Moving onto Phase 3...

Tommy is now past the first two phases of his treatment, only like 2 3/4 years left...Whoo Whoo! We have had a great week, Tommy has been feeling really well. I wish we could have stayed in phase 2 for the rest of the time. Those chemo pills he was taking really weren't bothering him. His counts didn't drop as low as they had anticipated, and he wasn't sick from them either. He was able to go to school quite a bit, and loved every time he could go. He is back to his normal loud, crazy, mischievious self. Yesterday, he even caused some problems at preschool! As I was picking up he and his little buddy from school, all the kids were outside waiting and the fire alarm was going off...yes it was Tommy! That was the first thing I thought of when I picked him up. He got in the car and his friend told me Tommy pulled the fire alarm, but his teacher told me he didn't. I think she wanted to protect him. Tommy was upset, and said he didn't. Later that night we got a call from sweet Miss Marilyn, the owner of the school. She told me what happened and that Tommy and his little friend were daring eachother to pull it, and they did! I told Tom what happened, he had to hide his laughter because he did the same thing when he was in first grade! So like father-like son, I guess. Little Stinker! So we told her we would have him come in to appologize, and he did today. He has to earn $5 to pay for the damages. It's hard not to laugh! I think he is feeling a little TOO good right now...

We got a week off from the clinic, and Tommy didn't know what to do with himself. I guess it threw him off schedule, every day he asked if we were going to the clinic. He wakes me up early a couple days to see if we were going, excited I guess, go figure. Finally for him it was thursday again, and yes we "got " to go. I think he likes the one on one with mom and dad, and he likes Dr. Barnette. He kinda flirts with the nurses so maybe he likes them too, not to mention he gets to play his DS for 2 hours, that could be the whole reason right there!

When they went to access his port the day before to get his blood work, the home health nurse had to poke him like 4 or 5 times to try to get it in. I think Zac may have moved the port a little when he kicked Tommy in the chest. So now it's a little harder to access, and it causes Tommy a little more anxiety, but he did great! His counts were way back up to 4000, so this week we need to go somewhere fun before they drop again. The next phase lasts 2 months, and it'll be a tough one. we go up every 10 days for this phase, so we get a couple more days off-yeah!! They will give him two types of chemo every time, a vincristine, the same chemo he has had a ll along, and the methotrexate which he usually gets in his spinal fluid for the back pokes. The methotrexate causes him mouth sores and makes him sick, so that is something to look forward to. We're going to have to get some of that "magic mouthwash" everyone's talking about, Fun! So every 10 days they will increase the doseage of chemo they give him, so he will progressively get worse over the next couple months. He has been a trooper, and we are so proud of the way he is handling everything! We love you Tommy! Thank you all for your continued prayers and support.

Two month Anniversary!

Well today is Tommy's 2 month anniversary from the day he was diagnosed with Leukemia. It really is amazing what this little 4 year old has had to endure in just 2 short months, and how much more he will have to endure, unfortunately! It sure seems like it's been 4 times as long as it has been, but we are grateful that we are past these first 2 months. We are so grateful that in just 2 months he has reached remission, that these doctors have helped his body recover to this point. I am so grateful for the research that has been done for cancer, and how far they have come with the knowledge of fighting Leukemia. I had an uncle who had the same type of Leukemia that Tommy has about 40 years ago, and unfortunately he passed from the disease. Back then there wasn't a regimen like there is now, they didn't have a good cure rate, and they didn't have the knowledge they do today. I am so extremely grateful to the wonderful doctors and nurses who are taking care of my little boy so that some day he will be just like the other boys again.
This last couple weeks have been wonderful! Tommy has gone to school a few times, and has been able to go to his friends houses to play too. He has been acting a lot more like the old Tommy, both good and bad. He has been running and playing, and hasn't complained too much of pain or sickness. I thank my heavenly father for giving him this opportunity to feel so well before we undergo a few rough months ahead, and of course for my sanity too! His counts are lower than they have been this whole month, so we are going to have to keep him home this week and hope that we can keep him healthy. My other kids have been sick with the flu, with high fevers, so I am praying that Tommy won't get it. If he does get a fever of 100.3 or higher that lasts an hour, we have to take him to the hospital. If his counts (his ANC) are higher than 500, they will give him an antibiotic and make sure he's alright, then send him home. If they are lower than 500, he has to be admitted to the hospital until they can get him feeling better. So this causes a little anxiety, I find myself going in his room a few times at night checking his temperature, I am a little peranoid of the whole fever thing.
Overall, he is doing well right now. The next 2 phases are going to be pretty tough on his little body, so we will try to enjoy the rest of this one. If his counts are below 750 at the end of this month however, he can't move on to the next phase until they are 750 or higher. I hope we can finish off this month strong! Luckily Spring isn't too far away so we can kick these sicknesses, and things should get a lot better.
Thank you for your continued support and prayers, you are all pulling us through this tough time!

