ONE TOUGH COOKIE…

This 2 1/2 week break’s been glorious and has given us time to rest Eli’s body as well as boost his immunity and just let him be a ‘typical’ child.  We were able to work in a speech assessment and an audiology appointment while on break; he passed both with flying colors (thank you, Mrs. King!)  We were seeing some stuttering, especially in the fall, that had us slightly concerned but they speculated it was chemo induced!  What?!?!

Eli was also able to have some play time with one of his favorite friends, Henry.  And we were able to say goodbye to some other favorites… the future Leader Dog puppies our friends helped to whelp.  The girls and Eli all had their favorites so they prayed blessings over them and gave lots of kisses and hugs.

 

However the time arrived this week for Eli to head into the next eight-week aggressive phase… Delayed Intensification, which is similar to the first four-week Induction phase.  It was a long, rough Monday as he was given three different chemos, had a spinal tap and oral steroids were added back into his treatment.

The nurses always make sure to decorate the tape strips with whatever festivity is around the corner;-)  Eli was super excited to send this particular one to daddy!

Below he’s being prepped for another spinal tap; so far all his spinals have come back beautifully clean and cancer free!  Amen!  Check out all that gorgeous, fuzzy hair growing in!!

After having to fast for 18 1/2 HOURS for his spinal, Eli was ready to eat and asked for…. Papa Joe’s RICE!  He’s not requested this for several months so it was a sweet reminder of his rice laden days;-)  A movie and rice… life is good.

Eli didn’t have any issues with his port being accessed this week but getting de-accessed is painful and therefore long;(  The tape around his port is extremely sticky so he prefers to pull it off himself so he’s in control of it but it hurts as it comes off so it tends to be slow going.  Ms. Anne was so patient and just chatted with him as he worked through his anxiety. We love the pediatric oncology team;-)  They all have such gifts in working with these children!

Coach Craig came to visit and love on Eli!  There were lots of laughs and fun, including the Pie Face game!  Eli wasn’t super crazy about getting whipped cream on his face but he highly enjoyed everyone else getting doused with it!  He also loved Emily stacking chocolate chips on his face; he was pretty confident he could dump them all into his mouth at the same time;-)

Mrs. King, Eli’s speech therapist, has graciously come to our home each week since his diagnosis to work with him.  Eli looks forward to his weekly time with her because she’s super creative and always makes their time together fun;-)  Thank you, Leah!

Emmy and Eli participated in their Awanas Grand Prix Derby… excitement doesn’t even come close to their emotions going into this!  They worked hard with daddy over the last several weeks tweaking their cars to perfection!  Emmy placed 2nd overall- woohoo, Em, but unfortunately, Eli’s car was just too fast, ran off the track and bent a wheel on its first run;/  He was a tad disappointed but then decided he was pleased to just play with his car;-)

We headed back to Mrs. Lafferty’s for another reflexology session.  He’s struggling with intense itching, mostly in the evenings, which is a result of the chemo particles breaking down.  A small dose of Benadryl tends to help ease this but it’s one more frustrating side effect that he has to deal with.  Reflexology is helping to detox those particles, therefore offering him longer times of comfort and peace.  Ella snuggled right up beside him and laid there the entire time!  Mrs. Lafferty says she doesn’t do this for anyone else!  It’s like she knows he just needs a lil’ snuggle from her.

 

And Grandma and Grandpa came down for dinner and games.  Eli was delighted to get some book time in too;-)

Not gonna lie, this week’s been tough;/  We know life’s going to slow down substantially this round.  We could definitely use prayer for strength & endurance to get through this next phase.  Also prayers for Eli’s stomach as the newest chemo is known for being hard on stomaches and Eli already struggles with daily nausea.  His oncology team’s preparing us for all the negatives, and it’s quite the list;(  It’s very hard to see Eli’s system hit so hard again with so many drugs in such a short amount of time.  But we serve a BIG God and Eli’s done extremely well so far so we’re trying to stay focused on that.  Appreciate all you pray warriors- thank you, thank you!!

“In the day when I cried out, You answered me, and made me bold with strength in my soul.” Psalm 138:3  From my rock of a friend, Eaton:-)

 

A BREAK!!!

