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Tuesday, August 31, 2010 10:35 PM CDT
Sorry that I haven't updated since last week, thanks so much for checking in on Abe.
The past several days have been hectic. Abe ended up spending a few nights in the PICU. It's a long story, so I won't go into all the details. A lot of worry, very little sleep & many hours of driving (for Al). An MRI, head CT scan & spinal for Abe, along with many other meds, antibiotics, cultures, transfusions of blood products, etc.
But, he's doing well now & is settled back into his room on the 8th floor. I hope that's all of the action we'll have for awhile, I think we all really need a few calm days to catch our breath.
Earlier in the wknd, we got to spend some time with family. Abe loved seeing Isaac, Ben, Al, Grandma Mary, Auntie Marci, Kenzie & Auntie Linda. It was great to see everyone, wish we could've spent more time together. Abe's day passes were shortened last week to just a few hours. I don't know if we'll be able to leave at all this week with everything that's gone on the past few days. And all of his counts are low, he really has no cells to fight infection. So we're doing our best to keep busy in his hospital room. He's been building Legos, playing Webkinz on the computer, watching movies, playing lots of board games & sleeping.
We have a meeting at the U of M on Friday. It'll be good to get more information about the transplant process & meet the doctor who'll be Abe's primary when we get there later this fall. I'll be sure to update after we've gotten more info.
Thanks again for thinking about Abe. It really helps to come on here & read the guestbook messages each day. We appreciate your support. I'm thinking of switching over to one of the newer caringbridge sites sometime soon. I'll still leave this site up & plan to include a link to the new site so that everyone can still follow along. We don't want to lose any Abe fans along the way :o)
Kelly
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Things are going OK here. Abe is doing alright, but is having some side effects from all of the meds. Lots of pain in his stomach that just doesn't seem to let up. He's on so many different meds right now that it's hard to pin down what might be causing it. Hopefully it will get straightened out soon so he can feel better.
Abe needed a blood transfusion today & has also had platelets a few times since last week. Counts are pretty much at rock bottom from the chemo he's been getting.
Abe has been allowed to have day passes every day, which means he's been able to leave the hospital to go over to Auntie Linda's house for 3-4 hours in the afternoon. Definately the highlight of his day & something for him to look forward to. The steroids he's taking have really kicked in, especially the food cravings. So we spend a lot of time every day talking about food & what we'll cook when we get to Linda's house. Grilled cheese is the new favorite, also chicken, bacon & hot dogs. I have a feeling the day passes won't last too much longer, since his counts are so low. But we're enjoying them for now. It really helps to break up the day.
Thanks so much for all of the calls, emails & guestbook messages - we really appreciate it.
Thanks Liz, for stopping by today. It was so nice to visit with you.
I'll update again soon. Thanks for checking in on Abe.
Kelly
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Thursday, August 19, 2010
Another journal entry that I'd hoped to never have to write.
Abe has relapsed again. Just 7 months off from relapse chemo & his leukemia is back. I just can't believe I'm even writing these words again.
The word unfair doesn't even begin to describe having to tell our sweet, happy 9 year old that his leukemia is back again. Abe deserves to be done with cancer, it's been almost 7 years of dealing with it now. He has such an amazing attitude, even though he's very sad, mad, confused that he has to go through all of this again.
Abe started treatment at Children's last Friday. He'll be getting intense chemo for a few months to try & get him into remission so that he can have a bone marrow or cord blood transplant later this fall at the U of M. Each time leukemia comes back it's harder to achieve remission. We would appreciate all of your positive thoughts & prayers that this chemo will work & that Abe won't have any complications. This just has to work.
Abe is doing alright. He's been getting several different kinds of chemo this week along with high dose steroids, so is feeling the effects of everything. But he still manages to wake up in the morning with a smile on his face. He'll be admitted to the 8th floor at Children's tomorrow (Fri). He'll need to stay inpatient for several weeks for chemo & some preventative antibiotics and other meds because of the risk of infection while on this chemo.
Tomorrow will start off with port access, IV chemo & PEG shots at the clinic & then we'll head up to the 8th floor for the long haul.
One last thing, I'd like to ask you to keep Abe's brothers Isaac & Ben in your thoughts. This is going to be hard on them as well. They've had to deal with a lot for kids their age. The distance between Bemidji & Minneapolis only makes things more difficult because we end up being apart for long periods of time. It's incredibly hard for me to be away from them for so long & Abe misses his brothers & his dad. Thank you to everyone at home for helping & for taking such good care of them.
After we found out Abe had relapsed, our Dr. gave us some time to be at home, get things ready, break the news to the kids, etc. Big thanks to all of our family for making that week at home so special & full of fun. We feel so lucky to have such amazing family & friends surrounding us.
We are scared & heartbroken, but ready to fight this again & will never give up hope.
Kelly
Wednesday, January 6th, 2010
Great results from both bone marrow & spinal fluid!! Now we can try to relax a little bit. Even though we were pretty sure the results would be good, it's always nervewracking waiting for important test results. Especially on a long holiday weekend! Great results also from an echo/EKG Abe had done last week. Some of the chemo he's gotten in high doses can cause heart damage, so we're very thankful that his sweet little heart is still as strong as ever!
Abe has been feeling pretty well. Still has a cough that just doesn't seem to ever go away. He's been on an extra antibiotic for that as well as an ear infection. But overall, he's doing great. I think that 'off treatment' hasn't quite set in his mind yet. He's excited & knows that he's done with chemo, but still has his port & will get IVIG every 3-4 weeks for his immune system. I think once we're done with that (hopefully sometime this spring) & the port comes out, then it'll seem more real to him. He's been in school every day this week! The full days make him very tired & will take some getting used to, but he really likes being able to see his friends every day. I can't wait for school to be his 'normal' routine instead of hospitals, doctors, needles & feeling crummy!
Hope that everyone has a happy & healthy New Year. We had a great time celebrating with family - a late night with good food, fun games (Abe's favorite Imaginiff) & a few drinks too :o)
Thank you Marci, Pat, Kenzie & Tanner for having us over!
Thanks so much for checking in on Abe.
Kelly
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Tuesday, December 29th, 2009
Just a quick update on Abe tonight. We'll be at Children's tomorrow for a bone marrow biopsy & spinal as part of his end of treatment. We'd appreciate all of your good thoughts sent his way bright & early tomorrow morning for the prodecures to go well & with great results. Thanks!
Our family had a great Christmas, it was so nice to be able to have all of us at home this year. A Chemo-Free-Christmas :o) Unfortunately we ended up taking Abe into the ER in Bemidji on Sunday night with a fever/cough. But after some IV antibiotics, chest xray, blood cultures, etc, he was back home & on the mend. Still not feeling quite like himself, but no fevers since Sunday.
Thanks for checking in, I'll update again later this week with results from tomorrow's tests.
Happy New Year!
Kelly
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Sunday, December 20, 2009
Happy, Happy Birthday to our Amazing 9 year old Abe!!!
We're in Minneapolis at Auntie Linda's house tonight. Abe will have his LAST chemo tomorrow morning at Children's.
Woohoo!!
He celebrated his birthday today at MagiQuest & the Rainforest Cafe at the Mall of America. It was a great time - thank you Auntie Linda & cousin Jennifer for the fun today :o)
We also had a nice birthday party at home on Friday night for the boys with our family & friends. (Isaac had a Happy 13th Birthday yesterday) Can't believe we now have a teenager in the house! Crazy.
We'll head home sometime tomorrow & I'll update more about Abe's final treatment. Hopefully I'll have some pictures to add.
Thanks for checking in!
Kelly
P.S. Happy Birthday Tanner!
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Thursday, December 10, 2009
It's been way too long since I've updated this page - SORRY!!!
Thanks for continuing to check in on Abe. Treatment has been going well for him the past few months. He's also doing well in school & really likes 3rd grade when he's able to be there. On the days that he can't be in school he does his work at home & is doing a great job keeping up with his class.
Abe's birthday is coming up on December 20th, he's pretty excited to be turning 9. And we have some very exciting news on the medical front......
Abe will finish treatment on December 21st!!!!!
I can't think of a better birthday present than that :o)
He's been on treatment for more than 6 years & will have celebrated 7 of his 9 birthdays on chemo. Wow. I sometimes wonder if he remembers what it's like to not have leukemia. He sure has been through a lot, especially the past few years since he relapsed. We're so proud of him for being the sweet, funny, smart, kind, fiesty little guy that he is - can't wait for him to be able to just live life like a 'regular' kid!
It feels good to be able to see the light at the end of the very loooooooong tunnel. We've already enjoyed several 'lasts' of treatment:
LAST spinal chemo
LAST steroid pulse :o)
LAST doses of Methotrexate & 6MP (oral chemo)
We've slowly just been checkin' things off the list!
Abe will have 2 more doses of his weekly IV chemo (Cytoxan & Vincristine). Monday the 14th & then again on the 21st. Sometime between Christmas & New Year's he'll have a bone marrow biopsy & diagnostic spinal to make sure that everything looks good. He'll keep his port for awhile longer since he will still get IVIG (kind of an immune booster) every month for at least 3 more months. After so many years of hitting his bone marrow with chemo, his immune system will take awhile to recover even after treatment is over.
So, lots of excitement for us in the upcoming weeks. Abe's birthday, Isaac's birthday (Dec. 19th), end of treatment, Christmas, school stuff, etc. Busy times, but all good things - so you'll hear no complaints from me!
Thanks again for sticking with us, we appreciate it.
Love,
Kelly
Sunday, September 6, 2009 9:00 AM
Good Morning,
Abe is doing well & he's been making the most of the last few days of our summer vacation. The weather has been perfect this week & we've been going on bike rides almost every evening. And a few other things we've done from Abe's need-to-do-before-the-end-of-summer list. Batting cages at Putt N'Go (go karts & bumper boats too), the Science Center, playing on a 'real' baseball field so he could slide into the bases & get dirty :o), 18 holes of golf with a cart (not our usual 9 & walking) & a day of going to garage sales. He got to do that one yesterday & was happy with his finds - 2 baseballs & cleats, a hockey stick, 2 pucks, a basketball & a few other odds & ends. Not too shabby. Another thing on his list was to see one last Twins game at the Metrodome & it looks like we'll be able to do that in a few weeks - he's so excited!!! GO TWINS!
So other than that, we've just been getting ready for school to start. Tuesday is the big day & I think the boys are ready to start. We had orientation last week so they got to see their classrooms & teachers. Abe will be able to be in school on the first day & hopefully for the first couple of weeks as well. Then he'll start back on his month of IV chemo, so he'll be away from school a little more. He's a bit nervous about school but once he gets into the swing of things I think it'll be OK. I'm happy that he can be there to start the year. But also a bit nervous (ha - that's the understatement of the day) mostly because his ANC is still so low & I worry about the germ factor. Ugh.Guess I just have to hope that all of my harping about good hand-washing has sunk in! Fingers crossed please.
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Also want to wish Happy, Happy Birthdays to our nieces Taia & Kira!!! We love you & wish we could give you both big hugs in person. And Happy Anniversary to my hubby today! Seems like just yesterday we were on our way to Lake Kabetogama on our honeymoon :o)
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Enjoy the rest of your Labor Day weekend. Thanks for checking in.
Kelly
--------------------------------Wednesday, August 19, 2009
We're having a great summer & Abe is doing well. He's been having fun playing outside, hanging out with his brothers, playing golf, jumping on the trampoline, watching the Twins - lots of normal summer kid stuff. It's been so nice. I've been trying not to think about the fact that the start of school is less than 3 weeks away! Yikes. I guess soon I'll have to start thinking about school supplies, backpacks, packing lunches, bus schedules - boys in 2nd grade, 3rd grade & 7th grade. Isn't there a way to make summer vacation last just a little longer???
We've gotten to spend a lot of time with family this summer. A few weeks ago we had a visit from Al's brother & family from Alaska. It was great to see them & the boys had SO much fun with their cousins. We miss them already! Our Relay For Life was a few weekends ago - something we always look forward to. Team 'Abe & the Gang' is still going strong - made up of aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, friends - a big THANKS to all of our teammates for another great year. The ceremonies were all very touching & there were a lot of fun activities going on all day/night. Abe had so much fun & was dancing around the track in his purple Survivor shirt until midnight. (I'll try to update some pics on here soon, but haven't had much luck with resizing them to fit the format.)
Treatment-wise Abe is doing well. He just finished a month of IV chemo - weekly Vincristine & Cyclophosphamide. Though his ANC has been pretty low, so he was only able to get one of the four Cyclo. doses. Low counts are something we've gotten used to, and almost expect from Mr. Abe. I guess we just have to trust/hope that he's getting enough chemo even at reduced & missed doses. (I'm working on that.) So we've made three or four trips to Minneapolis since I've last updated. Now Abe is on oral chemo for 6 weeks, so we'll be home quite a bit. Just finished a week of steroids, glad that's over. Abe handled things pretty well, he's just so 'not himself' during those weeks & ends up feeling yucky & hungry the whole time. And poor Ben gets stuck with a lot of the moodiness from his usual best buddy. He's very understanding & by now knows all about when to give Abe some space during steroid times. So after a long week, we had a Ben-and-Mom day together. We saw the movie G-Force in 3D, ate popcorn & all was well with the world again :o) Speaking of Ben, he's so excited for school to start. He loves everything about it & says he wants to ride the bus as much as he possibly can this year. Funny kid. Abe says he's excited for gym class & finding out who his teacher will be. And I know that Isaac is really looking forward to seeing his friends every day, even though he probably won't admit that there's anything exciting about school starting! Well, I guess that's about all I have for now. Thanks for checking in & thinking of our Amazing Abe.
Kelly
Thursday, July 16, 2009 11:24 AM CDT
I guess it's time to dust the cobwebs from this page & get back to keeping you updated on the Amazing Abe. I'm sorry that it's been months - a big THANK YOU to everyone who is still checking in on us!
Abe has been doing well with his treatment the past few months. He's just finished 6 weeks of oral chemo, so we were able to be at home the entire month of June. Now he's started another phase of IV chemo - Vincristine & Cyclophosphamide - once a week for 4 weeks. These 10 week cycles repeat over & over until he's done with treatment. (Maybe February 2010?!? I haven't gotten the details yet.)
Overall, Abe has been feeling pretty well. He's had some stomach issues for a good month now. So we've been trying to find foods that taste good to him & that don't make his tummy feel 'warm'. He also has some painful mouth sores right now thanks to the Methotrexate he's been taking. He's got quite a crop of new hair sprouting up & he loves it. It's so soft that you can't help but want to touch it - he's had to limit us each to ONE head-rub per day :o)
We spent this past Sunday-Tuesday in Minneapolis. Abe had IV chemo at Children's on Monday. He was able to get his Vincristine, but his ANC wasn't high enough for Cyclophosphamide. ANC needs to be 500 for that one, & his was only 468. So close! I was kind of hoping that they'd go ahead with it anyway - since for Abe, that's a pretty good ANC - but no luck. Kind of a long drive just to get a 10 second push of Vincristine. It took us over 9 hours to get to Minneapolis on Sunday, instead of our usual 4 hour drive. Yikes. (I-94 was closed because of a tanker truck accident that morning) Oh well, there's always hope for next week's dose. We'll head back down on Sunday for Monday morning chemo. Abe will also have another IVIG infusion that day, kind of a boost for his immune system. His level has been testing low, so he'll get IVIG every month from now on. So other than the long car ride, we had a great trip to Mpls. We got to see Auntie Linda, cousin Jennifer, and Abe & Ben had fun at the Mall of America after treatment on Monday. They went on lots of rides, made an animal at Build-A-Bear & topped off the day with a few rides up & down the escalators. Fun stuff!
Hard to believe the summer is half over already. I wish I could somehow slow it down - it's been so great to have the boys home every day. They have been keeping busy outside riding their bikes & jumping on the trampoline. Ben has been playing soccer & has his last practice tonight. The boys have also been playing quite a bit of golf. It's fun to be out there with them, and they have fun laughing at me when I attempt to hit the ball.
Abe has also been busy watching the MN Twins this summer. He is a dedicated fan & watches EVERY game if we're home. That boy loves his Twins, especially his favorite Carlos Gomez. In fact, he wears his Gomez shirt every chance he gets & doesn't leave the house without his red Twins hat on. We may need to invest in a spare GoGo shirt soon, I can't keep up with washing it every night! We went to a game with HopeKids on Mother's Day weekend & the boys had a great time. We're hoping to get to a few more games this summer.
Well, I guess that's enough for now. I will be sure to journal more often, I promise! Thanks for hanging in there with us, it really means a lot to know that people are thinking about Abe & our family. I'll update again after Abe's treatment next week.
