May 5, 2012

Derek is now half way through Delayed Intensification.  He lost most of his hair again, but not quite all of it.  What is left is over an inch long and sticks straight out unless I wet it down.  It looks like he touched a static electricity ball, but at least he has some hair left.  He did not want to lose it again.  This past week he was at the clinic five days in a row and received the study chemo.  Now he has just four weeks to go before maintenance - two weeks of intense chemo (four days each week) and two weeks of cranial radiation (four days each week.)  Monday will be another marathon at the clinic.  He gets yet another lumbar puncture for spinal chemo (and he can't eat or drink past midnight.)  He also gets a chemo for which he must be very well hydrated.  So we will have to go early to get started with IV hydration (since he can't drink anything), get his LP, and get his other two chemo meds.  After he gets his chemo, they will have to keep him hooked up to IV fluids for another four hours. So it will be another all day event.  But we are almost there.  We see the light at the end of the tunnel, and at this point anyway, it does not look like it is another train coming.

This weekend we are doing some celebrating of life.  Today we celebrated Vince's mom's birthday with a special Sabbath dinner.  Tomorrow we are going to celebrate Derek's 6th birthday a couple weeks early.  We are doing it early because his counts are better now than they will be on his birthday.  So we will celebrate with family and a few friends.  A couple months ago, a friend told me about an organization called Icing Smiles.  They organize bakers all over the country and around the world who donate cakes to children with life-threatening illnesses and to their siblings.  I requested a birthday cake for Derek's birthday, and tomorrow we will pick it up for his celebration.  Derek requested a beaver pond cake.  For those who would like more information, their website is www.IcingSmiles.org.