Day 96 - 3 out of 5 sessions complete

     Today Evan completed session 3 of 5 for this round of chemotherapy.  I took Evan to get blood work done Saturday morning and we received a call from one of the CHoA nurses yesterday that his blood counts were low.  So low in fact that there was talk of postponing today's session.  Upon arriving to the hospital this morning the medical team drew more blood and we anxiously awaited the results.  This morning's draw looked really good so it would seem Evan hit a natural lull this weekend due to the previous chemo session.

Latest blood results from 9/20/2016.

     The Oncology team felt comfortable continuing to increase the dosage amounts of both the Methotrexate and Vincristine.  Cristy and I will need to be extremely vigilant in protecting Evan from outside bacteria since it would appear the drugs are weakening his immune system as intended.  I was very pleased with the blood results from this morning.  All relevant counts looked very strong.  These would include WBC, ANC, Hemoglobin and Platelets.  On a negative note Evan's weight dropped to 18.7 kg.  This means we'll need to put more effort into high calorie meals again.

Evan's hair is filling back in.

     Evan's physical therapy is going well.  He's gaining more and more confidence each day and this allows us to expand the types of exercises to stimulate him with.  Bearing weight isn't such a chore and he's even enjoying the physical activity.  Cristy and I wonder if this increased mobility is a direct factor in his recent weight loss.  Evan's blood thinning has been too effective as well.  The doctors have advised decreasing his Lovenox dosage amount.

Core muscle exercises.

     Tomorrow Evan will head back to CHoA for "evaluation" with the surgeon.  I put that in quotes because this viewing will probably also involve surgery on his wrist.  We're optimistic that this will be a fairly quick and straightforward procedure.  I'll try to provide another update tomorrow after he's back home.
     Wanted to note that Sunday was mine and Cristy's 11th anniversary.  Our friends Hannah and Matthew were nice enough to watch the boys Friday evening so we did get a chance to go out and celebrate for a bit.  Hopefully as Evan continues to heal we can find more time to spend with each other.

Selfie time!