Pray for Tommy!

Our little Tommy was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia on tuesday December 16, 2008. He is quite a fighter, and we know he will overcome this obstacle. He was sick on and off with croup for about 3 months, it just never quite went away. He would complain a lot about his legs hurting, which a lot of little kids complain of having "owees" a lot. We thought it was just growing pains, or maybe calcium deficiency. Then he was looking more and more pale, and the day before I brought him to the pediatrician we found random bruising on his body. So I took him to my wonderful pediatrician Dr. Strong, and we went to get his blook tested, later that day we were admitted to Primary Children's Medical Center and diagnosed with Cancer.
Tommy is seriously amazing, he is my HERO! I can't imagine being 4 years old and taking on something as HUGE as this, he has quite the battle ahead of him but we know he can do it! He was so excited to go to the hospital, he couldn't wait to sleep there and have parties, he said. I think he may have misunderstood what it's all about up at the hospital, but that's alright we talked about all the fun things we would do at the hospital all the way there. He has been a trooper the whole time, and has been the nurses favorite patient because he's a little charmer.
So he had his central line put in 2 days ago and that is how he will recieve all of his meds, his Chemo, pain meds, they will draw blood through there too. It is a port that runs from his chest to his superior vena cava of his heart, so everything flows right into the bloodstream. The same surgery he had his first of many, unfortunately, lumbar puncures to check for leukemia in the spinal fluid. That came back negative, which is a hige blessing, otherwise they have to treat that another way too, and it is a lot worse. He also had a bone marrow biopsy to see how much the leukemia has spread. So he has been very sore from all of that.
Today he started his first treatment of Chemotherapy. The first month is supposed to be very intense for these little ones, they want to have him into remission after the first 29 days, if not before. Then he continues on with the treatments for 3 1/2 years. They have found that that is how long it takes to completely kill the leukemia in boys. So we are in this for the long hall, but I know that the Lord will and is blessing us. I wouldn't be able to go a day through this without the love of our savior Jesus Christ, that is my rock. I have great faith that the Lord will watch over Tommy and will make him well. For some reason Tommy needs this trial in his life, it is very hard to understand now with him being only 4, but someday we will understand and it will be worth it.
It breaks my heart to watch him go through this and there is absolutely nothing I can do but watch. If I could take this disease from him I would in a heartbeat! He is such a special boy. He has been in severe leg pain the past few days because the bone marrow is swelling with the leaukemia cells multiplying and that pushes against his bones. For the past few days he has pretty much been confined to his bed because it hurts to bad to move or stand. For my crazy, roudy 4 year old, it is heartbreaking to watch him like this. We have done a lot of puzzles, coloring, watched lots of movies, read lots of books, and played LOTS of lego star wars. Tom and I are gonna be pretty good at that game, I think.
Tomorrow is another day, I hope it is better than today. Today was really hard on him, I think he is starting to get a little down. He has had a lot of visitors from our family and lots of freinds. We are so grateful for all the visits, it brightens up his day. Please if you do come, especially if you are bringing your kids, everyone needs to be 100% healthy! Tommy's immune system is way down and with the Chemo will only get weaker in days and weeks to come, so please wait until everyone is totally healthy to visit. Trust me there will be plenty of time for visits!
Thank you all for your calls, we have had an overwhelming amount of Love and support, We appreciate it more than we can express. Thank you for you gifts, they are so thoughtful and Tommy is enjoying them he thinks it's already Christmas. Thank you for your prayers, there is nothing more important right now than prayer, it is ultimately what is going to get us through this battle. We love you and hope to see you all healthy soon!
Check back soon!