Kelly
Tuesday, March 24, 2009 4:00 PM
Just got a call from Children's & Abe's bone marrow looks great!
There are no words to describe how relieved we are!! Thanks so much for thinking of Abe & waiting with us for results. Huge sigh of relief :o)
We made it home from Minneapolis last night, it was a very quick trip this time. Abe's spinal chemo went well & he doesn't seem to have any extra pain where they did the bone marrow aspiration & biopsy.
We brought Ben along with us this time & stayed at the Sheraton right by Children's on Sunday night. The boys had a great time swimming together & just hanging out in the room. We don't stay in hotels very often, so they really made the most of it. The tooth fairy even made a visit to the Sheraton after Abe lost a tooth that night.
This week brings big doses of steroids twice a day & the side effects that come with them. I guess I'd better stock up on all of Abe's salty, meaty cravings soon. His counts were too low for his oral chemo this week, so we'll recheck on Monday & hopefully get back on track with his 6MP & Methotrexate.
Hope that you have a great week.
Kelly
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Saturday, March 21, 2009 8:36 PM
Hello Abe fans! Thanks for checking up on him.
Abe has been keeping busy at home & also going in for weekly IV chemo for the past month. It's finally warm enough here to take the bikes out & cruise around the neighborhood, he's really been loving that. We still have a LOT of snow in our yard, though, so the boys spent their 'spring' break building snowmen & snowshoeing in the yard. I guess that's what living in MN is all about! They also got to go tubing at Buena Vista Ski Area - big thanks to Laurie D.!! Abe, Ben & Isaac had a blast. Their week off from school was so great & I was sad to see it end. Abe has been able to go to school for a few days here & there. He likes being with his classmates & seems to fit right in even though he hasn't been there much this year. Such a great group of kids in his class.
We're heading to Minneapolis tomorrow. Abe will have spinal chemo first thing Monday morning. While he's sedated he'll also have a bone marrow biopsy. Some blasts showed up in his bloodwork earlier this week, so they're testing his bone marrow to make sure that he is still in remission. Trying hard to not worry myself sick about what the results will be, but have had a knot in my stomach all week. We could use all of your positive thoughts & prayers that these blasts are not leukemia. Monday can't come soon enough for me, actually Tuesday is when we'll get the results.
We're still trying to adjust to Abe's maintenance chemo. He's had low counts for the past month - his ANC has been as low as 50 & never higher than 400. Kind of frustrating, as his ANC needs to be at least 500 to get his weekly Cyclophosphamide. So he wasn't able to have the 3 of the 4 doses in this cycle. They did give him his dose this past week even though his counts weren't high enough, so at least he got a little bit. He also gets weekly Vincristine no matter what his counts are. Speaking of Vincristine, I think that is what's causing Mr. Abe to lose his hair again. He's had a full head of hair for several months. (I know...I haven't changed the pictures on here in way too long!!! I'm working on it, I promise! You'll just have to trust me when I tell you he has a ton of hair :o)) About a week ago his hair started coming out & it doesn't seem to be slowing down. He's pretty bummed about the whole thing. He really LOVED the hair he had these past months & is trying to hang on to what is left of it. My sweet little man. But, we know that this is minor in the grand scheme of things & it will grow back of course.
Well, I guess that's enough of my rambling for now. Thanks so much for checking in on Abe. We really appreciate it. I'll update with bone marrow results when we get them.
Kelly
Thursday, February 19, 2009 12:41 AM CST
It's been awhile....SORRY!
Abe is doing well & I'm happy to say that we've been spending a lot of time at home since I last updated.
Abe started the Maintenance phase of chemo almost 6 weeks ago. This phase runs in 10 week cycles - the cycle starts out with a spinal w/ chemo & then 6 weeks of oral chemo (pills) that we give every night at HOME. Then, once a week for 4 weeks he'll have IV Cyclophosphamide & Vincristine in Minneapolis at Children's. That 10 week cycle repeats itself for 50 weeks - and then (hopefully by this time next year) his treatment will be done!
So far we're really liking Maintenance. It's a lot like the Maint. chemo he had his first time around (pre-relapse). A lot of the same oral meds except in higher doses. One extra IV chemo & Vincristine more often, and more spinal chemo. But overall, it's going well. Abe had one trip to the local ER with a high fever a few weeks ago. Luckily his white count/ANC was good, so we just got some IV antibiotics & didn't need to head down to Mpls.
Abe still has a terrible cough, but chest xrays have all been clear. Everyone in our house has been hit with some sort of yuck the past few weeks. Poor Benny had strep throat followed by a double ear infection. I think we're all on the mend now - knock wood. I'm so ready for this season to be over, though. We need some sunshine & some fresh air!
Enough medical talk for now.
Abe's been catching up on all of the fun things he likes to do at home. He's even been able to be at school quite a bit (except for the fever week). He got to go to his class Valentine party & came home with lots of treats that day. He loves gym class, I think floor hockey has been his favorite so far. Last weekend he was invited to a friend's birthday party - tubing out at Buena Vista. He had a blast. So nice to see him having fun with his classmates & taking part in normal kid stuff. I love it!
Other than that we've just been busy keeping up with the boys' school stuff & activities. Ben has a few weeks left of hockey this season & is loving every bit of it. His team got to skate between periods at the boys HS game last week & he really liked playing in front of a big crowd. Imagine that, huh? :o) Isaac is doing well & busy with middle school stuff. Big dance to attend tomorrow night. He is all of a sudden TALLER than me. Yikes.
We'll head down to Minneapolis on Sunday for a few days. Abe will have his IV chemo at Children's on Monday. He's looking forward to the trip & can't wait to see Auntie Linda!
Thanks so much for checking in on Abe. We appreciate it & will be sure to update more often.
Love,
Kelly & family
P.S. Someone in our house will turn 40 this week and it's
NOT ME :o) If you happen to see him tomorrow, wish
him a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!
Friday, January 2, 2009 10:00 AM
Happy 2009!
New Year's Eve was fun, we celebrated with my sister & her family & my mom. We opened presents, played cards, laughed, ate & drank too much & stayed up way too late. The boys had a great time. Abe was having so much fun but was pretty tired out - he fell asleep from about 9 to 11:30. But then woke up & was raring to go right before midnight. Just in time to ring in the New Year with his cousins with a fancy glass of kid-champagne. A fun night - thanks for coming over guys!
Big decision of the day, whether or not to check Abe's counts. The plan was to check on Monday unless something came up before then. But Abe has just seemed a little 'off' the past few days. He's pale & has been sleeping a lot, even more than usual. He also has several mouth sores right now. His chemo was given at full dose on Monday, something that hasn't been done for months. (He had been getting 1/2 strength of most of his high dose chemo since he seems to super-absorb everything & it takes his marrow a long time to recover each time) Anyway, I have a feeling that his hemoglobin & platelets are low - they weren't great before chemo on Monday. Since it's Friday & the clinic won't be open again until after the wknd, I think I'll take him in today. There. Decision made. Thanks for letting me ramble out loud if you're still reading at this point! Where is an Official Decision Maker when you need one?
Well, I need to get busy filling party favor bags. Abe is finally having his birthday party at the Gym Bin tonight with his friends. He's very excited, especially about the ice cream cake we ordered from Cold Stone!
Am also going to try to take a picture of my 3 boys together today. Still not an easy task even though they're 12, 8 and 6! I want to send my usual Christmas/Happy New Year cards this week, something I love to do. We get so many beautiful cards/pictures of family & friends - thank you! It's one of my favorite things about this time of year. I also still need to send a few packages that are ready to go, just haven't made their way out of this house yet. I have no good excuse, especially since I'm married to a UPS guy :o) To our family in Alaska & Colorado - we haven't forgotten about you guys!
Thanks for checking in. We wish you a happy & healthy 2009!
Love,
Kelly
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Monday, December 29, 2008 11:34 AM
Merry Christmas!
We had a really nice Christmas - spent lots of time with family, ate too much food, opened plenty of presents & relaxed at HOME. We'll have one more Christmas get together on New Year's Eve, will celebrate both Abe & Isaac's birthdays with their friend parties this weekend and then I think the December hoopla will come to an end. Whew! It's been fun, busy & exhausting all rolled into one.
So we're back at Children's today for chemo. We'll probably be at the clinic most of the day. Abe is getting IV Etoposide & Cytoxan which takes about 3 hours. He'll also get an IV antibiotic that runs for 3 hours. Abe is doing well & is busy playing Wii. Cooking Mama is the game of choice today. We brought Ben along this time & he's having a good time hanging out with Abe. If they're still speaking to each other at the end of this LONG clinic day, the plan is to go to Build A Bear at MOA. They each have some Christmas/Bday money burning a hole in their pockets. We'll head home tomorrow morning & will hopefully have a week or more before the next chemo while Abe's counts recover.
I hope everyone is having a nice holiday season. Thanks for checking in.
Happy New Year!
Kelly
Saturday, December 20th, 2008 11:00 PM
HAPPY 8th BIRTHDAY, ABE!!!
To my little man, I can't believe you are already 8! When you were born, Isaac was 4 yrs old & had his heart set on us naming you Little Isaac. When he found out we'd named you Abe, he decided to call you LittleMan instead - he did that for about 6 months :o) Sometimes I do think that you seem like a little grown up in a kid sized body. You've been dealing with cancer for 5 of your 8 years. Yet you still have the most amazing attitude - you're sweet, funny, fiesty!,smart, kind & we're so proud of you!
Happy Birthday
I love you,
Mom
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Abe was discharged from the hospital this afternoon :o)
We're still in Minneapolis, staying at Linda's house tonight. The weather was a little too blizzardish for us to head for home today. So we decided to play it safe & hopefully we'll go back to Bemidji tomorrow. (Mother Nature, please cooperate!)
Abe had a great birthday. Just like he'd planned, he stayed up until midnight last night & started celebrating at 12:01 AM. He danced around a little bit, opened a few presents & then zonked out! While he was sleeping, the night nurses hung a bunch of Happy Birthday signs that they had made. It was such a nice surprise when he woke up this morning to see birthday wishes hanging all over his room, and a present waiting for him on his bedside table. The 8th floor nurses really are the best & take such great care of us.
Tonight Auntie Linda & Dave took us out to Abe's favorite bowling alley. Abe had a great time bowling & playing video games.
Thanks to everyone for all of the Happy Birthdays - phone calls, guestbook messages, cards, presents, etc. We're looking forward to going home & giving Isaac a great big birthday hug (you know how much 12 yr old boys LOVE hugs :o) & I'm sure there are a few people waiting to get their hands on Mr. Abe too.
Thanks for checking in!
Love,
Kelly
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Friday, December 19th, 2008
Happy Birthday, Isaac!!
weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee from abe
Isaac, we hope you're having a great day & wish we could be there with you on your 12th birthday. I know that Dad will make sure that your big day is special. We'll celebrate again when Abe & I get home - you'll get a double-whammy birthday this year! Love you lots,
Mom
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Still up on the 8th floor & Abe is doing well. He's feeling pretty good & his MTX level seems to be dropping nicely. He's had a busy day - he played bingo in the playroom this morning, had a visit from the St. Olaf basketball team & Auntie Linda stopped by, too. (Thanks for the goodies for Abe & the coffee for me, Linda!) Yesterday Santa was here to visit the kids at Children's & our friend Willie brought lunch & treats. We're feeling very spoiled & well taken care of!
Our little buddy Owen is also staying on the 8th floor right now. He's having some yucky side effects from his chemo, please keep his family in your thoughts.
www.caringbridge.org/visit/owenpilot
Well, my almost-birthday-boy is patiently waiting to use the computer. Tomorrow is the big day & he's pretty excited to say the least. He wants to try to stay awake until midnight & start celebrating right then :o)
Thanks for checking in. We're hoping to be discharged tomorrow. Are you doing that MTXclearing dance yet??
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Thursday, December 18th, 2008 9:30 AM
Greetings from the 8th floor at Children's. Abe is still snoozing this morning so I thought I'd update quick. He was admitted yesterday for high dose Methotrexate. He's doing well so far & his 24 hr chemo should be done sometime this afternoon. He'll start getting the rescue drug early tomorrow morning & then we just wait for the MTX to clear out of his system.
Yesterday Abe kept pretty busy in his room playing Kung Fu Panda on Wii. He also put together a Christmas-Tree-In-A-Box (made out of paper), grew a little crystal dinosaur, read some books & worked on a few other crafts. He was in a great mood all day & was very silly. I hope when he wakes up that it will be another feeling-good day for him. I think we used up my entire bag of tricks yesterday - so today I'll have to get creative I guess! Sometimes by the second day the chemo takes effect & he's not quite so perky.
Well, the birthday countdown is still on....2 more days for Abe & 1 more day for Isaac. Please keep your fingers crossed and do a little methotrexate-clearing-dance in hopes that we'll be able to get out of here in the next few days!
Thanks to Grandma Mary & Grandma Rose for taking care of Ben & Isaac at home this week. We really appreciate your help.
Thanks so much for checking in. I'm going to try to get down to the resource center to add some new pics to the site later today.
Love,
Kelly
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Friday, December 12, 2008 4:31 PM
Happy Winter!
First of all, I'm sorry I've taken such a LONG break in between updates. Thanks to everyone for still checking in & leaving messages - we appreciate it.
We've been to Children's a few times in the past couple of weeks. Abe had spinal chemo earlier this week & his IV chemo at clinic the week before that. He's been doing well, aside from low counts & a cold that he picked up last week. Next up for his treatment is an inpatient stay for HD Methotrexate, usually about a 3-5 day stay. We'll check counts on Monday morning & if his numbers are high enough we'll be admitted to the 8th floor on Tuesday.
We have lots of fun stuff coming up in the next few weeks, December is always so busy.
Abe's birthday is on Dec. 20th and he's counting down the days until he turns 8! Isaac's bday is on Dec. 19th, he'll be 12 & is very excited. Next week will be a little crazy around the Fagerstrom household getting ready for bdays & Christmas. Add in school parties, Ben's hockey & Cub Scouts, Christmas activities - yikes! It's the best kind of busy though, and is such an exciting time for the boys.
I'm a little worried about the timing of Abe's MTX hospital stay & hoping that we'll be back home before his birthday (and Isaac's bday, too). It all depends on his counts next week. We'd appreciate some good thoughts for things to work out & that he won't have to spend his 8th bday at Children's. While I'm asking, good thoughts for Christmas at home too please. That's not too much to ask is it? :o) Either way, I know we'll make the best of it - but it would be so much better at home.
I hope that you're having a nice holiday season. Thanks again for checking in on Abe. I promise to update again soon!
Love,
Kelly
Monday, November 10, 2008 10:50 AM
Hello,
We're still hanging out on the 8th floor this morning. But, it looks like we'll be busting out of this place later today! Abe's MTX level has already cleared enough to be discharged. We're just waiting to finish up the 48 hours of fluids (bi-carb) required after this type of chemo. After that Abe will get his monthly IV antibiotic which takes about 2 hours. He'll also get his flu shot before we leave today. So, I'm busy packing our bags & hauling things to the car. I always seem to bring way too much stuff. But, it's good to have a bag of tricks to keep a 7 year old boy busy in the hospital!
We're planning on heading HOME tomorrow morning. Abe's really looking forward to seeing Isaac, Ben & Daddy & also is hungry for food from home. He hasn't eaten more than a few bites since Friday morning. I asked what the first thing he'd want to eat was & his answer was CRAB LEGS. What?!? He's never eaten them before, but thinks they'll taste good I guess. We were in the hallway looking at the aquarium yesterday & he told the hermit crab - "In a few days, I'm going to take a little bite out of your big cousin" :o)
Abe's counts were pretty good this morning, platelets & hemoglobin haven't dropped from chemo yet. His ANC is kind of low at 231, so any fever would send us back to the hospital. Hopefully things will go well being at home - we'd appreciate some good thoughts for no fevers this week. Thanks!
=================================
Saturday, November 8, 2008 11:18 AM
Greetings from the 8th floor at Children's. Abe & I checked in yesterday. He's getting high dose Methotrexate this time & the 24 hour infusion will be done sometime this afternoon. They'll start giving him Leucovorin (rescue drug) tomorrow morning. We'll be hanging out in the hospital until the HD MTX clears his system. Send us some good thoughts that this chemo will do its job... & then that it'll get the heck out of his system so we can bust out of here in a few days! Thanks :o)
Abe seems to be feeling pretty well so far, but he's not quite as perky as he was yesterday. We played lots of GameCube yesterday, watched TV, found a few DVDs in the movie closet & just relaxed in our room. The 8th floor is so full right now, lots of kids & their families. We were lucky enough to be moved to a private room yesterday after starting off sharing with another patient. We love the 8th floor nurses, they always take such great care of us.
