Nick had the week of February 20th off and as usual did well. He is starting to cherish those weeks off. No chemo means he feels good and can get stronger. The hard part is going back. The weekend before he went back to start his new phase we had a little party with some dear friends. It was a lip sync party and it was a blast. Special thanks to our dear friends for participating and coming together on some short notice to make it a special evening for Nick. Nick even participated with a number. It was awesome! He also managed to finish his huge Boba Fett Lego Ship.
Nick started his next phase of chemo on Monday Feb. 27th. This phase is a repeat of his first and second month of chemo treatments. The chemo is the same with the exception of the alternative chemo for PEG (the chemo he had the allergic reaction to). For the week of the 27th and the week of March 6th we had the pleasure of going to the hospital for clinic 3 days a week! UGH! He had 2 types of chemo on Monday and then started his Erwinia shots (PEG substitute) on Wednesday. The Erwinia shots are not fun, last time he had them he got so violently sick the following day but he did much better on them this time around. Unlike all his other chemo that is administered through an IV into his port the Erwinia shots are a shot in each thigh. His thighs are usually pretty sore by the 6th day of them. He did very well on them this time, he didn't feel great but did better. The beginning of this treatment also had him go back on a steroid regime, its a week on and then a week off then one more week one. The first week he was on them his appetite improved immensely. He ate a Firehouse Sub for 5 days in a row, he had to call his grandparents on day 4 as we said "no more subs". He gained some weight that week and proceeded to lose it the next week when he couldn't sleep for 5 days in a row. He was extra nauseous from being so tired which led to some problems eating. He ended up losing the weight he gained the week before but we think we are headed in the right direction.
He was having issues with his feeding tube this past Saturday - it was moving around in his throat and making him nauseous so we decided to pull it out and see how he does. So far he has been eating like a champ! We are hopeful that he will continue to maintain his weight so he can keep the tube out. He had set a goal to have it out by the beginning of May for his cousins wedding and I think he is right on track for that.
He gets a cute video from his Sunday School class almost every week and this week he finally sent one back. It was a win - he has been a little on the shy side, not happy with how he looks etc. I was pretty happy he wanted to do it! Alex made the Taylorsville High Soccer team again and picked number 18 as his number. That is Nick's number, it is super sweet that he did that in honor of Nick. Alex really has been great with Nick and I am really proud of him!
We see this wonderful quote every week at clinic. Nick and I love it!
Again, I can't tell you how extremely grateful we are for everyone's love, support and prayers. Keep praying Nick keeps getting stronger and keeps "Giving Cancer the Boot"!
