Status

Hello, everybody. We've been meaning to put together a status report for a while now, but as it turns out there's no easy way to put together a mid-chemo report: "Still doing chemo...it still totally sucks!" This last Monday, though, was the last injection of the third and final cycle, so we're done, with this step, in a sense. I say "in a sense," because there's a lot still to go. If chemo can be likened to being punched in the stomach over and over (and it can), then Monday was like the last time getting punched in the stomach. So while we're really happy that the punching is stopping, the stomach still hurts pretty bad and will for the near future. Estimates that we're hearing are three to four weeks for cells to start regrowing (hair, taste buds, etc), and probably two months for energy levels to return to somewhat normal.

The very encouraging overall news, however, is that the blood numbers look very good. They couldn't, in fact, look any better, as the crucial tumor markers are low enough to be unmeasurable. We get a month off before returning to the hospital for more blood tests and the first CAT scan since they started treatment, which to us feels like a durn eternity. So while there are no guarantees regarding whether this cancer returns, statistics are in our favor and we're crossing our fingers for, hopefully, five upcoming years of uneventful surveillance.

So that's where we are now as we bumble around and try to get things ready for another little boy in this house. We truly cannot thank all of you enough for all you have helped us with, for all the dinners, adventures with Will, cleaning, rearranging furniture, and on and on and on. We could not have made it through this time without you. We're looking forward to rejoining the rest of the world soon, and it's pretty clear we're going to be buying the first round.

Love to you all,
Us

Rules

The other night Will and I were having dinner and he was periodically getting up to put his face down by my ever-expanding belly to say hello to his baby brother.

I told him baby brother was kicking me and asked if he wanted to feel.

He looked slightly horrified and leaned very close to my tummy and said:

"no, NO baby brother! Mama, you have to talk to him, we don't kick people!"