We had a great week & a half at home between hospital stays. Abe had so much fun on Halloween - first trick or treating with Ben, & then at a swimming party with Isaac & his friends. He said it was his 'best Halloween ever'. And I think we have enough candy to last us until next year! Ben's hockey practice started on Monday, he's happy to be skating again & loves it. That will keep us busy this winter. Isaac is doing well in middle school & seems to like it.
Abe wanted to type a message to everyone:
to my peeps,
i finished madagascar on gamecube. mommy is very WEIRD.
from ABE
--------------
Thanks for checking in!
Love,
Abe & his weird mom :o)
Friday, October 31, 2008 5:00 PM
Happy Halloween!!
Abe was discharged from the hospital on Sunday afternoon. We were able to come home on Monday night & have been home since then. Abe is having a good week & his counts seem to be hanging in there. Thought he may need to have platelets transfused late this week, but lab results yesterday were great - platelets 141,000. ANC was decent but on the low side at 308. No complaints here!
Abe's next treatment will be HD Methotrexate, but I'm not sure when that will be yet. Probably the week after next, I'll find out the plan early next week. So for now, life is good!
Abe & Ben are patiently waiting downstairs to go trick-or-treating tonight, so I'd better go before they catch me on the computer :o)
We have a Star Wars guy & a ninja this year (Isaac decided to go to a swimming party instead). Hope that everyone has a fun night - the weather here in northern MN is beautiful!
Thanks for checking in.
Love,
Kelly
================================
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Hello from the 8th floor at Children's. We checked in yesterday for Abe's scheduled chemo - high dose ARA-C (Cytarabine) 4 doses over 48 hours. This is by far our least favorite chemo & it really is nasty. Just a few hours after getting his first dose yesterday, Abe started having a hard time. Low blood pressure, high fever, labored breathing, etc. all night - same as last time he had ARA-C. Scary stuff. The Dr. decided that Abe won't get the rest of his doses, we were so relieved to hear that this morning. His body just can't handle this type of chemo, I don't even want to think about what 3 more doses would've done to him. Ugh. He seems to be improving today & his blood pressure is much better. Still not feeling very good & has some shoulder pain, but heat packs are helping. He's slept a lot today, but also watched some TV & tried to do some crafts - it was nice to see him acting more like himself & alert this afternoon.
Abe was happy to have some visitors yesterday. Grandpa Richard & Rosie stopped by, and also our friend Willie. So nice to have some company up here, it helps to pass the time. I'm glad that Abe was still feeling good at that point so that he could have fun hanging out while they were here. Linda came up to see us today, too. Thanks for giving me a little break!
Our friend Owen was also up on the 8th floor this week getting high dose chemo. It was nice to visit with his family & he got to go home today - woohoo!
www.caringbridge.org/visit/owenpilot
There are so many kids up here right now in various stages of treatment. Some familiar faces & a lot that I don't recognize, which means they're probably newly diagnosed. Please keep all of these amazing kids & their families in your thoughts.
We had a great few weeks at home before coming to Mpls a few days ago. Abe had so much fun hanging out with his brothers. Isaac & Ben had only 3 days of school both weeks because of MEA & conferences. Lots of time to just be at home together & we LOVED it! The boys are getting excited for Halloween & we're hoping to be back home by then. Abe spent Halloween in the hospital last year & he doesn't want to repeat that, so fingers crossed that it works out for him to just be a kid who trick-or-treats with his brothers.
Tomorrow morning will bring chemo shots in Abe's legs & then *hopefully* he'll be discharged soon after if all goes well tonight.
Thanks for checking in on us, we really appreciate it.
Kelly
P.S. Thank you to our friends at UPS for the care package - Abe loved it!
Thursday, October 9, 2008 9:30 AM
Things went well with Abe's spinal chemo last Wednesday at Children's. Even though his counts were pretty low, we decided to come home on Friday with our fingers crossed in hopes of platelets hanging in there for the weekend. The big chemo he had a few weeks ago really did a number on his counts.
Good news is that we are still home & Abe didn't need any transfusions this week! On Monday his ANC (immune count) was 0, so no school for him this week. Yesterday's counts were still low, but seem to be recovering. ANC 192, hemoglobin 8.2, platelets 39,000. Not high enough to start the next cycle of chemo this week, which was kind of a relief. Next up is another inpatient HD ARA-C stay, we'll check counts again on Tuesday to see if Abe is ready.
So for now, we're loving being at home. Abe will have the next 5 days poke-free & no worries (knock wood). A nice break for him & the rest of us, too. He's been having a good time with his brothers this week. Isaac is adjusting to life in middle school & likes it, for the most part. He's doing well in his classes & playing the trumpet this year. Ben loves everything about school - the highlights of this week are rollerskating in gym class & a dance at school tomorrow night.
Hope you have a great weekend. Thanks for checking in on Abe.
Kelly
------------------------------------
Monday, September 29, 2008 11:18 AM
Hello,
Sorry that it's been a few weeks since I've updated!
We've just been busy trying to keep up with things I guess. Trying to keep up with the kids' school stuff & household stuff when I'm home - and then asking other people to help out when I need to be in Mpls with Abe for his treatment. Al is busy working everyday of course. Yikes... I don't know if I've said this lately, but BIG thanks to everyone who makes that possible!! Looking forward to the day when we are able to be home more, that day is still several months away - but I know it will come.
Abe is doing well & we've been to Mpls a few times since I last updated. Last Wed. he had all-day chemo at Children's & now his counts are on the way down. He'll probably need a platelet transfusion before his IT (spinal) chemo this week. I'll take him down to Mpls sometime tomorrow so that we can be at the hospital bright & early Wed morning for his procedure. Overall, he's been feeling pretty good. He has a cough & his stomach isn't great with not much of an appetite. But other than that, the past few weeks have gone really well for him.
Abe hasn't been able to be at school very often. I've been working with him at home on his schoolwork, hopefully he can stay caught up with the rest of his class. He did go to a field trip with the 2nd graders a few weeks ago & loved it. They went to a play at the Reif Center in Grand Rapids - James & the Giant Peach & also visited the Children's Discovery Museum which was a lot of fun. He really liked spending time with his friends for a day.
Last week Abe & I got to go to a Twins game. We were in Mpls for his chemo & Auntie Jodi just happened to have 2 extra tickets to Thursday night's game against the White Sox. What an exciting game!! We really had fun with Jodi, Don, RuthAnn & Guy cheering on our Twins to a win. Thanks for inviting us, Jodi! Abe has started collecting baseball cards & spends a lot of time each day sorting them and reading all about the players. Go-Go is still his favorite. He wore his Gomez #22 Twins shirt all weekend, I had to sweet-talk him into taking it off so that I could wash it last night :o)
I also wanted to mention that I added a new link at the bottom of the page. Auntie Linda's friend Jordan is running a marathon to raise funds for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. She has included Abe as one of her Honorary Teammates when she runs with the LLS Team in Training on October 19th in San Francisco. We really appreciate her efforts to raise money & awareness for blood cancer research! You can click on the link to her page & check it out. GO JORDAN!! (P.S. Thanks, Jordan, for the VIP french fry card - Abe will be in to visit soon :o) :o)
I guess that's about all for now, thanks for stopping by & leaving guestbook messages. We appreciate it!
Kelly
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO GRANDPA JERRY!!!!
Friday, September 12, 2008 1:25 PM CDT
We're going home today! Abe has cleared the MTX enough to be discharged from the hospital. He's just finishing up a transfusion of red blood cells & then we're outta here. His counts look to be on the way down already from the chemo he just had, but we still got the OK to go HOME for a few days. Woohoo!!
We'll probably have to be back in Minneapolis by next Tuesday for either transfusions or more chemo depending on Abe's counts. Fingers crossed that the wknd goes smoothly & Abe can enjoy some time at home with his brothers.
Thanks for checking in,
Kelly
***message from Abe***
Order that Giovanni's pizza, Daddy, I'm coming home!!!
---------------------------------
Tuesday, September 9, 2008 10:54 PM
We're up on the 8th floor at Children's. Abe was admitted this morning for another round of High Dose Methotrexate. He had a good day today & spent a lot of time playing his Wii. He beat me at bowling, golf, tennis, baseball & even cow racing :o)
We'll probably be here all week, waiting for the MTX to infuse & then waiting for it to clear from his system. Abe seems to be feeling pretty good, except for some stomach cramps tonight. We had a visit from Auntie Linda earlier & I heard that there was some dice shakin' going on! Thank you to Linda for hanging out with Abe while I escaped from the room for a little while.
Abe was able to be at school every day last week & he really liked it! We're so glad that it worked out for him to start the year with his class. I don't know how often he'll be able to attend, but it sure was nice to let him have a 'normal' week as a 2nd grader. Ben & Isaac also had a great first week of school. I'll try to post a few pictures if I get a chance tomorrow.
Hopefully the MTX won't be too hard on Abe this time around. Some good thoughts would be appreciated, thanks!
He's all tucked in with his stuffed animals & has been snoozing for awhile - suppose I should try to get some sleep. I'll update again soon, thank you for checking in on us.
Love,
Kelly & the Wii champ
Saturday, August 30, 2008 3:00 PM
Abe was able to come home on Wednesday! I took him in to Children's that morning to check counts & we got the OK to head for Bemidji. His platelets had gone up to 39,000 - still pretty low. But looked like they were on the way UP, which was what we needed to hear to be able to leave Mpls & be at home for a little while. Abe was one happy boy when we pulled into our driveway & got quite a welcome from his brothers & Grandma Mary - complete with balloons hanging from the front door. Thanks, guys!
The boys all had school orientation on Thursday morning & we managed to make it to the Middle School, 1st grade and 2nd grade even though they were all scheduled at the same time. Middle School was a bit overwhelming (for me), but Isaac is excited & found his classes, his locker, etc. Abe & Ben met their teachers & are looking forward to seeing their classmates next week. Can't believe that school will start on Tuesday. The good news is that Abe will be able to be there on the 1st day! He wasn't able to attend at all last year, so this is a very big day for him. We'd appreciate some good thoughts for things to go well for Abe at school. And for me. Hopefully I won't feel the need to lurk the hallways to make sure that he's OK! :o) I'll do my best to try & keep busy doing other things that day, any suggestions??
If Abe's counts are high enough on Wednesday morning we'll head back down to Minneapolis, have his port accessed, hook up to fluids that night. And then be admitted to the 8th floor on Thursday AM for High Dose Methotrexate. Here we go again.
Thanks for checking in & keeping Abe in your thoughts. I have more to say, but need to get busy shopping for school supplies, backpacks & shoes for 3 boys. I love this regular-mom-back-to-school kind of busy!
Take care,
Kelly
---------------------------------
Saturday, August 23, 2008 12:00 PM
Still hanging out here in Minneapolis. We went in to Children's yesterday to see what Mr.Abe's counts were doing & platelets were LOW at 4,000. He got a transfusion of those & hopefully that will hold him over until Monday morning when we go back to clinic. Donated platelets only last a few days at the most. I don't know if I've said this lately, but a HUGE thank you to all of the blood donors out there. I can't even tell you how much Abe & kids like him rely on blood products during treatment. And I've honestly lost count of how many transfusions he's needed, especially during the past year since he relapsed. But I do know that he probably wouldn't be here without them - every time I watch him getting blood or platelets I think about the person who donated & wish that I could thank them in some way.
Abe seems to be feeling OK the past few days. His stomach is not great, still waiting for the C Difficile to hit the road. He hasn't eaten much in a few weeks & has lost 3-4 lbs, but last night he ate almost a whole plate of noodles! So maybe his appetite is on its way back. Drinking enough to keep from getting dehydrated has been an issue & I'm constantly hounding him to drink, drink, drink. Still plugging away with the GCSF shots each night. The backs of his little arms are like one giant bruise now. I was starting to wonder if I may be the world's worst shot-giver, until I saw how low his platelets were & Nurse Lori at clinic reassured me that my technique was just fine & I don't stink at the job :o)
Thanks so much for stopping by. We could use your good thoughts for things to go smoothly while Abe's counts are at rock bottom, no fevers, bleeding or anything else unexpected. Also that his counts maybe start to rebound soon. It's been about 2 weeks since we've been home & it sure will be nice to get back there. Even though we love staying with Auntie Linda, Abe really misses Daddy & his brothers. (Thank you, Grandma Mary, for taking such good care of them the past few weeks!) I'm really hoping to be back home in time to get Isaac & Ben ready to start school & send them off on their first day. Big stuff happening for them - Isaac will start middle school & Ben 1st grade! I don't know how much Abe will be able to attend 2nd grade, but I'd love to be able to take him on the 1st day at least to meet his teacher, see his classmates, etc. Depends on counts, where we are, we shall see.
Have a great weekend.
Love,
Kelly
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Wednesday, August 20, 2008 12:27 AM
Sorry that I haven't updated since last week. Abe was discharged from the hospital on Sunday & we're back at Linda's house.
What a week this has been, thankfully things have calmed down now. I think I was too stessed out to even gather my thoughts for an update last week. So last Tuesday Abe was admitted for his scheduled HD ARA-C (4 doses over 48 hrs). I went up to the 8th floor with a happy, feeling good, walking-almost-running Abe. He spent that day making crafts, playing foosball & flying his gliders down the halls. That night after giving him his 2nd dose of ARA-C he started to run a bit of a fever, which is a normal side effect from the chemo. Sometime during the night things started to go downhill fast. Abe's blood pressure dropped, his heartrate & fever shot up & he was working hard to breathe. He spent all of Wed. out of it & when he did wake up for a few minutes he was confused & in pain. The Dr. decided to hold off on his 3rd dose of ARA-C that morning until they could figure out what was going on with him & get his blood pressure to come up.
This is pretty much how we spent the next few days, wondering what was causing his sepsis & hoping that he was going to be alright. Al, Isaac & Ben came down on Thursday to be with us. (Thank you to Al's work for understanding) It seems I don't work very well alone in crisis-mode & it really helped to have everyone here for the weekend.
Friday morning Abe had a CT scan of his head & lungs to rule out a few things & get some answers. We found out he has pneumonia, which strangely enough, was kind of good news. He had already been started on some heavy-duty antibiotics that would cover this. We were relieved that it wasn't a fungal infection & that the scan of his head looked great. By Friday night his blood pressure was looking better & his fevers had stopped. Each day he seems to feel better & I can't tell you how good it is to see him having some normal days. He left the hospital on a whole bunch of extra oral meds, but is back to his fiesty little self.
We'll need to stay in Mpls for awhile longer, as Abe's counts will bottom out from the chemo. He'll most likely need transfusions of platelets & blood later this week. He's feeling pretty good today, other than some tummy issues. (He has C Difficile AGAIN) His legs are also hurting in his 'knee pits', as he calls them. Walking has been tough, but getting better. We've started GCSF shots, too, to help boost his white cells for a few weeks after the ARA-C. He's doing well with me giving him the shots each night, but we both hate it. This morning he was taking a bath & I could hear him singing -
'If you're happy & you know it...
Give your mom a GCSF shot
If you're happy & you know it...
Give your mom a GCSF shot'
At least his sense of humor is still intact :o)
Well, I guess this is long enough - thanks for stopping by & for all of the guestbook messages!
There are a few newer pics of Abe in the photo album that I added last week. I'll try to change them more often from now on.
Take care,
Kelly
Thursday, August 14, 2008 2:35 PM
Abe has been having high fevers & is just feeling miserable. His temp has been hanging out around 103 since Tuesday evening, his blood pressure also dropped that night & was low all of yesterday. He slept most of the day & just seemed out of it. His blood pressure is a little better today, but still lower than they would like to see it. They're keeping a very close eye on him, which is reassuring & scary at the same time. Yesterday was a long day filled with worry. Today isn't much better, but hearing the doctor say that Abe wasn't as high on her worry list as he was yesterday made us feel a little better.
So far nothing has grown in his blood cultures, but they're treating him with 3 different IV antibiotics to cover whatever kind of infection that might be causing all of this. He's having terrible back, neck & head pain, which I think have gotten worse today. The chemo itself can cause high fevers & body aches. But usually not low blood pressure & some of the other things he has going on right now. His HD ARA-C finished last night & he also had PEG shots this morning.
I just want him to feel better. It's so hard to see Abe like this & not be able to do much to help him. We could use all of your good thoughts & prayers for things to improve soon. Thanks.
It looks like we'll be here on the 8th floor for the next few days at least. Al, Isaac & Ben will be coming to Mpls sometime tonight. Looking forward to seeing all of my boys & hopefully it'll help Abe to have them here.
Thanks for checking in, I'll try to update again later tonight or tomorrow.
Love,
Kelly
-------------------------------
Tuesday, August 12, 2008 11:10 PM
Abe's counts were pretty good yesterday.
