Always Something

Chemo stinks. Cancer stinks. The effects of both really stink. When Joshua was first diagnosed, Jeff and I were given a list of the drugs our child would encounter. Listed along with the names were the side effects. We were told to become familiar with them and then forget most of them. The side effects are awful. They include, hair loss, vomiting, mouth sores, infections and much more. Some of the drugs even list "a new form of cancer" as a side effect. Great. What the papers don't say are the side effects of having three years worth of chemo/antibiotics/drugs can be. They take a huge toll on the body. One thing is that these drugs can effect the kidneys and bladder. Especially the chemo that Joshua got admitted for yesterday. So, when his creatinine levels were elevated yesterday, we had to be admitted for hydration to see if they would come down before we could administer the chemo. The doctors decided to hydrate until midnight and then if the levels were down, we'd go ahead with the chemo. If not, we were looking at a catheter and 24 hour urine analysis. Fun times. So, after a ton of fluids as well as multiple diaper changes, I'm happy to say that the levels went down enough that the doctors felt we could go ahead. Thank goodness. I may have yet a few more gray hairs but we are back on track and the "yellow crap" is now being pumped in. We should be able to get out of here by sometime on Friday.

I also wanted to share our exciting news with you all. This past weekend, we got our confirmed dates for Joshua's Make-A-Wish trip to Disney! We will be traveling to the sunshine state at the beginning of October. We are scheduled for Oct. 10-17th and I don't know who is more excited, the kids or Jeff and I. Be advised that I will be posting more about our excitement as well as the details as the trip gets closer. Just start praying now for "healthy" kids and sunny weather!