Last Days of AIM

(Two posts in one so if you haven't read lately, check the post below too)

We are winding down this phase and it has been really nice. We haven't had to go to the Cancer Center for two weeks and the family had some normalcy. Nathan has gone to school this week, we've been out and about, and treating things just as we normally would. I talked with Nathan tonight about starting treatments again on Monday and he seemed OK with it. He asked which ones we'd be doing and really wanted to know if he was getting leg needles. I told him that he would be, but since he also had to have a back needle they would be putting him to sleep. For some reason he is OK with going to sleep to get stuff done - I guess why not?

We've had a pretty good weekend. Shelley was home with the boys on Friday and they had a really good day and we also had a pretty good evening. Auntie Lorrie came over for supper, and then the boys and I had the night to ourselves. Today we even went out to Fudruckers for supper with Pam and their kids and then Shelley, Nathan, Ella, Justin and I went minigolfing. The kids had a blast, they are getting better at following the rules and doing it right. Carter and Johnathan had a birthday party to go to which is why they weren't golfing.

Tomorrow is Mother's day so happy Mother's day to all you mothers out there! I hope we are going to have a good day. Carter has first communion classes in the morning and then we'll do church at 11:30. There is a tea at Shelley's grandma's home which Shelley might go to and then we will do Mother's day supper with the Mcleods. Should be good as long as the boys cooperate!

One quick story for you, we told you about how Justin banged his head well he did end up with a big solid goose egg. Last night, he try to reason with us that he couldn't go to bed because his head hurt when he laid down. We tried to convince him to lay on his side as he ALWAYS does but he wanted to lay on his back and then his head hurt - what a goof.

As I've mentioned, Monday will be a big day for us at the Cancer Center. Nathan starts a new drug called Doxorubicin and evidently it is a nasty one with various side affects. One of the side effects is that it can affect your heart so Nathan has to go for an echocardiogram first to make sure his heart is in good shape before they start and get a baseline to compare it to after he's had that drug a few times. He also gets the Cyclophospamide which is the one that makes him nauseous. We then get to complement those with the Vincristine and the LP to get intrathecal Methotrexate. To finish off the Monday treatment, Nathan will also get his two shots to the leg for the Erwinia L-asparaginase. Whew! Nathan will be tired after that day, hopefully his body can handle everything OK. I believe that is why he got two weeks off, to rest and recover before this phase starts. This phase is called Augmented Delayed Instensification I and is also eight weeks long with fairly steady treaments - multiple times per week.

Take care everyone, and Happy Mothers Day again!