He was admitted to Children's this morning for High Dose ARA-C (Cytarabine). He'll get this chemo every 12 hours for a few days & then have PEG shots on Thurs morning. So, it looks like we'll be hanging out on the 8th floor most of this week.
Things are going OK so far. Abe was feeling great for most of the day & was in good spirits. Tonight was not so great & though he doesn't complain much, I can tell that he's feeling yucky. His tummy is sick & he's already running a fever from the ARA-C after only one dose. 103.5 Ugh. This is definitely our least favorite type of chemo, it's just nasty & the side effects are hard on Abe. Hopefully the next few days will go well for our little man.
The Relay For Life was really nice this year. Our whole family was able to be there & it was fun to hang out with everyone. There were so many luminary bags glowing for Abe, he looked at each & every one. Will try to post some pics sometime tomorrow.
It was so nice to just be at home while we were waiting for Abe's counts to recover the past few weeks. He was feeling great & I'm glad we had a chance to do some fun things. Back to reality now, though. I'll try to update again in the next few days.
Thanks for checking in.
Love,
Kelly
Friday, August 8, 2008 8:53 AM CDT
Good morning,
Thought I'd let you know how things are going for Abe. He's doing well right now & we're kind of at the same place we were last time I updated. Waiting for counts to recover. It's been 3 1/2 weeks since he had Cytoxan & Etoposide (IV chemo) & his ANC is still only 250. Ugh. We've been checking counts every 3-4 days in hopes that he'll be able to move on with treatment. Seems that Mr. Abe's ANC is just taking its own sweet time. Good news is that his platelets are FINALLY up to a decent level & he hasn't needed a transfusion in 2 weeks! We could use some good thoughts to boost up those numbers. Thanks!
We've been making the most of our time at home in between treatments. Abe loves to ride his bike & we go to the track at his school as often as we can. I think his legs are getting stronger every day. It's so great to see all 3 of my boys cruising around that track on their bikes, racing each other & laughing. Also great to not have to call behind him 'BE CAAAREFULLLLLL, YOU DON'T HAVE ANY PLATELETS RIGHT NOWWWWW'! He's told me more than once about how annoying that is :o)
We went to Minneapolis last weekend, but for strictly FUN purposes. We went to 2 Twins games & spent the weekend at a hotel with family. Grandpa Jerry, Grandma Rose & Auntie Missy #1. And Uncle Brian & Auntie Missy #2 came all the way from Denver to hang out with us. Thanks to all of you Fagerstroms for a fun weekend! We really needed that. The kids had a blast swimming at the hotel & watching the Twins play. I think Abe's favorite part was running the bases after the game on Sunday. He said he felt like Carlos Gomez & was all smiles. He wanted us to call him Abe Gomez or Go-Go Fagerstrom. So cute!
We have our Relay For Life tonight & are looking forward to that. Lots of our family will be there for team Abe & the Gang. Can't wait to see everyone! Abe is excited to wear his purple shirt & boogie around the big track, that little survivor loves to dance!
Not much else to report, I guess. Wishing that summer was a few months longer & will be getting ready for school to start in a few weeks. Isaac will be off to camp next week & is really excited to spend some time with his friends. Ben keeps busy out in the yard watering my flower gardens, the bikes, the van, but mostly himself :o)
It's now been a whole year since Abe relapsed, August 3rd, 2007 was the day we found out. This year has been very hard on all of us & some days it feels like we've been doing this leukemia-thing forever. Thank you for checking in on Abe. It means a lot to us that you're still stopping by. We appreciate it.
Have a great weekend,
Kelly
Tuesday, July 22, 2008 10:58 AM CDT
We're at Children's this morning in the Short Stay Unit. Abe had a spinal with chemo & is currently sleeping off his sedation. He was happy to get his sleepy medicine (Propofol) before the procedure & loves the nap that he takes after it's done. He had to have a platelet transfusion before they could do his spinal this morning. They were low at 16,000 when we checked counts yesterday. The transfusion bumped him up to 30,000 & hopefully those will stick around for a few days. We plan to come back in on Friday, if not before, for more platelets & maybe some red blood cells if needed.
So it looks like we'll be hanging around the big city for most of this week, or until Abe's counts start to rise. His ANC is also really low right now. The chemo he had last week is doing its job, so now we just wait it out until his counts recover.
We came down to Minneapolis yesterday & got to stay with Auntie Linda last night. Abe seems to be feeling good this week & has been in a great mood. Linda gave him a fancy new set of dice & he had fun shaking his way into some more money last night :o)
Abe is getting IV Pentamidine right now, his monthly antibiotic. It takes about 2 hours, so hopefully he'll just sleep through that. It makes him feel kind of yucky when he's awake. And then we'll be out of here & on our way back to Linda's house. We'd appreciate some good thoughts sent our way for this week to go well for our little man - platelets to hang in there & no bleeding or fevers. Thanks!
Will update more in a few days. Thanks for checking in.
Love,
Kelly
Saturday, July 19, 2008 9:30 AM
We did end up going down to Minneapolis earlier this week for Abe's chemo. It was the kind that just takes about 4-5 hours at the clinic & then we were out of there. Abe did such a good job with his port access & kept busy while we were waiting for his chemo to finish. It gets to be a long day, but he was in a great mood. We also got to visit with our little buddy Owen's family, they were in the next room getting the very same chemo as Abe. So nice to be able to chat with someone who's in the same boat. (Even though the boat is a crappy one & neither of us would've gotten in if we'd had a choice!)
www.caringbridge.org/visit/owenpilot
Abe's counts weren't as high as we'd hoped on Monday, platelets were still 34,000 (needed to be 75,000) and ANC was around 550 (needed to be 750). But the decision was made to go ahead with the chemo anyway since he's been delayed so long. They decided to reduce his dose. The thought is, that it's better to get SOME chemo than wait for counts to recover & be delayed for weeks at a time getting none.
Before we headed back home Abe wanted to go to the MN Zoo. He loves to visit the zoo & had fun finding all of his favorite animals there. He thought the new Grizzly Coast section was pretty cool & we plan to go back there soon when Isaac & Ben can come too.
Abe seems to be feeling well, other than some tummy stuff this week. His mouth is a little sore, hopefully that won't turn into anything worse. We'll head back to Mpls on Monday, Abe will have spinal chemo on Tuesday morning. We may end up staying down there awhile next week depending on what Abe's counts look like. His numbers have most likely starting dropping from the chemo he had a few days ago. If he needs transfusions of blood products, then we'll have to hang out down there.
So for now we're enjoying our time at home just doing normal, everyday kinds of things. I love those days.
Happy Birthday to Grandma Rose!!!
Thanks for all that you do for our family - hope you have a great day today!
Abe wants to tell you about the zoo:
i saw the hedghog at the zoo. i got a hedghog at the gift shop too. it was fun.
Have a nice weekend & thanks for thinking of Abe.
Love,
Kelly
P.S. to UB and AM - The boys are working on some jokes for you & can't wait to see you in a few weeks so get ready! At the very least, they have some noise makers that you'll appreciate :o)
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Monday, July 14, 2008
Hello - Sorry it's been so long since I've updated!
We've been at home for a few weeks waiting for Abe's counts to recover. Mainly his platelets, they've been low - hanging in the 25,000 to 35,000 range for weeks now. The high dose Methotrexate that he had about a month ago really did a number on him. They usually transfuse platelets when they get in the 20,000 range or if he's having any bleeding. We've managed to be at home the past few weeks with only one early-morning-race-to-Minneapolis platelet run.
We found out a few weeks back that Abe has another C Difficile infection. He'd been having terrible stomach pain & hadn't been able to eat/drink anything without getting sick. That seems to be on the mend now after being on an antibiotic for a few weeks. He's got a little bit of an appetite again, mostly for bacon. Seriously, he asks for it many times a day! I have to tell him that we've 'ran out' of it to divert him to other foods these days. So if you see us around town & suddenly get the craving for something salty & delicious - it's probably because we all smell like bacon :o)
Abe is also getting over a nasty cough that has been hanging on. Last week he had a high fever & scary headache that sent us to the local ER. They gave him IV antibiotics, ran blood cultures & a did a chest x-ray (it looked fine). He's been on an oral antibiotic & fever free since then. Fingers crossed, of course.
It's been nice to be home & we've been trying to sneak in some fun stuff in between all of the medical action. Ben had a birthday on July 1st. He gets so excited for his big day & had fun celebrating. Can't believe my baby is 6 years old! We spent the 4th of July in Big Falls. The boys love to go up there every year, especially Abe. We weren't sure if we'd make the trip this year, as Abe wasn't feeling well & his platelets were so low. (It's about an hour north of where we live, which makes it about 5 hours north of Minneapolis) But Mr. Abe told us that we needed to go - he spent both Halloween & Easter in the hospital & said he WAS NOT missing the fireworks in Big Falls on the 4th of July!
Abe also got to play golf with Grandma Rose & Isaac last week, he's been waiting to get his clubs out this summer. Thanks, Grandma! We took the boys to Putt & Go this weekend. Played some mini-golf & drove go karts and bumper boats. The boys had a blast there & now ask every day if we can go back. I have some great pics & video, I wish I could figure out how to get them on Abe's site.
So, I guess that's our summer so far. We're heading to the clinic this morning to check counts & see if Abe's platelets are moving in the right direction. If they happen to be at least 50,000, he'll most likely have chemo tomorrow morning at Children's. Please send some good thoughts, prayers our way for a good platelet count today. Thanks. It's been great to have a break from treatment & Children's, but chemo has been delayed for more than 3 weeks now & it's time to get back on track.
Hope you're enjoying your summer & thanks so much for checking in on us. I promise to try to update more often from now on. Thanks for not giving up on me :o)
Love,
Kelly
Monday, June 23rd, 2008 9:30 AM
Good morning from the 8th floor.
Would you believe that we're still here?!
The good news is that we are packing up our stuff & will be out of here later today :o) Abe's MTX level finally hit the magic number of .1 this morning.
His other counts are getting pretty low & he may need platelets in a few days. So we won't be able to go all the way HOME yet, but leaving the hospital & staying at Auntie Linda's will be wonderful!
Abe's mouth is still really hurting, but he did OK on Oxycodone yesterday. He was able to eat a few pieces of bread last night, the first he had eaten since last Tues. We would appreciate some good thoughts for him be able to eat & drink, for his platelets to hang in there & for things to go smoothly out of the hospital this week. Thanks for checking in. The days get so long here, it really helps to keep in touch with the outside world!
More later.
Love,
Kelly
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Saturday, June 21st, 2008 3:10 PM
Abe's MTX level was at .33 this morning, not low enough to buy a ticket out of this place. He'll get more of the rescue drug today & lots of IV fluids. Maybe tomorrow will be our lucky day?
Abe will also need a blood transfusion today, his hemoglobin had dropped quite a bit in the past few days. Other counts are starting to drop as well, that chemo sure works fast. Mouth pain is a little worse today, we're going to try some Oxycodone to help with that. Not much else to report I guess.
Abe is busy crafting this afternoon, I found a big box of supplies in the gift shop earlier today. I'm glad that he loves to make things, it really helps to pass the time.
We'd appreciate some good thoughts for Abe's MTX level to drop tomorrow morning. Thanks!
Kelly
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Friday, June 20, 2008 11:38 AM
Thanks for checking in on Abe. We've been staying up on the 8th floor at Children's this week. Abe was admitted on Tuesday morning for his scheduled chemo, HD Methotrexate. And we're still here. The chemo needs to clear his system to a certain level (.1 or lower) to be able to leave. Yesterday afternoon it was .92 & this morning it was .47, slowly but surely I guess. They have increased his IV fluids to continue flushing the MTX out & are also giving him some extra doses of the rescue drug to protect him. Basically, they give him the MTX over 24 hrs & let it do its job for a few days. And then, because its so toxic, they want it out of there. That's my understanding of it anyway. They'll check his levels again tomorrow morning & HOPEFULLY it will have dropped low enough to be able to leave. Fingers crossed.
Abe is already feeling the effects of the chemo he got a few days ago. He woke up Wed morning with a lot of pain in his hands & feet, and just feeling pretty cruddy all around. Heat packs helped a little & some Benadryl for the nausea. Today his hands & feet feel better, but his mouth is very sore. He almost always gets mouth sores after this chemo, was just hoping that they wouldn't arrive so soon. Ugh. But still, he is not a complainer & is managing to keep busy here. Taking care of his Webkinz pets, playing video games, The Dog Monopoly game, decorating the windows in his room, hanging out with Isaac & giving the nurses a hard time. He brought a few of his special noise making gadgets with him. (think sound effects from a bathroom) He's been getting a good laugh out of hiding it behind his back & then blaming the noise on whoever happens to be in the room. And then Isaac chimes in, 'Did you have beans for lunch?' Goofy boys.
Auntie Linda stopped by to visit last night, it's always nice to see familiar faces up here. Thanks, Linda! We also had a visit from our little buddy Owen & his mom a few days ago. So nice of them to come up the the 8th floor to see us. Owen was diagnosed with the same type of leukemia as Abe & then relapsed a few months ago. So he's going through a lot of the same heavy duty chemo that Abe is right now. Please keep Owen & his family in your thoughts, relapse chemo is unbelievably hard. His site is www.caringbridge.org/visit/owenpilot.
Thanks to everyone who has been helping take care of Ben this week at home. It sounds like he's having a lot of fun with all of you, but I'm missing my little Benny in a very big way. With any luck, we'll be able to leave the hospital tomorrow. Abe is more than ready to bust out of here.
Have a great weekend,
Kelly
P.S. Happy Birthday to Kenzie tomorrow!!!
Saturday, June 14, 2008 9:15 AM
We're still home.
Abe's counts aren't high enough yet to be admitted for chemo. We checked counts twice this week & his ANC is slowly making its way up to 750 but not quite there yet. We'll recheck again on Monday morning & most likely be admitted Tues at Children's for High Dose Methotrexate.
It's been great to have some extra days at home. Abe is doing well & having fun hanging out with his brothers this week - playing outside, riding bikes & helping me with yard work. It finally stopped raining long enough to get some things done outside! The boys helped me plant flowers a few days ago, Abe made sure that he got to take care of all the purple ones. Still his favorite color, in fact, I have purple popsicles on my grocery list today because no other color will do. Funny boy. The kids also got to see Kung Fu Panda, which they loved. But I think the highlight of Abe's week at home was going to his cousins' house on Sunday. Fireworks, bonfire, 4 wheeler rides - the boys had a blast. Abe really loved driving their 4 wheeler. Thanks to Marci & Pat for having us over!
Happy Father's Day to all of the dads out there. I'm glad that we'll be home tomorrow so that Al can spend the day with all of his boys. No big plans, maybe we'll let Daddy sleep in & cook him breakfast. We'll get together with Grandpa Jerry, Grandma Rose & Auntie Missy later in the day. Hope that you have a great weekend. The sun is shining here in Bemidji today :o)
Love,
Kelly
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Thursday, June 5, 2008 12:55 PM
We're home.
We went to Children's on Tuesday morning to check Abe's counts & got a nice surprise. His numbers looked pretty good. (They looked so good that our Dr. had them re-draw another sample to double check!) We had expected to be in Minneapolis through this week getting blood & platelet transfusions, since the chemo he had a few weeks ago really wipes everything out. Platelets still aren't very high, but seem to be hanging in there. So it looks like counts are recovering and we got the OK to come home for about 4 days. Also got the OK to stop the GCSF shots since his white count/ANC was nice & high. Woohoo!
Abe is happy, feeling well & very glad to be home for a few days. After we got home last night we ate s'mores, visited with Grandma Mary & watched the Twins beat Baltimore :o)
We'll need to be back in Mpls on Monday & Abe will be admitted to the 8th floor on Tuesday morning for HD Methotrexate.
Thanks for checking in. I had trouble getting an internet connection in our room at the RMH, so wasn't able to check Abe's site for a few days. It was great to read all of your guestbook messages when I got home last night. Thank you!
Love,
Kelly
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Saturday, May 31,2008 8:01 PM
Sorry I didn't give an Abe update last week! He was able to go home for 4-5 days after his hospital stay for chemo, but has been back in Minneapolis now for about a week. Al brought him down last Sunday to be closer to Children's since his blood counts were getting pretty low. The chemo that he got a few weeks ago (ARA-C) really did its job in wiping out his blood cells. He had a platelet transfusion on Tuesday & then both blood & platelets again on Friday. His ANC is super low at 12, so he doesn't have any infection fighters right now. We're giving Abe GCSF to help boost his white cells until he starts making them again on his own. GCSF = nightly shots. Yuck. Definitely not fun for any of us, especially Abe. He's been doing a great job, though, and only charges a small fee of a fifty cent piece or two! :o) Can't say I'll ever get used to sticking a needle in his arm, I wouldn't make a very good nurse. Send us some good GROW-CELLS-GROW thoughts, please. Thanks!
