Cleared!

Round 2 of chemo is done and round 3 begins in 5 days.  We really weren’t sure if we would even get to go home inbetween these rounds so this is a bonus.  Jacob never did have any more reactions from the medication. He did fairly well overall, with little nausea, but extremely fatigued. Jacob slept most of the 4 days in the hospital and went to bed again as soon as we arrived home. His appetite is poor but he is able to eat a few things like frosted flakes, some fruits, and cold chicken.  During the stay we were visited by a firefighter friend and the crew that day, and they delivered us a large meal as well.  We really enjoyed the visit, and I think a few nurses enjoyed it as well.  😋

Because Jacob reacted to the Methotrexate with hives, cough, and wheezing, he will need to be premedicated before he receives this drug again and given these medicitions for days afterwards. He needs the methotrexate so pray that his body will be able to tolerate it and the reactions do not turn anaphylactic.  I also noticed recently that Jacob’s leg looked larger and once measured it showed to be 3-4 cm wider around.  The surgeon recommended some repeat scans and there is growth. This is extremely concerning and worrisome of course.  The doctors say that sometimes the tumor can expand while it is dying off because it calcifies and swells, but we likely won’t know more until his surgery and repeat PET scans and pathology report once the tumor is taken out in September. We were shown his X-ray and MRI this afternoon and the images made me feel sick.  They are horrible to look at, and it’s uttely heartbreaking knowing it’s inside my child. The pic on the left is the X-ray and the one on the right is the MRI.  The MRI shows the second tumor above the large tumor.  It is much higher on his femur than I originally thought, which means he will lose more femur than we anticipated as well.  Our minds are very heavy today and it feels like too much to handle.

Ray and the 3 boys came for the weekend and stayed at Ronald Macdonald House.  RMH is a huge blessing and is an incredible place for so many amazing families.   Today, while my sister and niece stayed with Jacob, we took the boys to Stanley Park. This was our first outing as a family without Jacob. For just a moment, I felt like it was summer and things felt ok and normal and fun and relaxed and all the things that summer is supposed to feel  like. Although it was a fun few hours, the heaviness lingers and I’m unable to let my mind be free of all that is going on, and being fully aware aware that Jacob wasn’t with us and meeting 2 other oncology moms and their families there, the moment of feeling normal and relaxed did not last very long. While at the park we got a text that Jacob’s blood test came back cleared of methotrexate.  The shortest allowable clearance time for this drug is about 72 hours and Jacob cleared in 72 hours! The drug is extremely toxic on the kidneys, so you cannot leave and get off IV hydration until it’s almost completely out of your system.  We were having a friendly competition with another patient there receiving the same drug and admitted within a couple hours of Jacob.  Despite all the heaviness we still have many laughs, have made a bunch of new friends, and the nurses tell Jacob and I often that they love our sense of humour, sarcasm, and sassiness and that we bring cheer to the hallways. Again, thank you for the prayers, support and love. Thank you to whoever has given us their time to help us out – meals, visits, housework, yardwork.  We could not do all this alone and sincerely appreciate the help we are receiving. 💙💜