happy times at the hospital and chemo tomorrow

Today was a great day. First of all, we were IV fluids FREE, which meant no IV cart/pole thing being attached to Ethan at all times. It was awesome. I felt like I could have danced down the halls. We had a very low key day just hanging out in the playroom a couple of times and taking a few walks to the Ronald McDonald House/Room. Ethan even got to play fetch with a dog that they brought in to the playroom and rode toy tractor and fire truck cars around our floor.

See? He's free! First time in 10 days he hasn't been attached to a cart! :)

And don't mind the cheeto chin here - we enjoyed a midday snack in the Ronald McDonald Room, and Ethan talked up a storm about all of the people we know who love cheetos. (His poor bruise looks nasty but just looks worse because his blood counts are low.)

And while today was a busy day filled with fun things ---  tomorrow is a busy day filled with not-so-fun things. Ethan will be sedated for 2 procedures tomorrow morning at 10am - another bone marrow biopsy to see where things are at, and a spinal tap to inject chemo into his spine. He will also receive 2 other chemo drugs sometime tomorrow via IV.

Last week's sedation was extremely risky, as you may recall, with life threatening complications a possibility because of the location of the mass on his chest. Because of this I have been asking every single person that walks in our room - nurse, doctor, whoever - if the risk level remains the same and everyone has assured me that there is a greater comfort level this time because they 1. know that he handled the sedation well last week without complication and 2. the mass has most likely already shrunk in size because of his week of treatment. This is comforting to hear, but it still is nerve wracking for us.

With that said - tomorrow (or whenever you read this!) will you please pray that:

-Ethan does well during the sedation process and that there are no complications
-Ethan's recovery from sedation also goes smoothly. The medication they use has side effects of agitation and bad dreams/hallucinations through the first day or 2 post sedation.
-Ethan's blood counts would start to recover and that his bone marrow would continue making new, healthy cells. He is currently at a high risk of infection because his blood counts are low and we will be in the hospital until his counts get to a more healthy level that shows the doctors that his body is able to fight off infections. In essence, please pray for healing for my boy's body.

Ethan's procedure starts at approximately 10am tomorrow morning and should last about an hour. Thank you all so very much for your continued prayers and support!