Nick's Last Inpatient Chemo- YAY!

Nick checked in to Primary Children's last Monday February 6th for his last Inpatient Chemo. We started the day by checking in at admission then going up to the fourth floor cancer unit for his port to be reaccessed before going to his room in the third floor overflow (he was one of two patients on in that pod for the majority of the four days there). The Chemo this time around made him nauseous almost immediately which is never great, but he hung in there like a trooper. The chemo ran from Monday afternoon to Tuesday afternoon. Then we wait it out to clear his bloodstream. The last couple Inpatient Chemo have been really hard on Nick emotionally. He strongly dislikes having to stay at the hospital for the chemo and between the sleep deprivation and feeling crummy he was struggling. We took Alex up on Tuesday night and went down to the Kid Zone for some video gaming. It is always good to get him out of his room, and it was nice for him to see Alex. He really misses Alex, Kate and the dog when he isn't home. He was able to clear the chemo well again and was released from the hospital on Thursday night.

We are all very happy to have that phase of chemo behind us and Nick is happy to go back to clinic for chemo from here on out. He has this week and next off before starting his next phase of chemo on Feb. 27th. The next phase runs approximately 60 days and consists of an array of chemotherapies he has already had. After this phase is one more that is approximately 60 days as well. That means we are a little past half way through his intense therapy. Once he completes those phases he will be in Maintanence and go monthly for chemo and continue an oral chemo at home daily for the course of 2 more years. Although we have a long road ahead we are lookin forward to Maintenance and for Nick to be able to go back to school, friends, soccer and all the other things he loves.

Nick got some good news last week while inpatient. His fungal infection marker dropped to 91 from the previous mark in the 200's. The best part about that is that he was allowed to be taken off his IV fungal medication which means... He doesn't have to be accessed all the time! YAY! This means the cute boy can get real hugs, shower without an aqua guard covering most his chest, sleep in whatever position he wants and move more freely. When his port is accessed ( which has primarily been 24/7 since it was placed in October) he had a 3/4 inch needle sticking out of his chest. Not having it accessed all the time is allowing him to feel more normal and be more comfortable. We are working on improving his quality of life - YES!

We are grateful for everyone's love, support and prayers. Keep praying our boy keeps getting stronger and keeps "Giving Cancer the Boot"!