"We will ROCK you Cancer!"

This is Tommy's Newest saying, "We will rock you cancer!" since his favorite song is, "We will Rock you".
So today Tommy was given his last dose of Methotrexate chemo, it was 300ml (per whatever). That is the highest dose they give to these kids, and they never had to back off. Usually they will have to hold off giving the chemo due to low blood counts. He has been so strong through the past few months, we are SO PROUD of him! He has SURVIVOR written all over him. He will be off for two whole weeks, hopefully, as long as his fevers stay away. I think it's time for VACATION, I wish! Dr. Barnette is so proud of him too, they say he is beating the odds.
I thank you all for your constant prayers for my little boy. Prayers are what is making him strong and getting him through all of this. I have developed a huge testimony of faith through this experience. I thank my wonderful parents for serving a mission way over in Thailand, I know they are praying hard for our little Tommy and their prayers are being answered because of their sacrifice in serving the Lord. I have to thank my AMAZING sisters (Holly, Wend, and Steph) and my husband's wonderful parents, you are ALL life-savers! I haven't even had to ask for help, they have been there all along offering, and forcing me to let them help. I love you sissies. Thank you all for your constant thoughts and continued generosity. Thank you all for sacrificing your time to help our family out, be it watching our kids while we go to the hospital, or plowing our driveway, meals, your notes of upliftment (those have helped SO much), and just your friendship. It means the world to us, thank you ALL! We love you and hope someday we will be able to return the favor, but hopefully in a better situation.
I know we are only a few months into this thing, but I feel so strongly that he will continue to do well, and beat this cancer! I'm sure there will be bumps anlong the road, but if we can make it into "maintenance" I think things will be much easier. So in two weeks, we will go back, have another back-poke and if his ANC is above 750 he will move onto what is called "Delayed Intesification". This is supposed to be the hardest of all the phases in this treatment. He will get like 5 new drugs, plus he goes back on steroids for a couple weeks, hence the "intensification". We are really looking forward to the "Roid Rage" again, hopefully the side effects won't be quite as bad, Tommy has finally lost his 12 pounds from the last round of steroids. This phase will last another 2 months, then off to "Maintenance"!!! I can't believe we are almost there. The Maintenance phase is where everyone aspires to be until they are through with treatment. He will be in maintenance for the remaining 3 years, which means then we only go to the clinic once a month, instead of weekly. Life is "supposed" to (huh Heidi?) get a lot easier, with Tommy feeling better, looking better, his blood counts should go up, and he will be able to go back to a more-normal 5 year old kids life. We found out today that he will be able to play soccer in the fall, Tommy was so worried he wouldn't be able to. Of course depending on his counts, how long will we be saying that? Anyway, that is the latest. Hopefully the news will continue to be good news. I appreciate you all caring so much about our little guy. Pretty soon you will see him running around with the rest of the boys, if this weather would ever warm-up huh? GOOD LUCK TOMMY!!!! We are all cheerin' for you! "We will rock you Cancer!"
One more thought, I have started a team for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society fundraiser, it's "Team Tommy". If you would like to join our "Light the Night Walk" to raise money for this cause, here is our team web-page. www./pages.lightthenight.org/ut/saltlake09/hhasleton It will be October 3, 2009 . It is the nation's night to pay tribute and bring hope to thousands of people battling blood cancers and to commemorate loved ones lost. I think it will be a lot of fun, and definately for a GREAT cause. If you are unable to attend, there is a way to donate to the Leukemia Society on there also. None of the money will go to us, it will all be donated to the Lekemia and Lymphoma Society. Let me know if you are able to join us.