Counts...

Counts are really low today.  We may be going in for a transfusion on Friday!

Sigh!

Jake spiked a 103 fever again last night.  Again, he wouldn't go to the hospital.  I even had another doctor talk to him and tell him this could be a life-threatening infection...to no avail.  He looked at me and said, sorry mom....the invincible teenager thing.

I spent my first summer away from home on the University of Utah campus.  This beautiful fountain is located just east of the library and was a place of solace and fun for me.  What is obstructed by the tree is the thin, 4 inch straight piece of cement that goes from one set of stairs to the other.  So often I would climb these stairs barefoot and walk across the top, often stopping and doing some moves I learned in gymnastics in the middle (Did I mention that the part I was walking on was only 4 inches wide!).  Below is a mere 1-2 feet of water, then concrete.  Invincible was I!

Did I ever fall and hurt myself?  No.  Did wisdom come with age?  Sometimes. 

One husband and 5 boys later, I visited that fountain and looked again, at the width across the top.  I found myself gasping and wondering how I could be so brave and carefree.  Perhaps it was faith I had...more faith than sense.

Should I question Jake's faith?  Although it makes no sense to me not to follow the doctor's orders, I have to rely on my faith, and Jake's, my mother's intuition and the guidance of the holy spirit to get us through this.  I have faith that the Spirit will tell me when to override Jake's stubbornness.  God knows Jake, even better than Jake does, so I depend on Him to tell me what to do...whatever is best for Jake.  I pray that Jake knows when to give in to God.

My prayers are not what you might think for Jake.  I pray for whatever is best for Jake...then the strength to accept whatever that might be.  He warned me that this would be hard...and it is.  But, He also said I would like the outcome...whatever it is...it will be the best for Jake (I keep reminding myself!).

Be still my soul!

1 more chemo down!

One more long chemo over with!  The nurse didn't start the pump correctly for the fluids Monday night, so it stopped after a short time and he wasn't hydrated enough to start chemo on Tuesday morning.  They pumped him full of fluids, but he wasn't peeing out.  Finally, after 5 hours of no relief, I asked them to give him something to help things along (otherwise, we would be there overnight again).  They did.  I went to the gym and got my exercise in and by the time I got back, he had peed plenty and they had started the chemo.  Still, it took until 9:30 to finish.  It was a long day, but so happy to have one more chemo over with!

My good friend Karen, took care of dinner for the family while we were gone.  Jake was so excited to eat something good at home!  They send him home on fluids, which were suppose to go until 2 a.m. last night.  Jake told me he was going to rip it out at midnight if I didn't take it out (He's getting to be a bit of a stinker about this cancer treatment stuff!)!  Good thing we are almost to the end!  Two longs, two shorts left!

Oops!

I thought I was posting an update on here, but it went on "My Mom's Blog"...so click there for Jake's update!

5 Chemo's left!

I went with Jake to chemo today (short chemo).  I don't usually go, but I wanted to see what his counts were this time.  Austin went with us, so it was boy bonding time for me.  We were a little late getting there because I made them eat breakfast...I'm not sure why, because he left it at the clinic because the saline flush makes him nauseous. 

The counts were much better today!  Not good enough for the long chemo, (platelets 34) but much better than last week (platelets 13).  His platelets have to be at least 75 to get long chemo (next week). 

I am becoming a firm believer in this detox stuff!  Without it, his platelets would only go up 7-9 points each time he would get labs done, twice a week.  He said his mind is much more clear and his energy level is a lot better.  What a blessing that this was made available to us!  (She is opening up an office here in Lehi if anyone is interested)  I should probably buy one of those machines myself.  I know it's helped me feel better with just a few sessions.

Scan results

The chemo went well this time! (good Sigh!)  I think the detox helped get things moving faster...but when I told my doctor bro-in-law about it, he just started laughing and said it was ridiculous. I'm just saying, if it helps Jake to feel better, why not!

The scan went ok, but I wasn't excited about the results.  It showed very little reduction in the tumor.  Dr. Wright said this sometimes happens and not to worry about it too much.  The report says the the swelling is a little worse than before, but the tumor is "stable".  They had a hard time seeing it very well, so they are going to check it by MRI next time (in May).

So on we go...chemo again for the next two weeks, then if counts are good enough, long chemo on the 22nd.  It's good to be counting down again!