Eli received his final double dose of chemo, of this phase, last Friday!  Woohoo!  Time continues to fly by.  AND… he gets a 2 1/2 WEEK BREAK!!!!!!  No clinic visits, no “pokes”, no chemo, no spinal taps, nothing, nada for 2 1/2 weeks!  We are, obviously, quite excited about this;-)  It’ll be a great time to continue to rebuild his immune system and get him healthier.  He continues to do well outside of the daily nausea.  His blood levels continue to impress his oncologists, hair is still growing (we actually were able to go see Ms. Shelly again for a haircut!) and no illnesses… Praise God!  It’s been so great to see his inner strength and courage blossom…he has a voice in this and it’s one of contentment, silliness and joy despite the negatives that come with having cancer.  He’s truly a TROOPER! (Sorry, huge gumball in his mouth when I took this picture;-))

Eli’s with Ms. Anne waiting for a finger poke to draw blood to check his levels.  And playing cards with dad while receiving chemo.

We continue to visit the puppies each week.  They are SO CUTE and growing like weeds!!  Eli smothers lil’ Henry with hugs and snuggles each visit, they help Ms. Cobb and Ms. Jessie perform the recommended Leader Dog exercises as well as weigh them, feed them and give them their heart worm meds.  It’s been an amazing opportunity!  Thank you for sharing it with us, Ms. Cobb and Ms. Jessie;-)

 

Eli’s continued participating in the Kids Kicking Cancer program on Tuesday evenings.  They teach the kids great karate skills as well as adding in fun games to work on strength building.  Below Eli’s imitating a walking crab:-)

Today was Eli’s annual Cleft Lip Team checkup at Beaumont.  For those of you that don’t know, Eli was born with a cleft lip, which was repaired by a Chinese Smile Train Doctor when he was six months old.  He’s had no issues whatsoever with his repairs but will more than likely need a surgery or two as he ages as well as extensive orthodontics at some point.  He rotates through 13 specialists on these annual visits as well as a psychologist, nutritionist and speech therapist.  Overall, another great team at Beaumont Hospital!  Eli may be receiving “Patient of the Month” here soon;-)

Here he’s waiting for the team to start coming in…

Here are the pictures Smile Train was able to share with us,  pre- and post-surgery;-)  The Dr did an amazing job!  Couldn’t you just eat him!!!;-)

But with a break comes the next phase which is super aggressive with the introduction of several new chemos;-(… and the steroids return although not at the high dosage as before.  The oncology team is predicting hospitalizations, sicknesses, blood transfusions, fevers, hair loss and all the yucky side effects from the steroids again.  We, however, are claiming health and healing in Jesus’ name!  We’d appreciate if you could pray the same over him;-)  THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!;-)

He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake.  ~Psalm 23:2-3

I’m thankful for my struggle because without it, I wouldn’t have stumbled across my strength. ~ Unknown

 

 

Happiest of New Years!

Happy 2016!  May this year bring you favor and blessings;-)  Eli continues to do very well.  He is struggling with daily nausea but is, miraculously, managing to keep his weight two pounds above his initial diagnosis weight!  The only positive of the steroids was him packing on a few extra pounds.  Hallelujah as he doesn’t have many chunks to speak of!  He received his second to last treatment last Wednesday for this current phase.  The girls were able to go to clinic again and always add an element of fun and laughter;-)

Eli chose Emily to hold him while his port was accessed this time, which made Em feel special;-)  He was accessed like a champ; amazing that he’s actually “used” to being poked each time.  Not a big deal to him at all anymore;-)  Thankful!

He was accessed, then we were sent over to the Peds floor for his final spinal tap  and intrathecal (into the spine) dose of chemo of this phase, then back to the Peds oncology clinic to receive his second dose of chemo from a drip bag.  Couldn’t resist the close up pic of him sleeping after his procedure… so peaceful and handsome!

He’s a little unsteady on his feet after the spinal taps so the girls gladly taxied him back over to the clinic via Beaumont’s awesome peds wagons!

We were able to hit Lakeland Ice Rink last week so the kids could skate.  Definitely wasn’t Eli’s favorite activity but he negotiated for a hot chocolate at the end…smart boy!  Cute pic of him playing with his new panda building set- woohoo China!

We have a tradition of celebrating New Years Eve with my extended family…games, too much food, a VERY sad football game, sparkling cider at midnight and time with cousins!  Eli made it to 10pm, which is pretty darn good considering!  Plus this mama was good with that seeing as how we’re trying to keep him well rested and healthy!

We continue to be amazed at so many of your messages of extended prayer for Eli and our family… we are SO appreciative!  We have great hope of goodness and sustained healing over this year;-)  THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!

“Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom” ~Psalm 90:12