Sam Conquered A.L.L.: March 4, 2009

March 4, 2009

Sam went to the hospital today to get a Vincristine chemo treatment. He responded well without incident...always a good thing. We are happy to report that his hemoglobin and platelet counts have already improved since Monday, but his ANC or neutrophil counts are down significantly. He will not be returning to school this week with his immunity so low.

I called our primary nurse, Monica, at BC Children's and Dr. Bond has started him again on one steroid, but nothing else. We will have his counts done again on Monday and wait and see what the results are and await instructions on how to proceed once Dr. Bond has looked over the results.

Sam is feeling well, in good spirits, and has started his spring break earlier than expected!

Kate and Karly's team played Abbotsford Christian School at Provincials today and won...65-40. They have a tough game tomorrow as they face Kamloops Christian School.
We all wish we were there, cheering them on!

Time for sleep,
Debbie

4 comments:

Martin said...: Hi Guys,

We were able to see some of the girls game today on the 'net. A nice win at provincials. Nothing gets better than that at provincials. We are praying for Sam and think of him often. We love you all and best wishes.
Jp, Marnie, Ayden and Sophie; March 5, 2009 at 3:33 AM
Anonymous said...: hi sam how's your spring break so far?were thinking of you and praaying for all the time.I can't wait until I'm back in school.are you?talk to you later.; March 11, 2009 at 1:26 PM
Anonymous said...: hi sam how's your spring break so far?were thinking of you and praaying for all the time.I can't wait until I'm back in school.are you?talk to you later.; March 11, 2009 at 1:26 PM
Anonymous said...: by the way you had it wrong, abbotsford killed cedars in that game; May 14, 2009 at 7:47 PM

Raining

The flower with all the petals and leaves on it is the healthy flower. It has a sad face because it is raining. The wilted, bald flower is the cancerous flower. It may be a little wilted and have no petals or leaves but it is happy to be alive even if it is raining. The healthy flower doesn't know how lucky it is to be alive and have all its petals. All it's worried about is the rain. This is true in real life as well. When I was getting my chemo in the hospital I would listen to what people were complaining about and I would think "If that's all you have to worry about then you are doing pretty well." People would act like it were the end of the world if the fan was blowing too hard on them or if they would get home in time for dinner but I was worrying about whether I would get better or would I die?
Melinda, age 13

Consolidation "Summer"

Day 1: (June 25) - LP- IT Methotrexate, IV - AraC, Mercaptopurine, Septra
Day 2-4: IV Ara-C, Mercaptopurine
Day 5-7: PO - Mercaptopurine
Day 8: LP- IT Methotrexate, IV - AraC, Mercaptopurine, Septra
Day 9-11: IV Ara-C, Mercaptopurine
Day 12 - 14: Mercaptopurine
Day 15: LP- IT Methotrexate, IM - PEG-Asparaginase, IV - Vincristine, Septra
Day 22: LP- IT Methotrexate, IV - Vincristine, Septra
Day 29 - 60: Repeat Day 1-29 except without the IT Methotrexate
Day 61: Recover and Wait for Counts to Improve to start Interim Maintenance Stage - Probably 1 week, maybe 2

Prayer

We have all enjoyed having a yard. We have played many games of croquet with friends and family.
We are really enjoying our second "home " here in Vancouver. It is close to the hospital, lots of trails to walk, run, and bike in, and just a few minutes from the beach.
We are thankful for the exceptional people we are surrounded with who are supporting us in prayer and in so many practical ways...you have blessed us tremendously.
Pray that Sam will not get an allergic reaction to the Asparaginase injections on August 13.