Thursday, August 17th

Hi all. Well today went pretty well. We left the house at 7:45 AM and dropped off Zoe at a former classmate's home. Then Alex and I went to the hospital to get his chemo. Dr. Foreman came in first to talk to us and exam Alex. He said doing an MRI at this time is a bad idea, because generally things look worse and everyone is invited to get upset. He said Alex's aspirating on solids is not really an issue as long as he is successful at keeping fluids and solids out of his lungs. So to determine that, he ordered a chest X-ray.

Dr. Foreman also mentioned that Alex's weight loss is normal as well at this stage of the game. Alex has gone from 17.2 kg to 15.8 kg. Last week he was 16.2 kg and I really thought we'd see a weight gain or at least maintaince. I was very surpised that Alex had lost even more weight. They said there is a point that they'll take action (g tube) but did not tell me what that point is and I did not ask. So instead of asking Alex to eat the Pork Carnitas I whipped up from my dream dinners last night; I made his SpongeBob Super Mac and Cheese as he requested. He ate 2 servings as well as his grapes and broccoli. Dr. Foreman also recommended that we meet with a dietician next week during the infusion. I'll be interested to see what he/she says about this situation.

Okay, so off to radiology we go because there was enough time before his vincristine order was ready. Upon our arrival, I am told it will be "a few minutes" to get the insurance pre-authorization. So we sit and wait. An hour later it's 10:15 and Alex still does not have his infusion done and he needs to be at the charity event at 11. I decide to head back upstairs to the infusion room. We get Alex's infusion done in 10 minutes and are done with Oncology for the day!

At the race track, Alex was very uncooperative and ready to go home. I even called Steve to see if he could get Alex out of his funk, but Alex would not even speak to his father. So I diverted! Alex was soon operating a remote of a toy car another little boy had brought. So for the next 30 minutes, Alex played and then watched the big boys play. At race time, he was smiling and much more cooperative. Our team was from 105.5 Jack radio. They were all very nice and supportive of Alex's driving. Needless to say, we did not win, but did have a wicked crash!

After the race, we had to wait for Alex's surprise. I got him some lunch and once his blood sugar rose a bit, Happy Alex showed up. It was great, he was smiling and talking to everyone and cracking himself up. We even made a new friend of the morning DJ! She loves dream dinners too, so we are going to try to meet up there again soon.

So after the race, Alex was given the race car. It is very nice and very fast. Alex is so excited. He carried the remote around for the rest of the day. When we got to radiology, everything was in order and we were done with his X-ray in no time. Then we went and had Alex's face painted. Alex picked out a bat design and felt like a super hero afterwards.

Needless to say, we were very tired when we picked up Zoe. Both kids fell asleep in the car but were wide awake when we got home. Zoe really needed some mommy time and would not let me put her down for quite a while.

I can't tell you how great it was to hear that Alex did not need a MRI at this time. I felt validated and a great deal of relief. I'm learning to listen to my instinct more these days and it pays off every time I do. There is just so much noise sometimes that I can't hear it. Dr. Foreman is going to try to get Alex's speech therapy done at his school and I have rearranged his OT appointments to proceed infusion on Thursday. So in two weeks we may be down to two trips to the hospital a week instead of four!!!

Well, I still need to go to the store for milk and an anniversary card. Steve and I will celebrate our fifth wedding anniversary tomorrow! Neither of us can believe it has only been five years. So much has happened in our lives. Does anyone remember the Christmas letter? Remember how we just wanted a boring year? Well, this is anything but boring!!

If anyone wants a playdate let me know. I know the kids would love to see their friends! Love to you all!

God bless!
G

PS-Tracie how did this happen? How is it you are a grandmother? I'm having a hard time with this one!! I still think of us as the girls up to no good!! Call me if you can! Love you!