I guess that's enough medical talk for now.
Abe has been in a great mood this past week & has been cracking us all up with the funny things he does & says. He & Al had a good week staying at Auntie Linda's house. They went to his favorite bowling alley a few times, he loves to bowl & play video games there. Isaac, Ben & I came to Mpls on Thurs night, the boys were happy to see each other after being apart most of the week. We checked into the RMH yesterday, since we'll probably need to stick close the hospital for at least another week until those blood counts recover. The kids love the game rooms here & are keeping pretty busy. Al & Ben went back to Bemidji this morning. Isaac stayed here with me & Abe. He's such a good distraction for Abe & they get along really well.
It was a busy week at school for Isaac & Ben, their last day was on Thursday. They did so many fun things this week. Ben had a blast at the school carnival - his favorites were the huge inflatable slide & jumping house. I can't believe he's done with kindergarten already, this school year went by so fast. Isaac had a big week, went to Putt N Go (water slide, go karts, mini golf, etc) with the 5th grade Safety Patrols. He also got to ride in a limo to Dairy Queen (twice) as a reward for reading more than one million words this year. He read between 2 & 3 million! There were quite a few kids from his class in the Millionaire Word Club, they really had a fun day cruising around in the limo. He had his 5th grade graduation on Thursday & will be off to the Middle School next year.
Well, I guess that's about it for now. I'll update more in a few days. I've got some new pictures I'll try to post this week too.
Abe will need to be at Children's Tuesday morning to check counts & most likely have another platelet transfusion. Hopefully we won't need to go in before then. Fingers crossed. Thanks so much for checking in on Abe. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
Love,
Kelly
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Greetings from the 8th floor at Children's.
Abe was admitted yesterday for his scheduled chemo. He's getting a dose of HD ARA-C (Cytarabine) every 12 hrs. One more dose to go & he'll have that later tonight. Things are going pretty well so far, knocking on wood as I type. He did have a fever of 102 this afternoon, but after some tylenol his temp is normal again. The ARA-C can cause high fevers, so we're thinking that's the case. But they are running some blood cultures just to be sure there isn't something else brewing. Hopefully he won't have anymore fevers tonight or tomorrow. We're hoping to be discharged sometime tomorrow after Abe gets his PEG shots & a fever may change the plan. So, we'd appreciate some fever-free thoughts sent our way - also for nothing to grow in the cultures, thanks!!
Abe's been keeping pretty busy here in his room. He's been making some cool art projects & playing Webkinz, of course. He's alternating between really funny & really grumpy. He hasn't been feeling great today, just an overall 'yuckiness' & not quite himself. He's also not a fan of the eye drops that he needs to have throughout the day. The drops are to protect his eyes from the ARA-C, it causes dryness, burning, redness, etc. He's had a hard time with this in the past so we're using a new type of drops this time around. Hope that this does the trick.
We did go to Como Zoo on Sunday & Abe had a great time. He especially liked the Screamin' Dragon ride at Como Town. Thank you to Auntie Linda & Jennifer for hanging out with us - and going on the little roller coaster with Abe, since I couldn't handle it!!
Well, Abe is all tucked in so I should try to get some sleep while I can. We scored a big, private room this time - and the wonderful nurse last night had a REAL bed brought in for me! (So much better than the usual chair-that-flattens-out-into-a-bed) What more could a girl ask for?
Thanks for thinking of Abe.
Love,Kelly
Saturday, May 17, 2008 11:15 AM
Just a quick update on Abe today. He's doing well & has been enjoying his time at home the past few days. The weather has been beautiful here & the boys have spent a lot of time outside. Love to see them hanging out, having fun in the back yard together. Abe's legs seem to be getting a little stronger every day. He's been making his way up the many stairs in our house, slowly but surely. I think this will help with his strength. We're going to start back in physical therapy soon, too.
Abe's spinal chemo at Short Stay went well on Monday. Good to have another one of those behind us. He did have a reaction to the IV Pentamidine (antibiotic) though, which was kind of scary. Not sure if he'll continue to get this next month, or if they'll switch to something else. We'll see. He's kind of turned into a reaction-type-of-guy over the past months. Keeping us on our toes, I guess, or maybe filling my head full of grey hair!
Abe & I will head down to Minneapolis tomorrow. He's scheduled to be admitted on Monday morning to start the next phase, Intensification II. He'll get High Dose ARA-C & more PEG shots this week. So, we'll be hanging out on the 8th floor for a few days & hopefully if things go well, back home later in the week. We're going to try to get to Mpls early enough tomorrow to pack as much fun into our day as we can. A trip to ComoTown for some rides & the zoo if the sun is shining.
Well, Abe is patiently waiting for his turn on the computer. His Webkinz pets are calling him!
Thanks for checking in.
Love,
Kelly
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Monday, May 12, 2008 9:20 AM
Good morning,Time for an Abe update, sorry! He & Al left for Minneapolis yesterday & are at Children's this morning for a spinal with chemo. Abe is probably being sedated as I type this, I'm just waiting for the call from Al to let me know that the procedure is done. Ring phone, ring! Abe will also get his monthly IV antibiotic today (Pentamidine), which takes about an hour to infuse. Good thoughts for everything to go smoothly this morning would be appreciated ~ thanks!
We finally made it through the big steroids last week. 21 days of Dexamethasone really did a number on Abe. Along with the hunger, mood swing issues & puffiness, his leg muscles have really weakened. He's having a hard time with all of the stairs in our house. He can still go down the stairs on his own, but going up has been tough. Even though he's determined to do things on his own, sometimes he asks to be carried upstairs. I know that in a few weeks he'll get his strength back & will be able to keep up with his brothers again. Just hard to see him like this, I guess. Overall he handled the steroid side effects pretty well, but we sure are glad to be done with them for awhile.
Abe & his brothers were pretty excited for the opening of fishing this weekend. Abe talked all week about how the walleye needed to be in his tummy & not in the lake :o) Well, the weather didn't cooperate on Saturday. It rained, snowed & was way too cold for the boys to be out in the boat. But luckily that didn't stop Al from catching enough for a breakfast of walleye on Saturday morning. It was a feast for our 3 fish-loving boys. Abe made sure to take the left-overs to Mpls with him yesterday. The kids are looking forward to lots of fishing time out on the lake this summer with Dad.
Abe & Al went to a Twins game last time they were in Minneapolis. They had a great time. Their seats were right above the Twins bullpen & towards the end of the game one of the pitchers, Juan Rincon, tossed a ball up to Abe. So, of course "Juannie" is his new favorite player. Pretty exciting stuff for a 7 year old Twins fan!
Hard to believe that school is almost over for the year. Isaac & Ben have a lot of fun things going on in the next few weeks, all of the end-of-the-year activities & field trips.
Abe is scheduled to start the next phase of treatment a week from today, Intensification 2, which will last throughout the summer at least. He'll be inpatient (8th floor) quite a bit during this phase, starting with High Dose ARA-C on Monday if counts are high enough. Hopefully he can enjoy some good days at home in between.
I guess this is long enough already, I really need to update more often! Happy Belated Mother's Day to all of the moms out there. We had a nice day. I got some great 'Happy Mother's Day' hugs & smooches from my 3 sweet boys yesterday. I feel like the luckiest mom in the world.
Thanks for stopping by & for signing the guestbook. We really appreciate it. Have a great week.
Love,Kelly
Monday, April 28, 2008 9:30 AM
Good Morning,
Sorry that I haven't updated in awhile! Abe is doing well & is on his way to Minneapolis right now with Al. I think they're both looking forward to some Daddy and Abe time. They'll need to be at Children's early tomorrow morning. Abe will have Doxorubicin & Vincristine, both IV chemos, through his port & will also get another set of chemo shots in his legs. Abe is pretty worried about the PEG shots & is glad that he'll be done with those for awhile after tomorrow.
We're on Day 14 of steroids, only 7 more days to go! It's unbelievable how quickly the nasty side effects of Dexamethasone kick in. Ugh. Trouble sleeping, stomach pain, puffiness, mood swings to name a few. They also make Abe super hungry, all day long. He's had some serious meat cravings again, fried chicken, bacon & of course his smoked salmon from Morey's. It's like he's just desperate to find something to eat - wondering how his tummy can be SO hungry & SO full all at the same time. We really can't wait until he's done with steroids.
We'd appreciate your good thoughts & prayers for things to go well for Abe in the morning. Thank you! He & Al have big plans to go to the Twins game tomorrow night if he's feeling up to it. Abe is so excited & is already wearing his Twins jersey & hat today :o)
Will update again later in the week. Thanks for checking in on our little guy.
Love,
Kelly
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Friday, April 18, 2008 4:19 PM
Abe was finally able to restart treatment this week. Even though his counts weren't high enough yet, our doctor decided that he just needs to continue on to the next phase of chemo. So, here we go with Re-Induction.
We went to Children's on Tuesday morning, Abe needed to be there bright & early for a spinal with chemo. He also had two different kinds of IV chemo, (Doxorubicin & Vincristine) & has started his 21 days of high-dose steroids (Dexamethasone). Yikes. He did really well with the sedation/chemo at Short Stay & oddly enough he seems to love to go to sleep with Propofol :o) He woke up happy & even after all of the stuff that went into his body that morning he wanted to go & find something fun to do. The weather was perfect - 70 degrees - so we decided to go to Como Zoo for the afternoon. We really had a great day together.
On Wednesday morning we went back to Children's for more chemo. Abe had to get the yucky, painful chemo shots in his legs. 3 shots of Pegasparagase into his thigh muscles. We always dread these, but he did such a good job & sat very still for them. At least they get all three done at the same time, 3 nurses, one for each shot. Kind of a ONE-TWO-THREE-GO type of thing. One Webkinz & about ten minutes later, Abe was ready to smile again. Sometimes I am just completely amazed by him.
We made it home on Wednesday night & hopefully won't have to go back down to Mpls until Monday. Abe is feeling OK, but his legs are a little sore from the PEG shots along with some back pain from the spinal this week & the bone marrow aspirate last week. His tummy isn't great, kind of nauseated from the Dox. & super hungry from the steroids. Not a great combination. He sure is happy to be home, though. The steroids have already started to mess with his emotions, but he is still so sweet & feels bad when he realizes he's being cranky. It will be interesting to find out what his crazy steroid food cravings will be during this phase. Last time he was on them, he wanted meat, meat & more meat! Yesterday he did mention that he thinks we should stop at Morey's Fish in Motley on our way to Mpls next week because we haven't been there in such a long time. I think he's already having visions of smoked salmon & it's only Day 4 of steroids!
Thanks for checking in on Abe & have a great weekend.
Love,
Kelly
P.S. We're thinking of you, Auntie Jodi!!!
Friday, April 11, 2008 2:30 PM
I just got the results.
Abe's bone marrow looks fine!!
He has 2 percent blasts, anything under 5 percent is considered good.
Woohoo!!
Now we just need for that marrow to start making some white cells. We'll check counts again on Monday morning & hopefully get started on Re-Induction Tuesday morning at Children's.
Have a great weekend :o)
Love,
Kelly & the rest of the relieved crew
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Thursday, April 10, 2008 9:00 PM
Just wanted to let you know that we don't know the results yet from today's bone marrow test. We should hear from Children's in the morning & I'll update when I know more. Thanks for all of the supportive messages today. Waiting for results is so hard, but it sure helps to know that you're waiting with us. Thank you!
Abe did well with the procedure this morning, he was in such a great mood. He was entertaining all of the nurses & the sedation Dr. right up until the minute they pushed the sleepy medicine (Propofol) into his line. I wish I would've had the video camera rolling!
Abe & I came home this afternoon & will spend the weekend here before we head back down to Mpls on Monday. Sounds like we're about to get a bunch more snow tomorrow. The boys have big plans to make a snow fort in the yard this weekend. With any luck, this will be our LAST opportunity to play in the snow this year!
Thanks for stopping by.
Kelly
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Wednesday, April 9, 2008 5:06 PM
Here's the scoop on Mr. Abe.
We came down to Minneapolis yesterday & to make a long story short, his ANC is still not high enough to have the chemo that he needs.
We went in to Children's this morning in hopes of getting chemo. But after checking his counts & seeing that his ANC was even lower than it was yesterday, they decided not to go ahead with it. Giving chemo (Etoposide & Cyclophosphamide) when Abe's counts are this low would really wipe him out & cause more delays in treatment. He hasn't had any chemo in 6 weeks & that is not a good thing. We don't want to give the leukemia a chance, so we'll hopefully move on to the next phase of treatment on Tuesday.
Since Abe's white cells haven't recovered in over a month, they'll do a bone marrow aspiration to see what's going on. We go in to Short Stay at Children's bright & early in the morning, they'll sedate him & take a sample of his marrow. It's always nerve wracking when they need to test his marrow, as they only do it when they're concerned. So we're trying not to worry, but of course it's not working very well. We could use all of your thoughts & prayers tomorrow morning for good results from Abe's bone marrow test. I'll post the results as soon as I hear anything.
Thanks for checking in.
Love,
Kelly & Abe
Saturday, April 5, 2008 1:15 PM
We are still Home Sweet Home! Abe's counts aren't high enough to restart chemo yet. We had bloodwork done twice this week & his ANC is slowly inching its way up to 750 but not quite there yet. He has been feeling great & having fun at home. He's been eating, drinking & acting like his crazy/happy little self :o)
We'll check counts again Monday morning & then most likely head down to Mpls that day for Tuesday's chemo. While it's been WONDERFUL to be home, now it's time for those counts to recover so we can get on with things. His chemo has been delayed for more than 3 weeks already. Please think good-count-thoughts on Monday morning. Thanks!
Love,
Kelly & the boys
P.S. Happy Birthday Grandma Mary!! Thanks for coming to visit this week!
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Friday, March 28, 2008 7:45 PM
Abe is home!
Al took him in to Children's this morning to check counts. His ANC is still too low to restart chemo, so they got the OK to head home today. We'll check blood counts again on Mon or Tues to see if he's ready to head back down to Mpls for treatment.
It was so great to see them this afternoon. Abe wanted to surprise us because we weren't sure if they'd be able to come home today. He rang the doorbell when they got here, I went to answer it & saw his smiling little face pressed up against the glass. What a nut! In the few hours he's been home he has eaten Giovanni's pizza, had a vanilla cone from DQ, kicked my butt at Aggravation & is now downstairs playing the Wii. Lots to catch up on after being away for 3 weeks!
Life is good :o)
Love,
Kelly
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Monday, March 24, 2008 11:00 PM
I hope that everyone had a Happy Easter. Sorry that I haven't had a chance to update the site in the past few days.
Al, Isaac & Ben came down to Minneapolis for the weekend. Their arrival at the hospital on Friday afternoon brought a smile to Abe's face. (The first one we'd seen in quite awhile!) We had a nice weekend even though Abe was still in the hospital. On Saturday we dyed eggs in his room - thank you to Auntie Linda for boiling all of those eggs! Abe seemed to like that. He was a little worried that the Easter Bunny wouldn't find him in the hospital, but woke up to find lots of eggs & his basket hidden in his room. (The Bunny also found his brothers in their hotel room.) We had a nice Easter lunch at Children's, Boston Market delivered meals to all of the families on the 8th floor. So it was a different sort of Easter for us, but we're so glad that we were all together & Abe was feeling good enough to enjoy the day. The best part....Abe was discharged from the hospital yesterday afternoon :o) :o) :o)
His counts are quite low, so he still needs to stay close to the hospital. His ANC came up just a little, to about 200. Platelets are still low, but hanging in there. His last transfusions were on Wednesday night. He's been holding steady at about 30,000 for the past few days, much better than his numbers the past few weeks. 2,000 = scary low. (Normal is anything above 150,000) He's still on an antibiotic for the C difficile 3 X a day. His stomach issues seem to be improving & hopefully the antibiotic will clear this out of his system.
The past few weeks have been tough for Abe. Ugh. I won't even try to describe all of it, but just hope that there are better days ahead for him soon. Al will take him in to check counts at Children's on Wed morning. If his ANC & platelets are up, he'll have chemo again Thursday. And then hopefully they'll be home in Bemidji towards the weekend. I came home today with Isaac & Ben. It's nice to be home, but always hard to leave Mpls without Abe. We had a fun day though, we took the boys out for lunch & bowling before we left town. Abe had a good time with his brothers, so great to see him smiling & doing normal kid stuff.
Thanks so much for checking in. It's been so great to read all of the guestbook messages this week, thank you!
