Fever and Sunday Meetings

Just kidding, Ty does not have a fever!!  We have been waiting for one since the holidays, especially since his little sis is just getting over handfootmouth disease which causes a fever, but nope, no fever.   He was also around a little cousin during the holidays who was diagnosed with scarlet fever and impetigo the day after they arrived home.  So we weren't too worried about it, just prepared to head up to the hospital when Ty got one of those two things (handfootmouth or strep) but so far so good!  He has been eating bland food lately, his favorite is 'turkey sandwich without the turkey', otherwise known as a piece of bread with mayo on it.  That and lucky charms seem to be his staple lately, I know! healthy!!

Ty hasn't been to his primary class (sunday school for kids) since he was diagnosed in April.  Not only have his immunities been too low for it, his disposition at times is also not conducive to a couple of hours with a teacher and other kids.  Soooooo  I was really hoping that now that he has a little chemo break and starts maintenance in a few days that he could start going to primary again.  The bad thing about a break is you have no idea what his blood counts are other than the vague clues his body gives you.  The past couple of days he has been clingy and cranky and tired and his lips were starting to chap last night. We are at 10 days from his last dose of chemo (which generally, if it is going to drop counts takes 7-10 days)  Today his ears are white.  I know that's sounds funny to gauge his paleness by his ears, but really he is always pale, his red count is always low so it's really hard to gauge just how low it is getting.  The whiteness of his ears is what initially got me to take him in and that led to his diagnosis.  So ever since then I have kept an eye on the whiteness of his ears.  It seems like his counts have to be pretty low for his ears to go white.  So that and his general clingyness and tiredness made me think maybe it isn't time yet for him to go back to primary.  I was a little dissapointed.  I'm tired of missing so much of my own meetings and though it may be a little come and go anyway because I'll have Merin in my meetings with me (she can't go to nursery because she will be more likely to bring sickness home to Ty if she does), it will be nice some day (hopefully in the near future) to be able to just go to all of our Sunday meetings.  Funny how you can miss something that has always seemed kind of mundane, routine, and even hard to sit through sometimes. : )

I wanted to bear my testimony today, but my mind was blank and I didn't feel like I had much to say.  I was feeling kind of numb, and I was thinking about how disconnected I now feel sometimes.  By the time I had the courage to get up the meeting was over.  When we (me Ty and Merin) got home from Sacrament meeting we watched the Reflections of Christ video.  Ty was asking me about some of the pictures and as I was trying to explain them to him I was suddenly aware of how much that means to me.  I didn't feel numb anymore and we watched another video that my niece and nephews are in called 'Treasure in Heaven~ the John Tanner Story'.  I prayed this morning that I would be fed today and so I was sad when we had to go home before all the meetings were done.  My prayers were answered anyway and I feel fed and uplifted and love the perspective of consecration and faith that that video teaches.  There is a trailer for it HERE.  And you can find the 20 minute movie at deseret book or on Disc 3 of the Doctrine and Covenants and Church History Visual Resource DVD's. Anyway, I highly recommend it!  I would embed it here if I knew how, but you can see the Reflections of Christ one anyway...Happy Sunday! : )

Nothing new in the whole cancer thing, Ty's next appointment is on the 17th if he makes counts (ANC 750, PLTS 75)  That is the day he starts maintenance.  I'm not really as excited about this phase as I thought I would be.  The reality is he will still be on chemo..and steroid pulses.  The main chemo he will be taking daily is called 6mp or mercaptopurine.  He was on this one for about a month in May.  His counts were good at first on it but he ate bland foods, said 'what's that smell' a lot and after about three weeks his counts tanked and stayed low for several weeks.  He will take that pill daily for the next 2 years and 7 months.  He will also take methotrexate once per week which doesn't seem to have too much of an effect on him in a low dose, and then the steroids...the devil pills.  We don't know yet how often he will do five day pulses of these, it will either be once per month or once every three months.  The A.L.L. moms who are ahead of us in treatment say that maintenance is a lot easier than the first phases but I am starting to wonder if that is just because it is for so long that they are just used to it.  I really don't have a lot to complain about, Ty has done really really good!  His treatment is so fine-tuned that they know what to give and how much of it and it is so much milder than what a lot of the other cancer fighters go through.  I am REALLY really thankful for CureSearch and the Children's Oncology Group who have come so far over the last few years in Childhood Cancer Research.  And So thankful for the gospel and for your prayers in Ty's and our behalf.  I feel guilty that we are so blessed!!  And I have gone on and on and on in this post so if you are still reading good job and thank you for your perserverance!!  ; )  I just want to shout to the world that peace can be yours in the middle of anything if you know where to turn. the end, or as Tyson would say 'dee end, you can call it da end or dee end.' He loves that he can 'read' those two words at the end of Tom and Jerry. : )