Winner!

Hayden got a little spending $ for his big trip - he won $97 at a Grey Cup party! After busting me on a swear, he turned around and 'invested' the payment in a ticket. Nice...VLTs are next.

This weekend went a little smoother than last - we were at ER last Saturday a.m. with a hot Hayden. We thought the fever might be a reaction to the H1N1 booster that he got the day before, but that's not a typical side-effect so we had to take him in. They prescribed the tamiflu anti-virus as a precaution, which he took for 5 days...and hated! The irony of the whole thing is that Friday was the first time since Hayden's been sick that he had a sleepover. It was a big step...not for him, for me. Anyway, the fever subsided, he's feeling fine, and he will never leave his mama again. Kidding! Just kidding...sheesh.

Moving on...Hayden's big return to tae-kwon-do didn't happen. He is just not comfortable re- joining his class...even though he is now able to keep up better than ever. I suspect though that 'keeping up' is not what he wants to do. But he did have a good first class at archery this weekend so he's getting back into the swing of things in some areas.

And finally, you didn't think I would end this post without mentioning neutrophils, did you? Well, they're high. That's right...around 3 when we took him to the hospital. So not sure if Dr. Stoffman will nudge up his chemo doses but we'll find out on Tuesday. Then, on Wednesday, Hayden has his monthly lumbar puncture. His response today when he found out he's going this week: Yay!

Go figure...

In training

Hayden is doing all that he can to prepare to take on Darth Vader in Florida. He practiced his lightsaber moves outside last weekend and on the previous Wednesday during the Remembrance Day off from school - probably put in 45 minutes at a time. Plus he's back at the gym. He's in private lessons right now to catch up with the rest of his tae kwon do class, which he'll likely rejoin next week. Yes, he's feeling good...probably due in no small part to normal blood counts.

Today's blood test put Hayden's neutrophil count at 1.88 - woo hoo! So we're inching up one of his chemo meds (mercaptopurine), from 50% to 75%. It's the other chemo med (methotrexate) that drops his counts so hopefully this increase won't be a problem. Hayden returns to the CancerCare clinic on Friday for his second H1N1 shot...then we'll all be fully vaccinated up.

For those who are keeping track, we are approaching the 1-year mark in our battle against cancer. We took H to the doctor on Monday, November 17. Technically, the 18th is the day Hayden was diagnosed because it's when his blood work was done (coincidentally by the son of a family friend), but we got the call to come in on November 19th. We're unsure about how to celebrate this milestone...or if we should. Part of me thinks 'hell ya!' because we have come so far and are currently in a good place. The other part is...shall we say...cautiously optimistic. In the end, I think it's more important to celebrate moments. For example, I almost tear up when I see him bounce down the driveway toward the bus stop because I remember the months when it was a real struggle for him. I worried every morning about what the day might hold for him at school. And those were the good times when he was well enough to climb the school bus stairs.

There are daily reminders of little victories...I celebrate them often.

Pictures...finally!

Here's Hayden when he was Captain Kid at the Bomber game in September.
With Buzz and Boomer


Waiting to go on...




On the trampouline...


BumbleBee at the CancerCare Halloween party...


With his new DSi...

And back down we go

Are you as tired of reading about neutrophils as I am of writing about them? Sheesh...

Today's blood test put Hayden's ANC at .6 - yup, back down below the neutropenia clounds again. But today we started another 5-day pulse of steroids (prednasone) so that will likely push his counts back up. He also got vincristine at the clinic via his Iron Man port so the laxatives enter back into the picture for a bit. Add nightly doses of chemo (methotrexate and mercaptopurine) and the kid is a pill-gobbling machine. On weekends we add septra!

Hayden's at 50% chemo now and we'll try that for a bit. We'll get a brief reprieve from the clinic - no appointments next week (yay!). We were there twice last week but the Friday visit was to attend the Halloween party - it was great. Add that huge bag of candy to the loot he collected on Saturday, and he's got more than he can consume in a year.

I'll once again end this post with a promise to post some pics...are you as tired of hearing that promise as I am of making it? Probably not...I've got way more over-promises in me...hehehehe

PS: Tom and Hayden got their flu shots in before the well ran dry. I, on the other hand, did not....yet.

PPS: The 1-year anniversary looms near...can't stop thinking about it. A freakin'year! Ugh.