Today marked our 3rd round of chemo. There was also another spinal tap and a bone marrow aspirate along with complications in his pic line/blood draw so it was nearly 10 am by the time a HANGRY Forrest finally got his breakfast. I think the nurses were nearly as relieved as he was as he wolfed down enough food to satiate a grown lumberjack. We were discharged on Tuesday from inpatient Peds Oncology 🙌 but will need to stay within 1 hr of the hospital here in Spokane for the next 3-4 weeks as Forrest finishes this first phase of chemo. They found a gene abnormality in his leukemia cell blood work a couple days ago. It affects only 6% of T-cell leukemia patients and the research on it is basically nill. Another chemo agent will be added to the pharmacy that is being pumped into his body and everybody will be keeping their fingers crossed. So far he is responding perfectly to the drugs. The x-ray images show the before and after scan of the massive tumor in his chest. 6 days of steroids and chemo shrunk it to basically nothing. That is the power of prayer and medicine in action. ✨
His immune system is plummeting and will be basically nothing these next few weeks. So we'll be working hard to avoid all the fun kid places 😏. Forrest is a fighter. They say sickness like this affects the parents more than the kids and I think they are maybe right. Forrest (and we) are feeling your thoughts and prayers... and we're fighting like hell. We'll beat this cancer; we'll beat it together.
"For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11
So. Much. Joy.
And so many firetrucks... A Christmas morning to remember