We are so pleased with how well Jeremy is doing! Last Friday, the weather was beautiful! The sun was shinning and the temperature was in the low 50's. Jeremy saw the neighborhood friends out playing and wanted to join them. It was the first time he has rode his bike since he was diagnosed. One of Jeremy's friends asked me "Does this mean that Jeremy's fever is all gone?" I explained to her that he will probably be healed of his cancer by autumn. She said "Oh that is a long time!" The children were so good to him. They would say "Jeremy gets to be the leader" and "Jeremy, you pick what we should do". They were so excited that he could come out and play with them. We watched him play for about an hour until he said "my legs are tired" and he went back inside.

Over night the temperature dropped and on Saturday morning we woke up to snow! 

Jeremy was so excited and wanted to build a snowman. He solicited the help of Dad, James, and Ireland.

Ireland built a "tent" and invited Jeremy to watch the "Curious George" movie and eat popcorn with her. 

Jeremy, smiling at Curious George!

We had a great weekend! Jeremy was sick for about three days from his chemo. By Friday, he was doing very well. On Sunday, Jeremy and I even went to Primary (church not the hospital)! I stayed with him, neither of us are ready for him to go alone. The children were so nice to him, welcoming him back. I think that Jeremy's energy level is improving because of the combination of healing from radiation and also getting the nutrition he needs through his G-tube. His appetite and eating is poor and minimal. It is such a blessing to be able to give him continuous feeding during the night. This is really helping him get his strength back. It is so nice to have radiation completed, it made Jeremy so tired and weak. His coughing while he drinks and snoring are also improving. Tomorrow marks four weeks since his last radiation session. Jeremy has a followup radiation appointment with Dr. Poppe tomorrow. 

Jeremy loves to help with his care. He can attach and detach his G-tube, flush the line with a syringe filled with water, and push the buttons on his feeding pump. A nurse was surprised and wondered if I should let him do all this. I said "Why not? I am closely supervising him, he likes doing it, is good at it, and is very careful.  I have noticed that Jeremy is more confident and cooperative by helping and being an active part of his care. It is empowering him. Jeremy no longer gets nervous when it is time for his shot, he helps by rubbing the alcohol on and holding "Buzzy" (vibrating ice pack) on his leg. I was telling Jeremy that one of his talents is music and he said "I also have a talent taking shots". For a long time when the  nurse accesses his port, he would bravely hold his shirt out of the way and tears would roll down his cheeks. Now, he does not even cry when his port is accessed, although he is still a little nervous. The home health care nurse came today to access his port for a blood draw. She mentioned how impressed she is with how far Jeremy has come. 

Although Jeremy has overcome many challenges it is still hard, but he is learning how to do hard things. Last Tuesday when we were getting ready to leave for chemo, I was zipping up Jeremy's coat and I noticed tears running down his cheeks. I said "What is wrong? Do you not want to go to the hospital?" He nodded his head. I hugged him and told him that it will be o.k., that I would be with him the whole time and we would read stories and play games together. I reminded him how important it is to keep doing the chemo so that he can get better. He wiped his tears with the back of his hand and meekly walked to the car to get in.