ba-bye cancer cells

Last night when I was tucking Ethan into bed we got to talking about today's plan at the hospital - getting the sleepy medicine and chemo and having to keep his "tubie" in when we go home so I can give him his chemo the rest of this week. As a typical 4 year old - he was curious to know if I've had sleepy medicine before. Yes, I told him. And a tubie? Yep, I've had one in my arm, buddy. And mommy, you've had chemo too?

Oh.

You see, we've had the sleepy medicine and tubie conversation lots of times before on our journey here, but Ethan's never asked me if I've had chemo before. So, it caused me to pause -- oh the heartache for my boy who's had to endure so much; at the age of 4 having to battle cancer and endure this chemotherapy.

And yet it was a great question and we had a short conversation about why chemo is important and that not everyone gets cancer but when you do, chemo is a good medicine to help get rid of all the yucky cancer cells. In Ethan's words - chemo says ba-bye cancer cells!

Ba-bye cancer cells indeed. My 4 year old reminding me why this chemo is important. We're in the thick of this rough chemo phase and the days are long, with a lot of ups and downs, and side effects. I ran into another mom at the hospital last week whose child is in the same phase as Ethan and she was like "Is delayed intensification kicking your butt or what?" YES! Holy cow it is! Ethan's team prepared us for this and it's proven to be true. Things aren't quite as intense as the first few months of treatment but pretty close. And it makes sense - the chemo drugs he's receiving this round are heavy-hitting and meant to get rid of any lingering hidden cancer cells. In summary: it's rough.

Today we start another 4 day round of IV chemo. We are heading to the clinic shortly for chemo and for his sedation for intrathecal chemo. We've also got about another week left of his oral chemo that he's been taking at home. Ethan will also be getting labs checked a little more often over the next week, because the chemo he's getting can impact his blood counts and possibly require blood or platelet transfusions.

So, as you've done so faithfully thus far, please pray for our boy. Please pray for his spirit - that his joy would remain. Please pray for comfort from the effects of chemo and all of this. Pray for us as caregivers - for patience and endurance. Pray for Eloise and her sweet spirit.

Thank you for lifting us up, faithful army. We are so grateful for you!