Love,
Kelly
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Tuesday, March 18, 2008 10:52 AM
Abe has been inpatient on the 8th floor at Children's since Friday. Our little man is having some tough times. I feel like I'm starting to sound like a broken record, but thought I'd let you know what's going on.
Abe is just feeling miserable & has so much going on right now I don't know where to start. He still has painful sores in his mouth & throat (mucositis). They think it could be all the way down his GI tract. He's been on a continuous drip of pain meds to help with that. He hasn't been able to eat the past few weeks, so they've started him on IV nutrition. Nothing tastes good to him & it hurts to eat.
He has quite a cough & wheezing/courseness in his lungs. He's had 2 chest xrays this week & so far things look OK. He'll have another done today as soon as he wakes up. The pulmonologist put him on IV steroids to hopefully help clear some of this up & also increased his pulmicort nebs to 4 times a day along with albuterol around the clock.
Abe is on several different IV antibiotics to cover all the bases. A new one was added over the weekend as he tested positive for an intestinal infection (C diff). C diff causes severe stomach cramps/pain & diarrea.
Still has very low counts & has needed transfusions of blood & platelets every day. He has been getting platelets every morning & then again later in the day just to keep up. Yesterday was the first day that he only needed one bag of platelets. His ANC is 42, so he doesn't have many infection fighters right now.
Abe is still sleeping, I hope that when he wakes up that today is a better day for him. The IV steroids have kicked in & along with helping his lungs, they can really mess with your emotions. He was pretty irritable yesterday & also had an itchy-creepy-crawly feeling from the morphine. They've switched him to a fentanyl drip instead, let's think pain-free & itch-free thoughts. We got the port needle change done last night & I think we're all glad that's behind us. Ugh. During that whole process he was just pleading with me, 'Mommy I just need a break'. He's getting so tired of all this, but does such a good job w/ everything.
I've probably given you too much information, sorry. Always feel free to scroll through my ramblings & skip right to signing the guestbook :o)
On to some more positive news. Auntie Jodi came up to visit us yesterday & spoiled us with some goodies to get through the week. Thanks, Jodi, it was great hanging out with you! Today our friend Willie is going to visit & bring me lunch. Looking forward to seeing him, too.
When I came to Mpls on Saturday to switch places with Al I brought Isaac & cousin Tanner with me. Abe perked up a little with their visit & was glad to see them. Ben decided to stay in Bemidji so that he could go to his friend's birthday party. Thanks to Grandma Rose & Grandpa Jerry for taking care of him.
Well, Abe is awake now so I'll update more tomorrow. We'd appreciate your thoughts & prayers for things to turn around soon. We especially need these blood counts to rise so things can start healing. Thanks!
Hoping that our little guy gets his much-deserved break,
Kelly
P.S. Thank you Benny, for the guestbook message you left yesterday. We love to read all of the sweet & funny things you say.
Thank you, Nancy :o)
Friday, March 14, 2008 0:53 AM CDT
Thought I'd let you know how Abe's week has been going. Things are about the same as when I updated on Monday. He & Al are still in Minneapolis. He's needed several transfusions of both blood & platelets already this week & is just feeling pretty miserable. He's having lots of stomach pain, headaches, nosebleeds, mouth sores, etc. He also still has a cough & has been having fevers throughout the week. They did another chest x-ray today, Al hadn't heard the results from that yet when I talked to him this afternoon. They've given Abe 3 different kinds of IV antibiotics over the past few days.
Tomorrow morning Al will take him back to the clinic for more platelets. They'll also have to de-access Abe's port & put a new needle in as it needs to be changed every 7 days. This is obviously one of Abe's least favorite things & I'm hoping that it goes well for him. Send my boys some good thoughts in the morning if you will.
They've been able to stay at Linda's house every night (thanks, Linda!) and go to the hospital for transfusions, etc. during the day. Al hooks him up to IV fluids & gives him IV antibiotics with the portable pump every evening. Along with keeping up with all of his other meds & breathing treatments.
Hopefully one of these days Abe's counts will start coming up on their own without transfusions. Also hoping that he can fight off whatever type of infection he may have right now. Last week's chemo really did a number on his little body.
On the home front, Isaac & Ben are doing well. It is a conference week at their school. It's always nice to visit with their teachers & catch up on things. They have no school today & tomorrow, so it's good to have them home for a few days. I took Ben for a long bike ride yesterday while Isaac was off with his friends. He was so happy to have his bike out for the first time after a long winter, smiling & waving at all the neighbors. Even though we still have lots of snow here, the roads were almost bare. It's been warming up outside, I think spring is in our near future. Can't wait for that snow to hit the road!
Well, that's about all I have for now. Will update more on Abe soon. Thanks for all of the guestbook entries, they really mean a lot to us.
Love,
Kelly
Monday, March 10, 2008 12:30 P.M.
Well, we did get out of the hospital on Friday afternoon & headed home. But the last few days have been tough for Abe. He's been having terrible nosebleeds throughout the weekend, the kind that gush & won't stop. On top of that, he's just been feeling miserable. Still has painful sores in his mouth & also down his throat, so he hasn't been able to eat or drink much of anything. He says that his whole body hurts, especially his back & his stomach.Did I mention how much I hate cancer yet today?
Al took Abe back down to Minneapolis yesterday afternoon. So they spent most of the night in the ER at Children's. He got a transfusion of platelets as they were really low, hopefully that will help with the nosebleeds. They ran some blood tests & cultures as well, those results take a few days. Abe didn't have a fever, so they were able to sleep at Linda's last night. I guess I should say this morning, they didn't leave the hospital until 3:30 a.m. Tomorrow morning Abe will have a blood transfusion at the clinic & maybe more platelets. Donor platelets only last about a day, so hopefully they'll hold him over until morning. A day with no nosebleeds would be nice. They left his port accessed last night (needle/tube in) & Al will hook Abe up to some fluids later today to keep him from getting dehydrated. We'll take any good thoughts you have to spare today. It's so hard to see him hurting like this. Thank you for checking in & for keeping Abe in your thoughts.Kelly---------------------------------------Friday, March 7, 2008 12:00 P.M.It looks like Abe will be discharged today. We're patiently waiting to hear the official word, OK, maybe not so patiently. Abe is tapping his little foot & ready to bust out of here! The tentative plan is to head home for the weekend & then come back to Mpls on Monday for Tuesday's chemo. Abe isn't feeling great today, still has a cough, sore throat & added to the list is a headache & some painful mouthsores. Ugh. But he's in good spirits & happy to hear that home is a possibility. We would appreciate some good thoughts for no fevers, that he's able to eat & drink, platelets to hang in there, cough/sore throat to hit the road & for mouth sores to heal. Not too much to ask, huh?! Thanks :o)Have a great weekend,KellyP.S. I added a few more recent pics on the photo page. I wish it held more than 3 at a time, I'll try to change them more often!-------------------------------------Wednesday, March 5, 2008 12:43 P.M.I guess it's about time for an Abe update, sorry!We're up on the 8th floor at Children's this week.After being delayed for a few weeks because of low counts, we're finally back on track with his chemo. Abe just had 24 hrs of High Dose Methotrexate & then will start the rescue drug Leucovorin sometime tonight to flush it out of his system. Hopefully it'll only take a few more days, but you just never know how long it will take to clear. Fingers crossed that we'll be home this coming weekend! Things are going well here & Abe is keeping busy in his hospital room. He's really into Webkinz right now, so taking care of his 'pets' on the computer helps to pass the time. He's also been making lots of art projects & window clings for his room. I think we're soon going to have the coolest door on the 8th floor!Abe has a cough right now & a very sore throat. They tested him for strep this morning & so far it's negative. We'll find out tomorrow if the cultures show anything. Isolated to the room until we know for sure he doesn't have strep. He coughed all night long, poor little guy. Hopefully he'll be able to get some rest tonight.So we had a few good weeks at home while waiting for counts to recover. I think Abe's favorite outing was tubing at Buena Vista. I'm so glad that we got a chance to do that, Abe had been talking about tubing all winter. We had so much fun. I have some great video of the boys laughing, screaming, zooming down the hill! (Big thanks to the Dickinsons for the passes!) Abe also spent some time ice fishing, playing games at the arcade and just hanging out at home. It doesn't get much better than that :o)
Well, Abe is patiently waiting for the laptop. I'll update more as the week goes on. Thanks for thinking of us.
Love, Kelly & the King of Webkinz
P.S. Hi Daddy, Isaac & Ben - We miss you guys!!!
Thursday, February 21, 2008 2:04 PM CST
Abe is having a good week & is at home. He was supposed to start his next cycle of chemo yesterday, but his ANC (immune count) wasn't high enough yet. The great part about that is he'll get a few extra days at home while we wait for his counts to recover. The not-so-great part is that with a low ANC he's more likely to pick up any virus he comes in contact with. But we're not complaining!
Just doing our best to avoid germy people & places :o)
Abe & I spent last week in Minneapolis. He had a spinal with chemo on Wednesday at Children's. We ended up staying in Mpls for a few days afterwards since his platelets were low. They thought he might need a transfusion towards the end of the week, but checked counts on Fri. morning & gave us the OK to come home for the weekend. Was great to have a week without him needing transfusions of any blood products. We had some time to do a few fun things while in Minneapolis. Abe & I had our own little Valentine's date. (But I'm not supposed to call it a date, because "that's EMBARRASSING"!) We went to the movie Alvin & the Chipmunks & he really liked it. Coolest part was that we were the only 2 people in the theater! Abe had fun visiting Auntie Linda at work that day, too. We also got a chance to see some family & friends while staying at Linda's house. So even though we were away from home, it was a pretty good week.
Isaac & Ben are doing well & are keeping busy with school stuff, friends, hockey, etc. Big thanks to Grandma Rose & Grandma Mary for helping out with them the past few weeks while I was gone! Over the weekend, I got to take Ben to his hockey game & then went to a movie with Isaac. So nice to be able to spend some time with each of my boys.
Not much else to report on the medical front this week, which is great. Just keeping up with all of Abe's meds, breathing treatments & hoping that he won't get a fever while we're home. Thanks so much for checking in. Have a good weekend.
Love,
Kelly & the happy-to-hang-out-at-home crew
P.S. HAPPY BIRTHDAY AL!!!! (a day late)
Saturday, February 9th, 2008
We made it back to Bemidji last night & Abe is very happy to be home for a few days again. By the way, the trip home was nice & uneventful. No need for a bucket of any kind :o)
Abe was feeling pretty good & wanted to make our usual stop at the pet store at the mall in St.Cloud. He LOVES to go there to look at the puppies.
Abe is having a good weekend so far. It's way too cold to go anywhere today so we're hanging out at home. He's been busy working on his Valentines & playing Wii with his brothers.
He's been eating & drinking more since we've been home, but still not as much as we'd like. The chemo he had on Wednesday can cause a yucky feeling tummy, so hopefully it'll get better each day. I think he's still trying to get over the stomach bug he had earlier this week, too. He was dehydrated & needed lots of extra IV fluids to catch up.
Hopefully we won't have to head back to Minneapolis until Tuesday. Abe is scheduled for a spinal with chemo early Wednesday morning at Children's. His counts will most likely drop in the next few days from last week's chemo. We're hoping for no fevers, bleeding, etc. this time around. Fingers crossed!
Have a great weekend & if you're in MN - stay warm!
Love,
Kelly
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Tuesday, February 5th, 2008
Abe had a great weekend at home & is now back in Minneapolis. He was supposed to have chemo at Children's this morning, but it's been rescheduled for tomorrow. He has the same stomach flu that has been making its way through our house during the past week. He started vomitting when he woke up yesterday & didn't stop until about 6 a.m. this morning :o( Poor little guy. The 5 hour car ride yesterday to get to Minneapolis didn't help matters much. I think I'm well-trained now at driving while holding a puke bucket. Ugh. Long day.
When I called the clinic yesterday, they had planned to go ahead with his chemo on schedule. But we ended up just going in for fluids & anti-nausea meds instead, as he was pretty dehydrated & couldn't keep anything down. So we came back to Linda's & will hook up to a backpack of fluids tonight. We'll go back to Children's tomorrow for his infusion of Cytoxan & VP-16. Looks like we might get to go home on Thursday if all goes well. His counts are hanging in there.
Abe seems to be feeling better tonight, he's eaten a few bites of food & is trying to drink a little. He spent quite awhile on the phone with Isaac this afternoon & I heard a few giggles come out of him. That's always a good sign.
I hope to update from home in a few days. Thanks for checking in!
Kelly
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Thursday, January 31, 2008
Abe is doing well. Al brought him back down to Minneapolis on Monday to start the next part of his treatment. He's starting the same 3 week cycle of chemo that he just finished. They're up on the 8th floor at Children's this week for Abe's scheduled High Dose Methotrexate. Just waiting now for the rescue drug (Leucovorin) to do its job & clear the MTX out of his system. Sounds like his levels are coming down each time they check, so hopefully he'll be discharged sometime in the next few days. It would be great if he could come home for the weekend because he'll need to be back at the hospital on Tuesday for more chemo. Fingers crossed that this cycle doesn't hit him as hard as the last one did. The past month was really tough on him.
Abe is feeling pretty good right now, still has a bit of a cough & is getting lots of breathing treatments around the clock. He also has a few mouth sores starting again. Let's hope that there won't be as many as during his last cycle of this chemo. I talked to Abe on the phone earlier today & he sounded in good spirits. Keeping busy with his Nintendo DS, making window clings with some cool paint (I heard he even made a penguin for Dr. Mike!), using his other new art supplies & stickers, and working on lots of schoolwork with Daddy. He also told me that he wants some vanilla ice cream when he gets home. Sounds good to me :o)
It was so nice to have everyone home last week! We had 6 whole days of just hanging out as a family. Even though Abe wasn't feeling great on some of the days, he sure made the best of his time at home. We even snuck off to one of his favorite places on Friday - the arcade. I posted a new picture of him on the photo page. (For some reason it is HUGE & I couldn't resize it?) But you can see how happy he is playing his favorite games. We also got to visit with lots of family last week. Thank you to everyone who rearranged their schedules to spend a little time with Abe & the rest of us!
It's been so cold this week in MN! It was more than 50 below here yesterday. Yikes. Isaac & Ben were happy that school was cancelled for the whole day. Was good to just cozy up at home watching movies & playing games. Benny scored an extra day at home with mom today thanks to a yucky stomach virus :o( Mom scored a day of shampooing the carpet in his room tomorrow. I won't go into details. Double :o(
Isaac did a super job representing the JW Smith 5th grade at the District Spelltacular on Tuesday night. He made it to the second round before being eliminated. A 7th grader from the Middle School was the last one standing. We're so proud of you, Isaac!
I guess that's about it for now. Thanks so much for stopping by. Have a great weekend.
Kelly
Wednesday, January 23rd, 2008
Abe is home :o) :o) :o)
We were able to bring him home on Monday night. He hadn't had a fever since early Sunday morning & his counts were showing signs of recovery, so we got the OK to head north for the week! Yippee!!!
Abe still isn't feeling 100 percent, but is VERY HAPPY to be home after almost a month in Minneapolis. He's still having headaches and has quite a cough. Hopefully his pneumonia is clearing up. We've been doing breathing treatments 4 times a day. His Dr. also sent him home on an antibiotic just in case something is still brewing in there.
Abe's appetite has kicked in a little since we've been home. He's been asking for lots of his favorites & of course I practically run to the kitchen to make whatever it is! It's just so good to see him eating again. We'll try to get as much food as we can into his little body before it's time to go back to Minneapolis.
Hopefully, everything will go well here this week. Send good thoughts for no fevers or any other complications, please. Our little man needs a break before his next cycle of chemo starts. We'll need to be back down in Minneapolis on Sunday & we plan to enjoy every minute of our time at home. It's so nice to have our whole family in the same house!
Thanks for checking in & for all of the guestbook messages. I can't tell you how much it helps to read those entries & know that so many people are thinking of Abe.
Stay warm!
Love,
Kelly
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Saturday, January 19th, 2008 11:00a.m.
Sorry that I haven't updated in a few days.
Abe is still in the hospital. He's still having fevers every day, last night it got as high as 104. Yikes. Blood cultures have been drawn every day & still nothing has grown, which is good. They tested him for RSV (a respiratory virus) yesterday & that came back negative. The CT scan also looked good earlier this week. Abe is doing such a good job with all of the tests & procedures, especially considering how miserable he's been feeling. The CT scan was scary for him & the RSV test, (which includes squirting something up his nostril & then sucking it out with a tube) was also scary & uncomfortable. Hopefully today won't bring any extra tests or unexpected excitement.
