Light the Night Video

Thank you to Pam for putting together this amazing video. We hope it blesses you as much as it has blessed us. And we hope you know how much God loves us!!!

Grant loves his leukemia party movie and sings along with it. We watch it several times a day.

SUCCESS

Grant had a good day at the clinic on Monday. He was not as easily distracted though. It doesn't take him long to know what's going on. He still handled the shot and getting his port accessed really well though. I usually judge the success on the length of recovery time. He is not getting hysterical and stops fussing as soon as they are finished with the needle. SUCCESS! His counts were actually really good. His ANC was way up b/c of the steroids he took all week. And his red blood was holding steady. They told us his numbers would start to decline at 7-10 days. But, they will not be checking his counts again until next Monday, unless we think he needs a transfusion. He handled the chemo a little better this week and we were a little more prepared for what to expect. We've stayed on top of the anti-nausea medication and he asked for it tonight. He didn't feel very good and didn't eat any dinner tonight. This was a drastic change from the last 3 days of severe munchies from the steroids. He is getting a break from the steroids this week and will start them again on Monday.

The pumpkin in the picture was from the clinic. They had a bunch of hand-painted pumpkins that were donated to the clinic for the kids. The nurses and volunteers saved the Cookie Monster for Grant.

Happy Juice???

We've been saying all along that God is doing miracles in our lives everyday. But, sometimes they are easier to see. Today was one of those times. Grant went in for the first in a series of six shots of chemo in his legs. They told us that he would have to have one in each leg every time. When we got there today, they were so excited to tell us that they were going to be able to do it with one shot each time. Yay...half as many shots! We put cream on Grant's leg, which he doesn't like and it makes him walk funny. But, he just went on playing. Then, it was time for the shot. The nurses and child life advocate, Denee, were dreading it. Grant and I went into the procedure room and Denee gave him a viewfinder. The nurse asked me if I wanted her to count for him, but I thought the anticipation would be worse for him, so I told her to surprise him. He was playing with the viewfinder and asked me to look inside. When I did, he jumped and squealed. We both looked down and Melinda already had the needle in his leg. I redirected him to the viewfinder, she finished with the shot, and we were done. No crying!! No screaming!! It was the most amazing thing I had seen and the nurses were speechless. Most of the time, when I come out of the room crying, it's b/c I'm stressed and drained. This time I came out crying b/c I was so thankful for answered prayer. Isn't it funny how we pray for something, but then we are so amazed when God does exactly what we asked? They observed him after his shot and he didn't show any signs of a reaction.

Grant had a really wonderful day all around. He felt better today. And we kept joking that they gave him the wrong medicine in his shot and it was happy juice instead of chemo. He was so pleasant all day. He is also taking his oral medications much better. He is still struggling with congestion and difficulty breathing. We got a new prescription today to help with allergies, so we are hoping that will ease his discomfort. All in all, this was a great end to a very difficult week.

Grant will go back on Monday for another shot and 2 chemos in his port. Then again on Wed. and Friday for more shots.

Please keep praying. Our lives are a daily testimony that prayer is powerful.

Delayed Intensification

Grant started his last phase of treatment before maintenance today. The protocol calls for this last really intense phase of treatment b/c the studies have shown that the results were much better for kids who had this phase. But, boy, are we in for a long 8-10 weeks.
Grant had an absolutely GREAT day at the clinic. He had to be accessed to receive 2 chemo drugs through his port. He also had a spinal tap. Through all of this poking and discomfort, all he did was say he didn't like it and fuss a little. It was amazing and wonderful. I know that this was the answer to so many prayers.
But, the treatment today has hit him really hard. By this afternoon, he was feeling pretty terrible. He is very nauseous and is vomiting regularly. He is having trouble keeping anything down. He did finally eat 2 pieces of bread and butter and kept them down this evening. He is still battling a head cold and is very congested, so that is not making things any easier. He also started steroids again today and will be on them for 7 days.
We are very anxious about the next few days. B/c Grant had the chemo by spinal tap today, he will have to take the "rescue" drug to help prevent another TIA. And it is so hard to see him not feeling well and just not himself. For example, Grant just cried inexplicably for about an hour this afternoon. I didn't know what to do b/c he didn't know why he was crying. So, I basically just sat next to him and cried too. :(
Please just know that we appreciate and covet your prayers! Our God is big and He cares about us. Even when things seem out of control and frustrating, He holds us in the palm of His hand.

2 Corinthians 1:7-11

"And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort. We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many."

Thank you for being the 'many'. We know that God is listening and answering prayers.

Sick Update

Well, Trent's fever was gone by Friday morning and he seems to be feeling just fine. However, Grant did not sleep well and was very congested. I called the clinic on Friday to see if there was something over the counter that we could give him to help him breathe. Well, they didn't take it very lightly even though he was not running a fever. They wanted us to come in to see the doctor so Grant could get antibiotics before the end of the day if he needed them. It was inconvienent, but fine with me. I fear the weekend! As soon as we walked in the door, they escorted us to an isolation room and everyone was wearing masks. They weren't taking any chances. Getting Grant to wear a mask to move rooms was a little difficult, but he finally complied. Dr. Beam examined him, but said he looked too good to even take a blood sample. We didn't think he looked very good, but I guess, under the circmstances, he did. We left with an order to get Mucinex over the counter and a prescription for bedtime with something in it to help him sleep. It didn't work! We gave it to him last night and he didn't sleep any better. He's still not feeling great, but we all know that doesn't slow him down any. Please just pray for relief for Grant and that we can ALL get some rest!!

Trent's Fever

Well, after a LONG night, Grant woke up this morning with no fever. Praise the Lord! He has some congestion, but seemed to feel better today. After a couple nights of not sleeping well, he is pretty tired and irritable. We are all tired!
Tonight we had our class at the hospital and Grant gets so excited to play with friends and pack his lunchable for dinner. But, as I was circling the parking garage, Trent started throwing up. I had taken their temperatures before we headed downtown to make sure they weren't running fever. Trent's was 97.7. I took it after I got parked in the parking garage and it was 99.5. So, I cleaned up that mess, called Rudy, and we all headed home. Grant was so upset that he didn't get to stay and play. But, he was really torn b/c he knew that Trent didn't feel well and that made him sad. So, Rudy and Grant went to a friend's to play. Trent seemed to be feeling better after he took a bath and his temperature went back down. He had some crackers and played a little, but then acted ready for bed. His temperature was back up when he went to bed. Please pray that Trent recovers quickly and that Grant will not be affected.