12-2-16

Our switching from Mom to Dad at the hospital with Drew went well, I think both Drew and Molly were excited for the change in parent! Drew continues to do better than last round. Still getting sick from the chemo, but not coughing as much, or running as high of fevers. He threw up his oral dose of chemo today, so they are working on getting another dose now, which is causing a dely in the day. Hopefully the infusion can still be completed early enough tomorrow and Drew is good enough to come home. Please pray that is the case!

The tests are scheduled now for December 12th to see if this trial is working. He'll have a bone marrow biopsy, blood and urine tests, and a CT scan. Please join us in praying that we hear positive news from those test that day!!

Today marks Drew's 150th day in the hospital this year. 150 days that Josh or I (or some wonderful family memebers) have slept beside Drew on a cot, living out of a suitcase, eating out of the hospital fridge or cafeteria, watching neighbors come and go, and seeing familiar faces in the nurses, doctors, child life people, and even the housekeepers. Those early days when Molly dubbed it "Drew's apppartment" have been proven so true; it really has become almost our second home. Thinking back over those days I can recall such painful memories that bring tears to my eyes: the tests at the beginning that seemed to bring us nothing but bad news, our first infection, the bowel obstruction, the stem cell collection week, C Diff, Surgery Day, and the days when other's losses broke our hearts.

But I can't forget all the good days. Him and that cute little walker, the week his smile and sparkle really came back after we started treatment, the dog visits, Drew's walking taco birthday party, transplant days, and just spending time together on visits from Molly and whoever was at home. Its hard to believe that its been almost half the year! I catch myslef lately wondering how we're going to keep going, whichever way this goes. But I guess if someone had told me a year ago what we were about to face, I know I would have wondered how we would do it then too, and here we are. I just need to stay focussed on the tasks at hand, keep chosing to be joyful, and looking for things to be grateful for. And of course, relying on the One who really desereves all the credit for getting us this far. Without God and your prayers, our 150 days would not have gone as well as they have!

Pictures to commemorate the day, and some from the week. He got into having a food try, but the second day they wouldn't bring hin pickles (I guess they are a choking hazard to 2 year olds?), but our nurse that night went and got him some personally. These are the acts of kindness and love from others that have gotten us through all these days!

~Heidi