursday, May 28, 2009

    A Plea for Help

    First, a quick update. Cole is doing well. He feels great and we have had no low blood sugars. Cole is now back on 6MP and another of his chemos, methotrexate. The plan is that he will receive his usual dose of steroids and vincristine this coming Tuesday. So, things are getting back on track.

    The big news, the normalcy changing news, is that the decision has been made on how to treat Cole's fungal infection going forward. He will be getting an older anti-fungal called Ambisome (brand)/amphotericin (generic) which is very effective in treating aspergillosis (the fungal infection which Cole is believed to have). The side effects are mainly infusion toxicity (which he can be pre-medicated against) and renal damage/failure (which can be monitored). As Dr. Owen said, it is not a matter of "if" he has some kidney damage, it is a matter of "when" and to what degree. They will be monitoring him very closely.

    What makes it normalcy changing is that amphotericin can only be given by IV infusion and it must be given at the hospital in order to monitor for the two major side effects. This will necessitate Cole being at the hospital twice a week for the foreseeable future (Tuesdays and Fridays). It also means that he will be accessed (via his port) from Tuesday to Friday. Given the stricture that we are not allowed to bring our children to clinic with us, we will now need child care for Logan and Ava on most Tuesdays and Fridays.

    We are asking our church family and immediate friends for help with this. If we can find 6 to 8 volunteers then we can arrange it so that no one person will watch Logan and Ava more than once a month. This is obviously a lot to ask, and we do not ask it lightly, but we really have very little choice. So far, we have had 3 awesome folks offer to help us out, so if we can get 3 more, we will hit what we consider our minimum.

    If you would like to help, please contact me via email or this blog.

    3 comments:

    Eric and Lindsay said...

    Mike- Fridays will be best for me. We have Comm. Group on Tuesdays at my house. Just FYI.

    Eric and Lindsay said...

    check beach babies, you have some takers!

    Anonymous said...

    May the Lord Jesus Christ continue to shine on your son, you and yours. Jonah 2:2
    Psalms 46:1, 62:1-2
    My family and I will be lifting your family up in prayer and I will place your family on our prayer list at our church. I know there may few who really understand what you're enduring right now but Praise Jesus; He exactly how much you can withstand in these times. May you have the Lord's blessing and covering and may His hand move through your situation and life, in Jesus name.
    Isaiah 43:2