Jerek was able to have the biopsy done on the 7th. His platelets had come up to 122. We have gotten all of the results back now, and they were all good. There are no signs of leukemia. They couldn’t get his lumbar puncture scheduled until the 14th, so he started maintenance on the 14th. This consists of monthly treatments at the clinic (sometimes with a lumbar puncture), and daily chemo pills at home. He is also on steroids for 5 days every month. His counts had dropped a little in the week between the biopsy and the start of maintenance, so they have scheduled him to come in for weekly lab checks this first month to make sure his counts don’t drop too low. They want his immune system to be slightly suppressed, but they don’t want to drop his counts so low that he stays neutropenic and will need transfusions. He went in for a lab check today and so far his counts are stable. They will adjust the dosage of his chemo pills if his counts begin to drop. Once his counts are stable and they find the right dosage for him, he will only have to go in for the monthly treatment and doctor visit. This will last for roughly 2 years. The main side effects he deals with now are back problems (from the repeated lumbar punctures) and neuropathy in his hands and feet (from the chemo drug he gets once a month now). Neither of these will improve until he is completely done with treatment.
He is ready to start getting out of the house some, so we went to church on Sunday and took the kids to Zootastic on Monday. It was a pretty cool place. Colt loved feeding carrots to the giraffes. It will take some time for him to be comfortable being around larger crowds, especially indoors, but he will get there. I apologize for such a delay in an update, and as always, we appreciate the continued prayers and support.
He is ready to start getting out of the house some, so we went to church on Sunday and took the kids to Zootastic on Monday. It was a pretty cool place. Colt loved feeding carrots to the giraffes. It will take some time for him to be comfortable being around larger crowds, especially indoors, but he will get there. I apologize for such a delay in an update, and as always, we appreciate the continued prayers and support.