November 13th

Sam went to the hospital yesterday to get his blood work done. He is very brave now every time he gets poked for blood - he never flinches or even looks away. His ANC needed to be 0.75 for his next phase of treatment to begin. Yesterday it was only at 0.7 so we had to cancel Debbie and Sam's flights and postpone them a week. He won't be starting Delayed Intensification until next week (if his counts are up by then).

Interim Maintenance turned out to be less traumatic for Sam than the other three phases he has completed. The last main phase before Maintenance (2 years 5 months of treatment) is Delayed Intensification. This one is 57 days long and includes a lot of chemotherapy including 4 days a week Aracytarabine (for 2 weeks) PEG Asparaginase leg shots (3), 3 Spinal injections of Methotrexate, IV Vincristine and IV Doxorubicin, and oral methotrexate for nearly the whole duration. The Aracytarabine was our hardest run through the summer while at BCCH. He was very sick from that one and also needed to go to the ER for a fever during that session.


So, we're praying that this last phase, which goes right through Christmas, will go smoothly. This treatment is a marathon of ups and downs, good days and bad. Sam wasn't upset to get a week off before the next round begins.

JP and Marnie head to Australia this week. They left me JP's Yamaha 250 Enduro dirtbike to store/ride for them while they are gone. It needed some work but is running pretty well right now. Sam and I have spent hours riding through the trails behind our house. It has been a highlight of our last week.

Thank you for your prayers and support for our family. Katelyn and Karly travel to Valemount today for the senior girls' zone volleyball tournament. If they place first they will qualify for the provincial tournament.

Have a great weekend.

Ger