We Can Do This!

It has been so great being home!  Nate has really made great strides.  It took much longer for him to bounce this time...but, bounce he did.  He's not 100% by any means, but he is doing so, so well.  Yesterday, he was riding his tricycle, running around and playing hide and seek with the neighbors.  Really, it is all I dreamed of and more.  I had almost forgotten how beautiful it is to see him play.  We've tried to shove as much fun in as possible and Nate has been living it up.

We started the transplant process on Monday.  I met with Nate's transplant doctor, who I love, to go over the process again and to sign new consents (the previous consents I signed are not valid now that we have dropped out of the study).  We have heard nothing but awesome things about the whole transplant team, and I believe it.  Nate's doctor makes me feel like we can do this...like it won't be as bad as I fear it will be.  They will take great care of Nate, I know it.  After the meeting, Nate had some blood drawn, then received a medication called palifermin that should help decrease the severity of the mucusitis (mouth and GI sores).  Unfortunately nothing can prevent it completely, but I hope and pray that Nate's mucusitis will be as minimal as possible.  He already had such a rough time with it during rounds 4 and 6 of chemo.

Tuesday, I took Nate to the dentist.  Nate had gone to the dentist a month ago for his pre-transplant exam and everything looked good.  Then on Friday, I noticed that all 6 of his bottom front teeth have extensive decay.  It just happened so quickly.  We had to have the dentist take another look to make sure that none of the decay could cause an abscess any time soon.  Nate can not have any known risks of infection, going in to the transplant process.  Luckily, he is not at risk for infection, but his bottom front 6 teeth are destroyed from the chemo and vomiting.  The enamel on the rest of his teeth isn't great either...they aren't far behind.  Just another gift cancer treatment is leaving behind.  I am trying not to let it get to me.  I am trying to concentrate on the task at hand...transplant.  But it's hard not to dwell on those sweet little teeth that I watched come in and brushed so carefully, begin destroyed so quickly and completely.  We will do our best to slow the progression of the decay so that it doesn't decay his adult teeth, but the hard truth is that his adult teeth are most likely already affected.

After the dentist, we went to clinic for Nate to get another injection of palifermin.  He also had to have both of his sinus cavities swabbed for viruses.  Certainly NOT one of Nate's favorite things to have done.  I then took Nate over to the "big hospital" to get an xray of his abdomen.  He has been having a lot of abdominal distention and bloating since he has started eating again.  This has been worrying me, in the back of my Mommy brain, because his abdomen is where the tumor was.  I got a call from his doctor last night saying that the xray was normal, except for an "emormous amount of stool".  I've never been so happy to hear the we have and enormous amount of stool coming our way!  The doctor assured me that the chemo he gets for transplant will give him such bad diarrhea that it will clear everything out.  Wes had a half day of school on Tuesday.  So, after the xray we went home and got Wes and Grandma and went to Jambo indoor amusement park.  Nate had been asking to go there and had a blast playing goofy golf, riding the train, bowling and playing skee ball.

I worked today and Grandma took Nate for his last palifermin injection.  Tomorrow after lunch, Nate and I will check in to PCH for an indefinte amount of time.  They say to plan on 4 to 6 weeks.  I will write a post tomorrow that will better explain what a stem cell transplant is and the process we will be going through, over the next 4 to 6 weeks.

I am so thankful for this fun time we have had at home and the strides that Nate has been able to make.  Nate is up to 15kg, which is still a couple kg below where he should be, but is really incredible considering where he was.  I really wanted to see that "15" number on the scale before transplant...and there it was!  I know we have a really tough road ahead over the next few weeks (all of us, but especially Nate), but I know we will make it through.  God has brought us this far and we have faith that he will continue to carry us (especially Nate) through the storm.

I would like to ask for some prayers for our little buddy RJ and his family.  We met RJ when we were in New York for surgery.  RJ's disease is progressing through treatment and his family has been told that there are no treatment options for him and that he has days to weeks left.  RJ just turned 2 and his family was forced to make the decision today to take him home on hospice care.  You know, I have now been introduced to this world of childhood cancer.  I have heard many stories of progressing disease and children not doing well.  I just can't help to think that...I rubbed this little boy's head...I hugged his parents.  This is just too real, and my heart is broken.  I believe that there could be a miracle out there for RJ, I will continue to pray for that miracle and for peace and comfort for him and his family.