Delayed Intensification - Day 15

Yesterday we had our shortest day at the hospital - 2 hours! - but the after effects have been the most rough. His numbers dropped way down - last week his ANC (ability to fight infection) was an all-time high of 3.8 and yesterday he was 0.2. The 3.8 was probably not very accurate, he was on steroids at the time and they give a false sense of health. It's just scary to think that the chemo he's being given is so strong that it can drop his levels that drastically in such a short amount of time. JP would need to be at very minimum 0.5 but preferably at least 1.0 for us to feel okay taking him places - needless to say we cancelled our reservations to a private screening of Brave and a work party at Seven Peaks.

The actual hospital visit for his chemo was fine, he laughed with the doctors and nurses, told them how much he loves boxing on the Wii, got two bags of yummy BBQ chips and picked out a root beer. Once we were home, we could tell he was not feeling well. He's very emotional and cries about most things. It's hard to know what he wants because he won't stop sobbing about it long enough to tell us what is wrong or what he needs. Thank goodness Elsie is pretty easygoing because we need to focus a lot of our efforts on JP right now. Days like today remind me how sick my son is. Most days I can pretend he doesn't have cancer because he acts so normal. Not today. I'm not usually a Debbie Downer, but today I hate cancer and what it is doing to my son. Stupid cancer.

Here's our hospital pics from the day:

Anyone surprised we found Spiderman?

Last night after we got home... just laying on the couch

Thank goodness for Angel Mail when you feel yucky!

Got some Oxy in him and managed a few smiles

But this is how a lot of the night went. Poor little man just feels crappy!

Today we are snuggling on the couch while Dad is out getting some supplies. Namely: tortillas, chip strips, and "sauce" (the house dressing) from Cafe Rio. Then, at JP's request he is also grabbing goldfishes, root beer, BBQ chips and yogurt from the grocery store. Basically if he wants it, we will buy it for him. It's hard to say no to your kid fighting cancer (especially one on steroids)!

I do love that he is still our sweet JP and has good moments among all the bad he's going through. I just wish we could take it away and fight it for him! I think he handles it all better than I ever could, and he doesn't even realize just how brave he is. Most people never get the chance to meet their heroes, but I've been fortunate enough to have given birth to mine. We just love our little man!