New Cancer regimen...

So here's the latest and greatest for Jake's cancer therapy:  We are getting the second to last chemo today.  In three weeks we will get the last chemo...May 3rd!  At the end of May/first part of June, we will have an MRI done to check the progress of tumor shrinkage.  He will also have his port removed.  As soon as the wound heals, I will lift the ban of swimming pools for Jake.

After that, we will only have to come in for a check up every three months, then every 6 months, then once a year for the next five years.  If all goes well, they will say he is in remission or cancer free after 5 years of good scans/MRI's.  Best case senario, Jake starts feeling back to his regular self by the end of summer.  We will continue detoxing him until we are sure all of the chemo is out of his body.

We are so happy to be to this point.  It has been a long, long road for us!  Jake has to deal with all the physical aspects of the chemo, and I deal with all the worries, scheduling, education, care, emotions, heart break, sorrow, bills and transportation for chemo.  Seriously, this would be much easier for me if I had the cancer!  But that's not the way God works...not that He gave Jake this cancer, but He is helping us through this and we are stronger for it.

Jake has never been depressed about his challenges, but he does get tired of it all.  His body has a harder time recovering from chemo treatments and it is frustrating that he can't do the things he is used to doing, like walking up stairs, jumping on the tramp or being able to go out and do things with his friends.

We will get through this!

HOPE/FAITH:  It does a body good/!

Here we go!

Platelets were good today so we are going for long chemo tomorrow! It's to awesome to be so close to the end! Only one more chemo after this! Thanks for the prayers!

Chemo: Week 36

After blood and platelets last week, counts are looking a lot better!  Last short chemo today.  Long chemo next week, then if we can keep his counts up...Last chemo...May 3rd!

Maybe this is not the end of our cancer journey, but it will be the end of treatment...for now!  I hope no one thinks less of me for not bonding with the other cancer parents.  I just found it so heart breaking to listen to their stories.  Maybe it's a little easier when your not going through it with your own child.

This experience has opened up a Pandora's Box of emotions and feelings I never dreamed I would experience.  It has changed me.  All of the parents I have met agree that we have learned much more about cancer and medical terms than we ever imagined would be necessary.

I've learned that to make it through hard stuff, you can never dwell on it.  It's necessary to acknowledge it, but dwelling on it is very depressing.  That's why is hard to keep repeating how Jake's doing, over and over again.  It is a constant reminder that he is ill.  I know people just want to show they care, and that's the part that I appreciate.  I think I just have to tell them he's fine and let them look on the blog to see how he's really doing.

We often make ourselves more depressed because we think life is suppose to be easy and good all the time.  Well, life is hard and often it's not fun or easy!  But, if you trying your best, and living your life in partnership with God, even though it's sometimes hard, it can always be good!

Like I tell my boys...You don't have to like it, you just have to do it!

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!