ALMOST THERE!…

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted on Eli.  Since that time, Eli’s been to clinic three times.  For the past two weeks he’s received all his chemo at home in the form of a daily shot in his thigh as well as a pill he took at bedtime.  This all ended this past Sunday.  Praise the Lord!!  Both were much more difficult on Jody & I than on Eli; his persistence, self control and courage continue to amaze us. God’s gifted us with one strong lil’ boy!  Jody administered the shot like a pro while I gave him his pill in the evening.  It required me using a latex glove to handle the little white pill, which was emotionally, and physically, difficult for me to then hand over to my frail, precious five-year-old to swallow, knowing that it would make him nauseous, vomit, bald and fatigued with no appetite whatsoever;(  Ugh.  With his white blood cells so depleted he also picked up a yucky wet cough that’s hanging on way too long.  Poor kid hasn’t been out of the house much in the last two weeks; he’s feeling a little stir crazy;/

Eli’s treatment’s proven to be a family thing;-)  Each morning he’d ask one of us girls to hold him as well as his legs while Jody gave him his shot.  We all cried while he received his first few shots but other than his first shot, he didn’t cry again!

Top left hand photo’s of Eli getting his finger poked; this is what happens at the beginning of each clinic visit.  This is where they check his blood levels to determine where his body’s at currently.  The top right hand photo’s of Eli getting weighed, which also happens each week as well as his height and all other vitals.  They mix his chemo on the spot at Beaumont based on these numbers; there’s quite a science to it.  Chemo has a very short shelf life in all forms. The bottom pic’s of Em and Eli coloring to chase the time as we wait for his blood levels to come back.  This all takes about an hour and a half from beginning to end.

Eli receives this week and next OFF!  His body’s been hit so hard that they allow these two weeks as time for his body to rest and heal.  Yay!!  On Monday at clinic, his blood levels were borderline for platelet and red blood cell transfusions.  One of his oncologists gave me the option of transfusing Monday am or returning yesterday (Wednesday) to check his counts again.  He didn’t seem very hopeful about his counts increasing but I was!  So I brought him home on Monday and began the process of loading him full of great, healthy things, including lots of prayer, and by the grace of God, his platelets increased enough to bypass all transfusions yesterday!  Woohoo!  His countenance has been improving a little each day this week and there’s been no vomiting so all is good.

I don’t have many pictures to share as these past couple of weeks have been fairly slow for Eli and, frankly, he hasn’t been in much of a mood to have me snapping pics of him all the time.  I was able to catch a sweet smile below though;-)  He was showing us his toy lizard!

Jody was determined to break Eli out of the house last Saturday for some fresh air (aka away from crowds/germs) and activity!  Our local county park offers some great Nature programs that Jody typically takes the kids on dates to so that was where we headed. They were teaching about tapping maple trees for syrup;-) The kids got to experience the ranger drilling into the tree (in the pic below) and sap actually dripping out.  They enjoyed some crafts and some maple syrup themed snacks.  Eli was exhausted after the 2-hour program but seemed to enjoy his time out of the house;-)

And a BIG thank you to our friends, the Menckes;-)  They sent Eli a sweet care package from TN!  And added a therapeutic coloring book for mom too;-)  We love you guys!  Thanks for your prayers for your “cousin” Eli, Donevon and Delaney;-)!! (right hand pic is from a year ago with Delaney loving on Eli!!)

Eli heads back to clinic on March 28th to begin his next phase of treatment but the aggressive phase is essentially done!  So thankful is wasn’t as physically difficult as they were expecting it to be.  He’s looking at two months of receiving chemo every 10 days then in JUNE he’ll go to chemo once per month for the remaining 2 1/2 years!  We’re so close we can taste it!!  THANK YOU for your continued prayers… we know this is why he’s done so well!  We’re asking for prayers for Eli’s appetite to return.  Nothing tastes good to him right now;(  Not even cookies or ice cream!  APPRECIATE you all… your emails, texts, calls and packages bless us constantly;-)

“So we do not lose heart.  Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.  For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.” 2 Corinthians 4:16-17

 

GOOD GOOD FATHER…

Eli continues to press along in his treatment protocol.  Five weeks down, three to go in this Delayed Intensification phase!  He made counts last week so received a spinal tap, intrathecal (administered into his spine) chemo, a drip bag of chemo, a new chemo shot that Jody administers in his thigh four mornings per week this past week and next and an oral chemo at bedtime for fourteen days.  Needless to say, he’s being hit pretty hard currently… but despite this, he’s actually had some good days this past week!  It’s truly such an answer to prayer!!  Each week we meet complete strangers that know of Eli’s story and acknowledge that they’ve been faithfully praying for him.  It’s so incredible !  Thank you, prayer warriors;-)

Lexie & Eli

Eli’s developed a few mouth sores, inside and out, but they seem to be healing more quickly than last time;-)  His nausea goes from bad to worse but he’s able to push through it during the bad phases and lay low during the worst phases.  The last week’s been, by far, the most volatile for him since beginning treatment.  Some days he’s been down and out, while others he’s felt pretty great!  In fact, on Thursday he was asking to go skiing with the girls during homeschool ski club.  I didn’t think it’d actually happen due to fatigue, nausea, etc but packed his equipment up anyway.  As soon as we got there he was begging to get suited up and out we went…. TWO HOURS later I was begging him to head back into the Lodge to warm up and eat!  After lunch, he wanted to go back out and ended up skiing for another hour and a half!  The exercise and fresh air were absolutely great for him but best of all, it was so fun seeing him enjoy himself!  It was such a great day!!

Click on below picture to see a short video;-)

We took another trip to Mrs. Lafferty for some much needed reflexology.  She’s done wonders detoxing the chemo particles in his feet, which cause intense itching, usually in the evenings.  She had some hot chocolate, pretzels and cheese crackers waiting for Eli, which he shared with Ella the dog.  He also had some fun with the wolf cap;-)

A huge thanks to Logan, Rebekah and Anna Young for their awesome cards to Eli!  In the picture on the left, Eli’s working on a dot-to-dot that Logan sent him and Rebekah included a fun maze (Eli LOVES mazes!) for him;-)  You guys made his day!  He was also able to spend some time with Grandma and Grandpa this week:-)  He was able to show off some of his reading skills to Grandma!

And last, but surely not least, is our fav Ms. Lisa!  She’s SUCH a HUGE blessing to our family… she’s loved us with dinner every Monday since Eli’s diagnosis and breakfasts often, she’s always up for a card game, hanging with the kiddos so we can have a night out and just general memory making with lots of laughter 😉  We love you and appreciate you!!!

I have to share my favorite memory of Eli this week…. I was holding him for the final song at church this morning and he was singing Chris Tomlin’s “Good Good Father” with all his heart 😉  It was the sweetest thing I’ve heard all week!  Wish I could’ve taped it and shared with you all;-)

We’re asking for continued prayer over Eli’s body, mind; that he can finish this phase strong and on time. Strength for Jody and I as this past week’s been a little more emotionally difficult.  Thank you!

“With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26