Tommy's Make a Wish Evening!

A few weeks ago Tommy recieved a package in the mail, in it was a cute little castle, and it had a special note inside that read... "It is our deepest honor to invite you and your family to come visit A WISHING PLACE for the special occasion of making your wish. Please bring this key with you when you come, for it alone will open the WISHING ROOM at the top of the WISHING TOWER. We eagerly await your presence." So Tommy was thrilled about this key that was going to open a secret room, he carried it everywhere with him. So the other night we were lucky enough to go to the Make A Wish building for a special night just for Tommy. When we got there, there was a big star sign that said that said "Welcome to a Wishing Place Tommy"
Tommy couldn't be happier! They brought us inside, they showed us their star ceiling. It is where they hang these beautiful metal stars, and each one represents a wish that has been granted to a child who is fighting a life threatening disease. There were hundreds of stars.
We went upstairs to make Tommy's wish. Tommy sat down and was being as silly as ever. They asked him what his wish was, and he said "Disneyland", and wanted to meet Indiana Jones. They suggested Disney World, and that sounded awesome to Tommy. They told him they have a special hotel called Give Kids the World that only kids with life threatening illnesses can stay at, and they give you front of the line passes for the parks. That sounded pretty good to Tommy, so we wrote down his 1st wish to be "To go to Disneyworld", and if they can't grant that because the docotrs think he isn't well enough to go or something should happen, they have him make a 2nd wish. His 2nd wish was to meet Indiana Jones, I don't blame him really. Then they roll up the
wish and put it into the golden tube that seals up safely so only the "wish wizard" can read it. We all made a wish for Tommy too. He was absolutely dying to use his key to open the secret door, he was trying it everywhere he could. He found the "Wishing Room" door and unlocked the room with his special key. The room was pretty amazing, it was round and it had a waterfall in the middle. The floor had these see-through tiles that Tommy had to follow, they lit up around the room to the wishing spot. It looked like a big golden cone. There we all read our wishes to Tommy, it was pretty emotional. Of course Tom and I wished that he could be able to be a normal kid again soon, to play with his friends, to be able to go to Kindergarten next year, and to be able to play soccer with his buddies. Then he put his wish inside the wishing spot and sent it to the wishing wizard to grant it soon. So as soon as the doctor says he is healthy enough to go, and it's a good time in our treatment to leave, we are on our way to DISNEYWORLD!!!

Afterwards we went downstairs and they gave us Root Beer Floats! I am so grateful that these wonderful people have created and donated to this foundation. I know when we are able to we will contribute to the Make a Wish Foundation for the rest of our lives. These little kids deserve these wishes SO MUCH for all they are put through, and to make them feel like a kid again for a short period of time. We are really looking forward to taking Tommy and the kids on our vacation, I can't wait to see how happy he will be. It was hard going home after because he thought we were going to disneyworld right then. He started to cry when I told him we had to go home. We told him that after the doctor says he's healthy enough to go, we can go. Then Tommy says,"I am healthy, I'm not even coughing and my cancer is out of my body too!" It just broke our hearts. If we could we would take him all over the world to make him happy.
He still has his key and is so excited that we get to go back when they grant his wish!