Hold up!

That's what he said...Dr. Stoffman, that is. He took one look at the results of Hayden's blood test and put a stop order on his chemo. The good news is that he gets a brief reprieve from the pills that must be taken on an empty stomach (not easy these days). That bad news is that he's, once again, neutropenic (low neutrophil count = compromised immune system). I'd like to say that he gets a reprieve from all pills but he started his 5-day stretch of steroids today. With that comes increased appetite and mood swings. Funny thing though, his appetite didn't go back to normal after last month's 5-day stretch so this should be interesting. As Tom says, 'He's got some butter on him.'

Not a great week for academics either. Hayden missed school on Monday because he wasn't feeling well. He had a clinic appointment this morning and a field trip this afternoon. Then, on Thursday, he'll likely miss some school to shoot a fund-raising video for the Rainbow Society (tried to plan it during lunch...we'll see). We're also helping out with the Children's Hospital radiothon. Lots going on...

Hayden's enjoying his skating lessons and still pumped to play hockey this Fall. He's never had a stick on the ice though, so we enrolled him in a summer hockey camp. Plus, he's still doing tae-kwon-do twice a week. All in all, things are good. Even though we are having troubles dialing-in his chemo doses, we are very grateful to have an active, happy kid.