Make A Wish!

Last week was an emotional week for me. Jeremy was doing great, the best he has done since he was diagnosed. I was falling apart. I was constantly on the verge of tears. I have been so focused on caring for Jeremy and "keeping it together", that I have not had time or energy to deal with my emotions. While he was doing well, all my buried emotions surfaced. A friend told me that I needed to complete the grieving process and I needed to cry and let it all out. I had a week of healthy crying and feel much better! I want to thank those whose shoulders I cried on. It is great to have such wonderful support!

While Jeremy was waiting for chemo, he had the opportunity to paint a ceiling tile for one of the operating rooms. He painted a picture of "Mom" fishing. Which is funny, since I don't fish! He started out painting a picture of ice fishing with green snow. He changed his mind and said it is now "regular" fishing with a sun. It is a great representation of our Spring weather! 

Monday night Jeremy and I were reading bedtime stories. When I said "Good night", he clung to me and hugged me real tight. I asked him what was wrong. When he did not answer, I asked him if it was because he had to stay over night at the hospital for chemo. He nodded his head yes. Jeremy will talk with me about how he is feeling and although he does not like chemo or staying at the hospital overnight, he cooperates, is patient, and meekly bears it. He knows that he has to do it to cure the cancer. I understand how he feels. It is getting more difficult each time. We really had a hard time managing his nausea last night. He was on four different nausea medication and he was still throwing up or dry heaving all night and morning. He also had his usual low grade fever (he has one almost every VAC chemo). Even though he is so sick we still have to wake him up every two hours to go to the bathroom (because of the toxicity of the Cytoxan, he is pumped with IV fluids to flush the chemo out of his bladder). Through it all he does not complain. My mom stopped by after work and we played games with Jeremy while his chemo drugs were being administered through his IV. He was laughing and having so much fun "winning" us at the matching game. I had the pink basin close by waiting for the inevitable. Sure enough, after the Cytoxan was administered Jeremy went from laughing and playing to sick and throwing up. My mom said that she cried all the way home and could not stop thinking about Jeremy and what he has to endure. 

Dr. Spraker told us that Jeremy's cancer qualifies for Make A Wish. The hospital notified Make A Wish about Jeremy.  A few weeks ago Jeremy received a special package in the mail. It was an invitation for Jeremy to come to the Wishing Castle and make a wish, with the invitation was a key. He was instructed to bring the key to unlock the door to the special wishing place. Last Saturday we went to the Make A Wish Castle for Jeremy to request his wish.

When we arrived, there was a special sign that read "Welcome to a Wishing Place Jeremy! He was so excited to see his name on the sign! Jeremy is holding up his special key. 

Playing a "getting to know you" game.

Jeremy's key opened up the door to the Wishing Place.

Jeremy submitting his wish. He was instructed to make a wish #1 and a wish #2. His first wish is to fly in an airplane and meet Mickey Mouse in Disney World. His second wish is a remote control car. He did get a remote control car for Christmas....so the family is  hoping for the 1st wish!

Jeremy placing his wish on top of the cone, making his wish official.  Now we wait two to three weeks to see if Jeremy's wish has been granted. 

Our family's wish for Jeremy is for him to be cancer free by his 6th birthday! 

Trip to Moab

Chemo went well this week. Jeremy is doing well. His blood count is good. The physical therapist examined him while at clinic. He is making progress. We have exercises that we do with him at home and he is gaining strength in his left shoulder. The physical therapist gave us some exercises to do at home to help strengthen his legs and improve the foot drop. She will check his progress on Tuesday, before chemo.

We had a fun time in Moab. It is so pretty there, well worth the long drive! There was a school play ground by the finish line. The kids were able to play while we watched for Mike finish the half marathon. It was a short trip, but a nice break. The kids also enjoyed swimming at the hotel. We wanted to go hiking, but the weather turned into rain, cold, and wind. We picked up Megan from BYU on the way and dropped her off on the way back. It was nice that she was able to come with us. When Jeremy was tired, we took turns carrying him. He slept most of the ride back home. He was exhausted, but happy.

Week 23 of Chemo

Jeremy recovered rather quickly from his VAC chemo last week. He had a difficult time the first night, but by Thursday he was running around playing. We are so pleased with how well Jeremy has been doing! We wonder if the sunshine and warmer temperatures are responsible for his quick recovery, burst of energy, and improved appetite.  

Although Jeremy is spending more time outside and is doing more, he still tires easily and needs plenty of rest. After riding his bike on Monday, he fell asleep on the floor, exhausted!

We are also discovering some new challenges with the warmer weather. After Jeremy's long nap on Monday, he wanted to go back outside to play. While running he tripped and fell on the pavement. He trips when he runs, a common and reversible nerve side effect from the Vincristine. In Clinic yesterday, they tested Jeremy's reflexes and coordination. When the doctor tapped Jeremy's knees with the rubber mallet, his  legs did not react and kick. This should be temporary and his reflexes should return after he completes chemo. Jeremy will be doing some physical therapy to help with this problem. He also is doing some physical therapy for his left shoulder. It droops, a side effect from when the radiation hit one of  the cranial nerves (located in the brain). This nerve effects the function of the trapezoid muscle along the neck and down to the shoulder. 

We also talked with Dr. Spraker about going down to Moab this weekend. Mike is running the Moab Half Marathon and we thought this would be a fun family trip. Dr. Spaker informed us that her and her husband are also running the Moab Half. She gave us approval along with advice and instructions. We are praying for  no fevers, infections, or injuries, good blood count, and plenty of sunshine. I told Jeremy that we need to be extra careful not to get sunburned. His medication makes him sun sensitive and being bald does not help!