January Update

Hello! Thankfully we have had an uneventful couple of weeks. Asher was admitted for one night almost 2 weeks ago for the start of his most recent chemo phase. We had to stay in the hospital for the first part of the chemo treatment because Asher had to be well hydrated via IV fluids. The particular type of drug he was given is toxic to the bladder, so they want to make sure he cleared it from his system as quickly as possible. They also gave him a blood tranfusion before we left because his hemoglobin levels were borderline. Like always, he handled it all well and we were discharged without incident. Since then we have done more home chemo and tested his immunity levels multiple times. At this point they are low, and expected to stay low for a few weeks. I keep waiting for the day that his ANC count is actually zero. But so far he has proven us all wrong and held steady around 280. 280 is nothing to write home about...he still can't go in public...but hey, it's not ZERO!

A low ANC count does not typically cause any side effects, so Asher feels fine. The drawback is that he is very susceptible to getting an infection/fever. Obviously we are being extra careful because we have 1 hour to stop what we are doing and get to the hospital if his temperature gets to 100.4.

So, we are quarantined to home about 95% of the time. This forces us to be creative with what to do. I have to admit, I need to start using Pinterest for some more ideas. I am very lucky that Charlotte and Asher are best buddies. They keep each other amused most of the time. For at least one hour every day they put on crazy dress up clothes and run around the house in some sort of imaginary play world they have made up. Sometimes they are "swimming" and sometimes they are Mario and Luigi saving the princess. Every time I stop to listen to their chatter I chuckle, they are very elaborate and creative with their games! We also watch movies, play Wii, sing karaoke and dance. Okay, well, I don't sing and dance with them usually - but Dave certainly does.

Again, thank you for the continued prayers. Especially keep Asher in your prayers on Monday and in the following weeks because he will get several more doses of the drug that caused him leg pain and limping. I hope it doesn't continue to affect him that way even though I have been assured there are pain medications available to help if needed. I just hate to see him taking one more drug.

Passing the time. Watching movies Snacking Playing dress-up Karaoke and dancing Some very serious Mario playing...and Charlotte wearing her dance recital costume(why not?)

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! We had a busy December and January is shaping up the same way. We were lucky to spend the Christmas season with all of our family. My family was in town the week before Christmas. Charlotte and Asher were spoiled like crazy by Grandma, Mr. Marc, and Aunt Alyssa. Christmas Eve was spent with Grandma and Grandpa Cooley, Uncle Daniel, Aunt Pam and Uncle Mark. Christmas day we stayed home and Papa Rick came to visit. We missed the big Cooley Christmas this year to make sure we didn’t expose Asher to too many germs. It was kind of a bummer, BUT we cooked a big meal and really did enjoy the downtime. I even cooked my first turkey (it was delicious in case you were wondering).

Charlotte posing in front of all the presents from Grandma and Mr. Marc

Decorating cookies

Almost time to open presents!

Charlotte being very excited about her new sparkly shoes

Baby Felicity's very first outfit

The aftermath



Christmas Morning The big presents. A hockey set and a karaoke machine <3 Power tool set from Papa Rick

We had tentatively planned on moving in the spring, but have decided to stay put for now. Having a new baby and spending time in the hospital would keep us plenty busy. So it looks like we will be in Anderson for a while longer--- I can’t complain except for we have to figure out how to make one more little person fit. The last few weeks were also hectic with getting new carpet and having the upstairs painted. Thank you Mom and Dad! The house looks so fresh. Charlotte and Asher will be sharing a room when baby Felicity arrives and have brand new bunk beds from Ikea. They are pretty thrilled and haven’t missed a night sleeping in them, even though Asher’s bed is still set up in his room. I can’t wait to share some pictures once we have everything in place.

Asher has continued to do very well with his treatment. Charlotte managed to get a wicked cold and ended up being tested for whooping cough, putting all of us on high alert. Thankfully the test came back negative but that didn’t stop Asher from catching her cold. It’s “okay” if Asher gets a cold, but if he gets a fever he is guaranteed at least a night in the hospital with antibiotics to rule out an infection. I was dreading the possibility. He breezed through the cold with no fever and they finally both sound better.

Asher’s last round of chemo was administered at home. So, guess who became a chemo nurse? We had the option to have a home care nurse come every day or learn to do it on our own, so we did. It was quite intimidating but after some close instruction from the nurses and written instructions I did just fine. On Christmas Day Asher sat in Dave’s lap and we all sang carols while he got his treatment. Thank you to Dave for the lovely shots of me in my chemo hazmat gear.

Next week we will be admitted for one night to start another cycle of chemo and I pray that he continues to handle it as well as he has been. Although just yesterday I think we saw the start of a chemo side effect when Asher started limping. One of the chemo drugs can cause neuropathy (nerve pain/damage) and clumsy walking called “drop foot”. He really is walking with a wobbly gate so the doctors will keep a close eye on him and he may have to start physical therapy. I am hoping that it will just resolve itself…but I really have no idea what the chances of that are. Luckily it doesn’t seem to bother him much, just slows him down a little.

Again, we want to thank everyone for their continued prayers. It means a lot to us.