Abe has a terrible cough & woke up crying yesterday because his chest hurt. So off we went for more xrays, & it looks like he has the beginnings of pneumonia. He was started on another antibiotic for that. Still having headaches that result in him asking for morphine quite a few times a day, but he's asking for it less often so that's an improvement.
Let's see, what else? They've started him on IV nutrition at night since he hasn't eaten anything for quite awhile now. In fact, not since that piece of chicken that I talked about last week. I think I jinxed his appetite! No, actually he never feels like eating while he's in the hospital & this time he's taken his 'hunger strike' to the extreme. He's lost a few pounds again, so hopefully his appetite will improve soon.
A little bit of good news is that Abe's counts seem to be creeping up the past few days. (Knocking on wood as I type that) He hasn't needed any transfusions since Wednesday. Hopefully, each day will get better for him & his counts will recover soon.
Abe is really looking forward to 3 crazy guys from Bemidji coming to visit us this weekend. Daddy, Isaac & Ben will be here later this afternoon. I know that will bring a big smile to his face & hopefully help to get him up & moving around some, too. I heard they're bringing the Wii :o)
Well, Mr. Abe is asking for the laptop to play Webkinz, so I guess my time is up!
We'd appreciate all of your good thoughts, prayers, for things to improve soon. Counts to recover, pneumonia/ cough/ high fevers/ headaches/ chest pain to hit the road, appetite to return & for Abe to be able to get home for awhile before his next cycle of chemo starts. Thanks!
Will update again soon, though I've been having trouble connecting to the internet here.
Love,
Kelly & Abe
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Wednesday, January 16, 2008 12:40p.m.
Just thought I'd let you know what's going on with Abe this week. We are up on the 8th floor at Children's. We ended up bringing him into the ER with a fever on Sunday night & he was admitted.
His counts have pretty much bottomed out from his last cycle of chemo, so we'll be here until they recover. He has almost no ANC right now & he's had transfusions of both platelets & blood the past few days. Platelets are low again this morning, so they will transfuse those this afternoon.
Abe has been having terrible headaches since Monday & is just not feeling well at all. They gave him morphine last night & that seemed to ease the headache a little. He perked up for about an hour & then asked for 'more of that medicine through his port' because his head hurt again. Was hoping that today would be better for him pain-wise, but he woke up crying this morning. He's getting morphine about every 2 hrs. He had a CT scan earlier today to try & figure out why he's having such pain. Hopefully I'll know results from that soon.
He is still having fevers every day & is on a few different kinds of IV antibiotics. They do blood cultures each time he gets a fever & so far nothing has grown. Abe also has a nasty cough right now, so he gets breathing treatments every 3-4 hours. His chest xrays on Monday looked clear. He had more done today to make sure that nothing has changed, I haven't heard the results of those yet.
Hopefully, one of these days things will start looking up. Unfortunately, this is what is expected from the phase of treatment he's in right now. Abe just really wants to go home, of course. It's been weeks since he's been in his house. I brought Isaac with me on Sunday so they could spend some time together & that seemed to lift Abe's spirits quite a bit. They are best buds & really miss each other when they're apart. Ben missed out on this visit since he's had a cough/throat thing going on. But he got to stay with Grandma & Grandpa & it sounds like he had a good time as usual.
Well, that's about it for now. Will update again soon. Thanks for checking in on Abe.
Kelly
P.S. Congratulations to Isaac! He called me yesterday to tell me that he finished first in the 5th grade Spelltacular at his school. He will compete at the Middle School later this month :o)
Friday, January 11th, 2008 9:00 p.m.
Just wanted to add a quick update on Abe tonight.
He's still in Minneapolis, not quite sure yet when he'll be able to come home. His platelets are really low. He's had a total of 5 platelet & 2 blood transfusions since last Friday. He's still having nosebleeds, and about every other day he gets one that won't stop bleeding. So, he & Al have spent a lot of time in & out of the hospital this week.
Abe was able to have his scheduled IT chemo (in his spine) today. They weren't sure if his platelets would be high enough to have this done. But they gave him a transfusion first thing this morning & decided to go ahead with the spinal.
Abe still has sores in his mouth, but they seem to be improving. He's been able to eat a little bit. Al said that he was asking for KFC tonight & then ate a whole piece of chicken! He hasn't eaten much of anything for the past few weeks, so I was happy to hear that he was eating something. Abe has also been having a lot of stomach pain this week, not sure what is causing that. I suppose it could be from all of the transfusions, the pre-treatment for all of the transfusions, the chemo he got last week, stress, or all of the above.
Abe's ANC is also really low at 15, which means he doesn't have any immune system right now & the risk for infection is high. His temperature was creeping up this evening, & his cough has gotten worse. If he ends up with a fever, he'll have to be admitted to Children's. Hopefully that won't happen & they'll be able to just stay at Auntie Linda's house this weekend. Abe needs to be at the clinic Monday morning to check his counts. Fingers crossed that things will be on an upward trend by then. If his counts are high enough & he doesn't need more transfusions we can think about getting him home. Abe REALLY wants to come home, it's so hard for him to be away for weeks at a time.
So, my guys have had a tough & stressful week. Keep them in your thoughts, if you will, for the rest of the weekend to go smoothly. No fevers, no nosebleeds, no unexpected trips to the hospital, no more stomach pain. Thanks.
One bright spot in the week: Abe was feeling pretty good yesterday so they decided to go to some kind of a Sportsman's Show in St. Paul. Sounds like they had a good time walking around & looking at all kinds of 'guy stuff'. Abe's favorites were feeding the ducks & the trout pond. He was excited to tell me that he caught two fish. He is definitely a little outdoorsman!
Thank you for caring about Abe & checking in on him. We really appreciate it.
Looking forward to seeing my little man soon,
Kelly
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Saturday, January 5th, 2008 7:00p.m.
Well, things have been tough for Abe the past few days. He spiked a fever yesterday afternoon, so Al had to take him back to Children's after being there all morning for his scheduled chemo. They reaccessed his port, drew blood for cultures & gave him some IV antibiotics. They were able to stay at Linda's last night, but Abe had a nosebleed that wouldn't stop this morning so Al took him back to the hospital. His platelets are really low right now. He ended up getting two transfusions today because his nose continued to bleed even after the first bag of platelets. They also gave him more IV antibiotics and ran more cultures. To top it all off, he has horrible mouth sores that are causing him pain. My poor little guy. You'd think he could catch a break one of these days.
Obviously, they weren't able to come home to Bemidji today. They are staying at Linda's again tonight so that they'll be close to the hospital in case anything comes up. If he gets another fever or has more bleeding he'll be admitted to the hospital. Hopefully, he won't have to go in until Monday morning to the clinic for counts.
On a more positive note, Abe had a good time at the zoo on Thursday after his clinic visit. He got to ride the monorail, saw some turkeys and bought himself a hedgehog at the gift shop. Those were the highlights that I got from our phone conversation anyway. I'm so glad he was able to go out & have some fun before all of this other stuff happened. He is very sad to have to keep going back to the hospital. The extra needle pokes in his port are hard for him and he really wants to come home. Plus, he is just plain not feeling well.
We would appreciate any good thoughts that you have to spare. Specifically for no more fevers, nothing to grow in the blood cultures, no more bleeding, mouth sores to heal & of course for Abe to be able to come home. Thanks!
Hoping that tomorrow is a better day,
Kelly
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Thursday, January 3rd, 2008
Abe was finally discharged from the hospital yesterday (Wednesday), but still hasn't cleared the chemo that was given last Friday. The Methotrexate level needs to be BELOW .10 to leave the hospital & Abe's level wasn't low enough yesterday. They did let him leave to go & stay at Auntie Linda's house last night. They left his port accessed & he's hooked up to IV fluids with the portable pump in a backpack to try & continue to flush the chemo out of his system. I don't know why it's taken him so long to clear the High Dose Methotrexate this time, usually it only takes about 3 days. We're going on a week now. Ugh.
Al took him in to Children's this morning so that they could draw blood for another MTX level & check counts. They'll have the results sometime this afternoon. Hopefully the chemo will have 'cleared', so that Al can unhook the fluids today. While Abe is happy to be out of the hospital, he sure doesn't like having his port stay accessed. There are only so many things you can do with a backpack of fluids following you around, not to mention the 'stinkin' needle' in his port!
One thing you can do, though, is go to the Minnesota Zoo - which is exactly where they were headed this morning when I talked to Al. Abe has been looking forward to it for several days now, so I'm glad they got a little break today to do some fun stuff. If his counts are good today, he'll have more chemo at Children's tomorrow morning (Friday). Etoposide (VP 16) & Cyclophosphamide (Cytoxan). And then hopefully, if all goes well, HOME sometime this weekend.
Abe has been feeling OK & his cough seems to be getting better. He does have some mouth sores right now, so hopefully those will be on the mend soon.
I came home on Tuesday night with Isaac & Ben, they needed to be back at school yesterday. And I needed to get some things done here in the disaster zone that we call a house! Wish me luck.
Thanks for checking in & don't forget to say hi in the guestbook (how's that for a hint!) :o)
Love,
Kelly
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Monday, December 31st, 2007
Just wanted to say a quick Happy New Year!
We're still up on the 8th floor at Children's & hope to be discharged sometime tomorrow.
Abe is doing well, but getting tired of being here. The chemo he got this time was High Dose Methotrexate, it ran for 24 hrs the first day we were here. They let that do its work for about a day & then give Leucovorin (rescue drug) to help to clear the chemo from his system. The MTX level has to be below a certain number for Abe to be able to leave. That's a pretty condensed version of how things work around here, but you get the general idea. Anyway, Mr. Antsy Pants really wants to bust out of here, so hopefully tomorrow morning's blood draw will bring good news. And then we'll be on the road heading north!
Happy 2008!
Love,
Kelly & Abe
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Friday, December 28th, 2007
Merry Christmas... a few days late
I hope that everyone is enjoying this holiday season. We had a really nice Christmas & were able to be at home. Between Christmas & birthdays for both Isaac & Abe, we spent a lot of time with family & friends. I feel like we've been celebrating, eating & opening gifts for weeks!
Back to reality now, though. We are currently up on the 8th floor at Children's for inpatient chemo. Abe is getting High Dose Methotrexate today, among other things. We'll probably be here for about 4 days if all goes well.
Abe has been feeling pretty good the past few weeks. He does have a nasty cough right now & is wheezing again. So, lots of neb/breathing treatments. He also had a fun little trip downstairs to get a chest x-ray this morning. We got to ride down in the special elevator with the cutest set of tiny twin baby girls, AND got to choose a few cool books from the lady with the library wagon. All in the same elevator ride. And Abe did such a good job with his 'lung pictures', that the x-ray tech gave him a new SpongeBob Dominoes/Bingo game as a prize. Not too shabby! Most importantly, the xray looked normal.
Al, Isaac & Ben will be coming to visit us tomorrow. We're looking forward to seeing them, and it will sure help to pass the time. In the meantime, Abe's been keeping busy playing games, watching DVDs, reading his favorite dog book and playing Nintendo DS. He also spent a good part of the afternoon working on his math games on the computer. (Thank you, Mrs. Baldwin, for setting that up for him!)
I guess that's about it for now. Abe is all tucked into bed with his penguin blanket & I'm hoping to finish my Christmas cards tonight. Can you still call them Christmas cards at this point? I think you'd all be surprised if you actually got one from me before January!
Thanks for checking in on our little man.
Love,
Kelly
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Thursday, December 20, 2007
HAPPY 7TH BIRTHDAY, ABE!!!
HAPPY 11TH BIRTHDAY, ISAAC!!!
Hello faithful Abe followers,
I'm so sorry that I haven't updated the site in such a long time! Thank you for continuing to check in on Abe & leave messages in the guestbook even though I've left you hanging for a whole month. I promise to update at least once a week from now on, even if it's just a sentence or two to let you know what's happening! OK.
Today is Abe's 7th birthday!!! So I have one very excited little man who is waiting anxiously for his bday party later today at the bowling alley. I can't believe he's already 7! And Isaac's birthday was yesterday, he turned 11. It's been a fun but BUSY week at our house. We celebrated the boys' bdays on Sunday with our family at the Hampton Inn. Abe & his brothers had a blast swimming.
On the medical front, Abe is plugging along in his treatment. He started the Intensification phase about 3 weeks ago. It's just how it sounds, intense. He's doing well, though. We've been back & forth to Minneapolis several times since I last updated. Last week he had 2 different types of IV chemo at Children's & this week he had chemo injected into his spine. Next week will bring another inpatient stay for High Dose Methotrexate on the 8th floor. But he's not scheduled to start that until shortly after Christmas. So, we're happy to be able to (hopefully) spend Christmas at home this year. Abe & I bumped into Santa at Children's earlier this week. He asked Abe what he was hoping for this year & Abe's reply was that he 'just didn't want any shots on Christmas'. What a sweet boy. He seems to be feeling well & his energy level is OK right now. His blood counts will be dropping in the next few days from the chemo he got last week. So good thoughts, please, that he can stay infection-free & fever-free this week. Thanks!
I also wanted to take a minute to thank everyone again for the overwhelming support during the past months. So many wonderful things have been done for our family & it just means so much to us. The benefit that J.W. Smith Elementary had for our family was AMAZING. Ben, Isaac & I were able to attend & it was just unbelievable how many people were there to show their love & support for Abe. I can't even describe how much that means to us. We really feel so lucky. We also appreciate all of the cards, emails, meals, rides home for Isaac & Ben, etc. I am so far behind in thanking people, but please know how grateful we are. One of these days I will get caught up.
Well, I will update more soon & new pics to post, too.
Thanks for checking in.
Love,
Kelly
P.S. HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ABE'S COUSINS TANNER & AIDEN!!!!
Sunday, November 18th, 2007, 1:00 p.m.
Good news, Abe is out of the hospital!!
He was discharged yesterday from Children's & is so happy to be back at Auntie Linda's house with Al.
Abe's counts have improved & his mouth sores are also getting better. They discontinued the morphine on Friday night to see how he was doing pain-wise before letting him leave the hospital on Sat. morning. They've also had him on IV nutrition this week since he hadn't eaten anything for days. The other catch was that he needed to start eating & drinking before he could go. So, that he did. Al said that he ate some french fries & drank some milk. Way to go, Abe!!
He'll go to Children's Monday morning to see Dr. Richards, have bloodwork done, maybe have a blood transfusion. And then hopefully... will be on his way home to Bemidji :o) It's been almost a month since he's spent any time here at home. So please send some good thoughts our way for things to go as planned this week. If all goes well, he can be home for about 5 or 6 days before the next phase of chemo starts on Monday. He just really needs some time at home.
Al & I traded places on Thursday, so I've been home since then & he's been in Mpls with Abe. So nice to see my other boys! We've had a chance to do some fun things the past few days & spend time with family. Went to Ben's first hockey game, he really loves to skate. Wish I would've video taped the game for Al to see. Ben spent a good part of his time on the ice smiling & waving to us. It was so funny! He lost another tooth while I was away, now he really looks like a hockey player. Isaac has been fillng me in on all of the happenings in his 5th grade life: safety patrol, cello lessons, going to friends' houses, etc. We also got to see my neice & nephew perform in Peter Pan at their school. Good job guys! Today Isaac, Ben & I are going to the benefit dinner that J.W. Smith is having for Abe & our family. I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone. We are just overwhelmed with all of the love & support that has been shown to us by our school, our friends, family & the community. I wish that Abe & Al could be there, but I plan to take lots of pictures.
Will try to update in the next few days, hopefully telling you all about Abe coming HOME.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving. We have so many things to be thankful for this year. And thank you for continuing to check in on Abe & our family!
Kelly
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Tuesday, November 13th, 2007, 4:30 p.m.
Abe has been admitted to the 8th floor at Children's. I brought him in last night because he had a fever. Since his counts are so low right now, he needs to stay here for awhile. He's very sad about having to be in the hospital again, can't say I blame him. It was a long, rough night. But, we did expect this to happen sooner or later & this is where he needs to be. He'll be up on the 8th floor now until his counts recover & his ANC has a long way to go, it was only 24 this morning. His platelets & hemoglobin are also pretty low, even after getting transfusions of both on Sunday.
They've started him on 2 different IV antibiotics to cover a wide variety of infections that could be brewing. Blood culture results take 48 hrs, for now they'll continue the antibiotics just in case & if his fevers continue they'll run more cultures. Abe also has mouth sores right now that are making him pretty uncomfortable. He's been on a constant morphine drip today to help with the pain. He had a reaction to one of the antibiotics so they gave him a dose of Benadryl to stop the itching & redness. The Benadryl & morphine have made for a sleepy boy today, he just woke up at 4:00 p.m! Sleep is good, though.
Even though it stinks being inpatient, we feel lucky that we had such a good week out of the hospital at Auntie Linda's house. During this tough phase of treatment, we considered every day out of the hospital a bonus.
