Love, Laughs and More Pizza

Support

First off, there has been an incredible amount of support that we have received, from monetary donations to gifts of snacks, blankets, stuffed animals, pillows, toys, activity books and games to meals and countless other things. Thank you all so much for your help through this. It is very much appreciated and extremely beneficial! Even knowing how many people are reading the blog, or at least telling me that they read it ;) and knowing how much people care about him and our family is definitely helping in the coping process. Your prayers and acts of services are definitely being felt!

Status Update

Archer handled his first chemotherapy treatment extremely well. He has been in a bit of pain from the port in his chest which has caused him to be a little bit cross but other than that, he has been outstanding! He has had an excellent appetite, though it is still just pizza and bananas that he wants. We are going to give the kitchen a heads up before we come next week so they can stock up on cheese and pepperoni. He has also had a pretty good amount of energy and has been awake most of the day. He loves playing with the blocks that the hospital brought him and he has plenty of other toys to keep him busy throughout the day. He is also getting a lot of fluid through his IV and his kidneys are working well to get all of the Cisplatin (chemo med) out of his body. In fact, he is doing so well that he will most likely be discharged tomorrow morning. 

The one minor concern that we had is that at 1:00 am this morning, he had to have a blood transfusion. They said that it is very common and almost expected when going through chemo, but there is always a risk with it. They performed the transfusion over a two hour period and they had to check his vital signs about every ten minutes. He slept through the entire transfusion, even with the nurses constantly in the room. Everything went well with the transfusion though and he didn't have any negative reaction to it at all. He truly is a tough kid and it is inspiring to see how well he has adapted to this new temporary lifestyle. 

One Quick Funny

The nurse came in last night to take his blood pressure and get his temperature and oxygen levels. She went to put the bp cuff on his leg, as they had been doing the entire time, when Archer said "no" and held up his right arm. The nurse complied with his request. She then went to put the pulse oximeter (just Googled that) on his toe, as was customary. Archer told her "no" and held up his left hand. She then went to place it on his index finger and he again denied the attempt, sticking his thumb up. The nurse again complied. She then went to place the thermometer under his right arm. As you can probably guess, Archer did not approve but instead revealed his let armpit, inviting the thermometer in. Everyone chuckled and the nurse casually said, "He is going to be one of those that as soon as I open the door, his toe and arm will shoot into the air." Well, by now, you know Archer. He launched one arm and one foot high into the air. He is so much like his mother.

Kaesia

Kaesia has been staying with Aubrey's sister, Jenny, since Tuesday and she is having a blast. So much fun that she barely wants to talk to us when we call her. She just wants to play. She did sing a sweet version of "Mommy Comes Back" to Aubrey before she left. The lyrics were "I will always come back..." and after finishing the song said, "But I will have fun! And you too." and touched Aubrey gently on the end of her nose. It was precious!