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?)