Update Time!

Asher continues to do well with his treatments. We had a long day yesterday because he couldn’t eat until after the lumbar puncture procedure scheduled at 1:30pm. On a normal day he would be a little cranky without food, but now that he is on steroids he eats around the clock. He was VERY unhappy with us. Luckily Miss Trish and Papa Rick showed up in the nick of time to distract him with a puzzle until the transport team finally arrived to wheel us to the OR.

Asher will get a lumbar puncture to test his spinal fluid and deliver medication directly into the spinal column about once a week while he is here. Yesterday was #2. They only take him to the OR so that he can be sedated safely and forget the whole ordeal. The meds keep him asleep for a few hours but you had better believe he woke up smiling and asking if we had ordered his quesadilla. He doesn’t forget about food…period.

This morning we received the results from the lumbar puncture --- no evidence of “blasts” in his spinal fluid! This is good news, but they didn’t find many when he first came in either, so they didn’t expect to see any yesterday. Another test they frequently do is measure his ANC value. This basically tells us how his immune system is working. I am pretty terrible at explaining this but from what I understand healthy bone marrow will result in a good ANC number and a healthy immune system. Kids with lots of cancer in their bone marrow end up with low ANC values after chemo kills the bad cells. Eventually the good bone marrow rebuilds and the number rises. Asher’s ANC numbers have been very high, YAY! I kept wondering when they would drop and when would have to be super worried about every single germ. The doctor told me this morning that Asher’s ANC may never get really low because his bone marrow never had high levels of cancer. His cancer manifested in his lymph nodes and chest area. I think of this as a small win because his bone marrow continues to do what it is supposed to do :0)

Okay, that’s all the medical news. I want to thanks everyone for the continued support. This place will make you a little stir crazy and all of the visitors and meals and kind words have reminded us of all the people fighting with us. Asher has been showered with gifts and he loves playing with all of his new toys in the room. Here are a few shots of him with some of his new treasures.

Snoozing in his new Super Asher hat Opening some presents from the HIM department <3