Well, Abe is awake now so I'll update more tomorrow. He's sitting up in bed coloring & watching Hannah Montana. Things are looking up!
Did you know that Abe was diagnosed with leukemia exactly 4 years ago today? There are a lot of things I could say about that, but honestly, I'm too tired to think it or type it today. You lucked out :o)
Thanks for checking in.
Kelly
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Thursday, November 8th, 2007, 6:30 p.m.
Quick Abe update.
We spent the morning at Children's today. Abe had a transfusion of platelets since they were all the way down to 3,000 when we checked counts. Yikes, that's low. He is just covered in bruises & looks pretty tough these days. But he is in very good spirits & seems to be feeling OK.
Abe's temperature was up a little this morning, so we're hoping that it doesn't turn into anything. A lot of kids end up in the hospital with high fevers & infections after receiving the chemo he had the past few weeks. With no immune system, that can be really scary. So please send good thoughts our way that he can stay fever-free, infection-free & no bleeding. He would love to just stay at Auntie Linda's instead of in the hospital.
Abe will head back to Children's on Sunday for both blood & platelet transfusions, hopefully not before then.
Well, he is tapping his little foot & waiting to kick my butt yet again at Battleship.
A big thank you to everyone who's been helping out with Isaac & Ben back home. It's so hard to be away from them, but I know they're being well taken care of. Al & I really appreciate your help!
Will update again soon.
Kelly & Abe
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Tuesday, November 6, 2007
So, we're still here in Minneapolis. We've been hanging out at Auntie Linda's house for the past few days. Abe was discharged from the 8th floor, but still needs to stay close to the hospital just in case.
The High Dose ARA-C really did a number on Abe, this is some tough stuff. Though he seems to be a little better each day & his funny personality is showing itself again. His eyes have improved, with almost no pain this morning. His appetite still isn't great & he's lost a few pounds since this phase of treatment started a couple of weeks ago. He's been eating soft pretzels that you bake in the oven & drinking milk, a few bites of Giovanni's pizza once in awhile, that's it. Oh, I did notice a few empty Smarties' wrappers this morning, so I guess those taste good to him too :o)
His blood counts have bottomed out, the chemo is definitely doing its job in killing cells. Unfortunately it doesn't know the difference between healthy cells & leukemia cells, so everything takes a hit. He needed transfusions of both blood & platelets late last week & will need more platelets on Thursday if not sooner. We were at Children's yesterday for bloodwork & his ANC is a measely 14 (scary low = no immune system). So with any fever or signs of infection he'll be back in the hospital fast, which is why we need to be close to the hospital right now & for the next few weeks until his counts rebound. Platelets are also scary low at 23,000. (Platelets are in charge of clotting, so when you don't have many, you bleed. Normal platelet counts range from 150,000 - 450,000) Sorry for the mini-lesson, I do realize that you may not be as interested in blood cells as I am!
We've also been giving Abe G-CSF/Neupogen shots every day, to help boost his white count. Those are no fun, but you wouldn't believe how well he is handling them. He is amazing & sits very still for me while I give the shot. As long as he gets a few Pokemon cards AND gets to give me a 'shot' each time in the back of my arm with his fingernail, he's alright with it. OK, so he's been growing that little fingernail for quite awhile & it's pretty sharp! But whatever works, right? (Poor Al gets the duct-tape-on-arm-hair treatment when he gives G-CSF to Abe :o)
So, we're trying our best to stay germ-free. Laying low at Linda's house & our only outings are to the hospital when we need to be there, with a mask on of course. Abe is keeping busy making crafts & a gingerbread house, sorting his Pokemon cards, watching movies & playing a lot of electronic Battleship (how does he beat me every time??!!). Isaac & Ben came to visit Abe this weekend. He was so happy to see his brothers & it was great to all sleep in the same house, even if it was only for one night.
Isaac, Ben & Daddy - we miss you already & hope you're having a great week at home!
Thanks for checking in on Abe & leaving messages in his guestbook - we love to see who's stopping by!
Kelly & Abe
Wednesday, October 31, 2007 4:30p.m.
Happy Halloween!
Thought I'd give a quick update on Abe today. He & Al went back to Minneapolis on Monday. Abe needed to be back at Children's on Tuesday morning for more scheduled inpatient chemo. He's getting High Dose
ARA-C, same as last week. And he'll also have another shot of chemo (asparaginase) into his leg muscle sometime tomorrow. This phase of treatment is a tough one & his blood counts will be at rock bottom for awhile. He'll need to stay in the hospital until his counts recover because the risk of infection is really high when his immune system is almost non-existent. Not sure how long it'll take for his counts to bounce back, they'll start the G-CSF/Neupogen (to boost his infection fighters) in the next few days. So, we are prepared for a long hospital stay.
It sounds like they have some fun Halloween activities planned on the 8th floor at Children's for kids who are inpatient. Al said that Abe wasn't interested in wearing his costume today, though :o( Hopefully he'll change his mind later & wear his Jango Fett costume. (I don't know if I spelled that right, but I at least know that he's a Star Wars guy!)
Abe was able to be home for a few days over the weekend. I wish I could say that he had a great time at home, but it was pretty rough. The chemo he had last week causes eye dryness, burning, pain, etc. which is why they give eye drops every few hours. His eyes seemed OK in the hospital last week, but by Sat. morning he couldn't even open his eyes because it was too painful. He spent most of the weekend laying in a dark room with his eyes closed. By Monday, he felt a little better & Al said he had a good day. Hopefully he won't have as much pain in his eyes this week. Please send some good thoughts his way for very few side effects in the weeks to come. It's so hard to see him hurting like that. Did I mention how much I hate leukemia yet today??
Isaac & Ben are excited to go trick-or-treating tonight. Ben will be a Power Ranger & Isaac is Harry Potter. I went to both of their parties at school today, was so fun to be there for the festivities & take some pictures of them. Isaac had a big day, he was chosen to go to the radio station & record an ad for the Stuff-A-Truck food drive coming up in November. So we'll hear his voice on the local radio station in the next week or so!
Well, I need to go turn my oldest child's hair Harry-Potter-Black. Wish me luck :O) Stay warm tonight!
Kelly
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Friday, October 26, 2007 10:00a.m.
Good morning,
Still up on the 8th floor at Children's waiting to be discharged. We are on our way HOME today :o)
I guess Abe wants to add his 2 cents.
hello my people! i am goig home!
from abe!
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Tuesday, October 23, 2007
We are currently hanging out at Children's in Minneapolis. Abe was admitted this morning to get started on the next phase of chemo, we'll be here for a few more days. Thought I would add a quick update while he is snoozing. This morning he got started on High Dose ARA-C/Cytarabine (chemo) & will have 3 more doses over the next couple of days. Tomorrow he'll also have a yucky, painful shot of chemo into each leg. Not looking forward to that. Overall, though, he is doing well. His mood has mostly been great & we've been finding ways to keep busy here in the hospital today. Abe kicked my butt at Sequence more than once, has done some painting, visited with Auntie Linda, watched a few movies & has also given his nurses a hard time :o) They keep coming in every 2 hrs to put drops in his eyes to protect them from side effects of the ARA-C. Let's just say that he isn't pleased with the eye drops, but is handling it very well. He even held his eyelids open for his night nurse, so we're making progress.
Abe also learned some new Halloween jokes & tongue-twisters today & he has a challenge for you. Try saying this 3 times in a row:
Spooks scoop soup!
:o)
Well, I'd better hit the hay. Will update more in the next few days.
Kelly & Abe
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Thursday, October 18, 2007
Abe is having a good week so far. He's been at home since Saturday night, yay!! He has a short break from chemo this week & time to recover before the next phase starts. We are all really enjoying having a somewhat 'normal' week together doing things that normal families do. Carving pumpkins, picking out Halloween costumes, baking cookies, spending time with family & friends, etc. Isaac & Ben had a short week at school because of MEA, so it was great to sleep in today & just hang out. My three crazy boys are having fun together....OK they are bickering a little too, but that's what brothers are for, right? It's just really good to be home.
Abe had bloodwork done yesterday at the clinic & his numbers were good. Hemoglobin & platelets were fine, his ANC was at 528. So he doesn't have much ability to fight off infection right now & we're trying to stay germ-free & fever-free this week. Abe seems to be feeling pretty good & has been in a great mood. He's even been eating a little bit since he's been home.
We will head back down to Minneapolis early next week to continue with the next phase of treatment, Induction #3.
Thanks so much for stopping by & signing the guestbook, we love to read those entries!
Take care,
Kelly
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Saturday, October 13, 2007
Hi - Thanks for checking in on Abe.
He & Al have been at Children's in Minneapolis since Tuesday & Abe is doing well. Early Tuesday morning Abe had a spinal with chemo & then was admitted to the 8th floor for High Dose Methotrexate (IV chemo) & leucovorin (rescue med). He started the HD Methotrexate on Tuesday evening which runs for 24 hrs. Then he needed to stay in the hospital this week to receive the IV rescue med to help clear the Methotrexate level in his body. He also had a blood transfusion last night, since his hemoglobin was low again. Hopefully that will give him some energy & hold until the next time we need to be in Minneapolis.
I talked to Al earlier today & he said that Abe's MTX levels reached the magic number this morning to be discharged. Woohoo! I know they're really looking forward to coming home tonight after being at the hospital for 5 days. And we can't wait to see them! Sounds like they had an OK week. Al said that Abe handled things well & even though the days (and nights!) get long at the hospital they made the best of it. Foosball in the playroom, visits from Auntie Linda, Child Life & the video game cart, DVD's, schoolwork, etc. Also, Abe had a roommate with a Nintendo wii & they had fun playing together. He thought that was pretty cool!
Al said that Abe seemed to be feeling good, they gave him anti-nausea meds through his IV & a patch. He has no appetite, though, & hasn't eaten anything since Monday :o(
Abe said that he's waiting to have a big plate of noodles when he gets home. So I've stocked up on angel hair pasta & let's hope that it tastes good to him tonight so he will start eating again. Chemo changes the taste of all of his favorite foods & while they sound good & even smell good to him, he takes a little taste and that's it. Please send some good thoughts for a hungry Abe when he gets home!
Isaac, Ben & I had a good week at home. Ben lost his first tooth & boy was he excited! Looks so cute with that space in his teeth. We also had parent/teacher conferences this week. I always look forward to talking with the kids' teachers, especially this year since I feel like I've missed out on so much with Isaac & Ben. They're both doing great in school.
Speaking of the kids' school, I would like to say THANK YOU for all of the support everyone has given us the past few months (and years!). The staff, students & parents at JW Smith have just been wonderful through all of this. The PTO has ordered wristbands that say 'Abe is an All-Star' which have really made their way around JW, the other schools in the district & several places in the community. Just knowing that SO many people are wearing 'Abe' bracelets and thinking about him, hoping & praying for him, means more to us than you'll ever know. I can't even describe what that feels like. And Abe thinks it is SO COOL! He said that he feels like he's famous :o)
Not only the bracelets, thank you for everything that you've done for us. Our school 'family' is the BEST!
We are so grateful to our family, friends, school and community for caring about Abe. Sorry if this is too mushy for ya, but I really mean it! We feel so lucky.
Well, we are planning a little 'welcome home' for Mr. Abe tonight so I need to get to work. Will update again soon.
Kelly
Friday, October 5th 5:00 p.m.
No blood transfusion today.
ABE IS HOME UNTIL MONDAY!!!
:o) :o) :o) :o) :o)
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Friday, October 5th 8:00a.m.
Just a quick update on Abe today. We're still in Minneapolis & will go to Children's to check blood counts this morning. At his appointment a few days ago his hemoglobin was low, but not quite low enough to need a transfusion. So the Dr. wanted us to come in again today to see if it's on its way up or down. If his numbers are good this morning, we'll be on our way HOME! If his hemoglobin is lower, he'll get a blood transfusion (3-4 hrs) & then we'll be on our way HOME! Woohoo!! Can't wait to get home & see the rest of my boys, we've been away for 9 days & sure do miss them.
Abe has been having an OK week. Not much energy & not quite himself. But we've still managed to have some fun, & it's been great to visit with Auntie Linda.
The good news is that his ANC was up to 1600 on Wednesday. So I gave Abe his last G-CSF shot last night. Abe is SO glad to be done with those for awhile!
Well, we need to get to the clinic in a few minutes. I'll update more from HOME tomorrow :o)
Kelly & Abe
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Saturday, September 29, 2007
Thanks for checking in on Abe! He & I have been in Minneapolis for a few days & he's doing well. He was able to be at home for 4 days earlier in the week. Abe was SO happy to be at home. Having all of us in one house, even for a few days, was WONDERFUL. But then Abe needed to be back at Children's on Thursday to check his blood counts. They figured his counts would bottom out Thursday or Friday as a result of the big chemo he had last week. They were right, his counts tanked as expected. His hemoglobin was at 6.9, so he had a blood transfusion Thursday evening. Thursday was a LONG day, we left Bemidji in the morning to make it to Abe's appointment at Children's in the afternoon. Found out he needed a transfusion which takes 3-4 hours & by the time we got back to Auntie Linda's house that night it was 9:00pm. You'd think a little guy would be tired out after a day like that, but not Abe. He was like the Energizer Bunny yesterday. That blood transfusion really gave him back some spunk!
Abe, Linda & I had a great day yesterday. The weather was perfect. We decided to go & check out the Lock and Dam which Abe thought was really cool. We missed the barge coming in by about an hour, so I think we'll go back there to try to see that sometime soon. We also went to the Minnesota Zoo for part of the afternoon. Abe loved to see the dolphins & sharks. Watching the monkeys with his binoculars was also fun for him. After the zoo we went to his favorite park. It's nice to see him having such fun days in between all of the yucky stuff at the hospital.
Abe's ANC (this number shows how many infection fighters he has) is really low right now at 27. Anything under 500 means that he's more at risk for infection. So we need to stay in Minneapolis at least until Wednesday or Thursday to be near the hospital. He needs to be at Children's again on Wednesday to check blood counts. It's possible he'll need another transfusion this week. And with an ANC of 27, any type of fever or signs of infection will land him in the hospital. So please send some good thoughts our way for no fevers! We'd like to just hang out at Auntie Linda's & find some more fun (germ-free) things to do before Wednesday, fingers & toes crossed.
Let's see, yuckiest part of this week has been having to give Abe shots at home every day. He needs to have something called GCSF to give his white cells a boost. He'll have these shots every day until his ANC reaches 1500. UGH. Obviously he hates them & to be quite honest, so do we. We tried having an Insuflon (tiny little access site) placed under the skin on his arm so that we could put the needle in that instead of poking him every time. But he said that burns & hurts more than the needle-through-the-skin way. So back to pokes every day. More good thoughts, please, for his ANC to hurry up & reach the magic number so the shots can stop. Thanks!
Well, I have more to say, but this is long enough already so I'll stop for now. Will add to the update sometime tomorrow. Thanks again for checking in on Abe & all of the guestbook messages.
Kelly
P.S. Abe wants to say hello to Daddy, Isaac & Ben. We miss you guys!!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDPA JERRY!!!!
Wednesday, September 19, 2007 10:08 AM CDT
Good morning,
Just wanted to add a quick update today.
Abe's counts were finally high enough on Monday to get started on the next phase of chemo. Once we got the lab results from our local clinic on Monday, Abe & Al took off for Minneapolis. Abe needed to be at Children's bright & early Tuesday morning. So we've officially started Induction #2, which will last 5 weeks. Yesterday he had a spinal with chemo (Methotrexate) at Short Stay & then went up to the clinic to get 2 infusions of IV chemo. He'll receive IV Etoposide & Cyclophosphamide for the next 4 days.
Al said that Abe did well with all of the procedures. Of course he's not thrilled with the fact that his port will stay accessed (needle in) for the week, but knows that there is no choice in the matter. I talked to him on the phone last night & he sounded pretty upbeat. Each day he seems to be more like himself. We were given the choice of Abe either staying in the hospital for the 5 days of IV chemo, or doing it outpatient. We decided to try it outpatient & see how it goes. Every day this week he will go to the hem/onc clinic for infusions of Etoposide & Cyclophosphamide, which will take 3-4 hours. Then he'll be able to leave & stay at Auntie Linda's each night. (Thank you Linda!) His port will stay accessed & he'll be hooked up to fluids & anti-nausea meds around the clock, all tucked in to a backpack w/ a portable IV pump. Cool, huh? Send some good thoughts our way that this works out. No need to sleep at the hospital if we don't have to, there will be plenty of chances for that in the near future I'm sure.
As of last night, Abe was feeling pretty good. He & Al decided to go to the Twins game. Sounds like they had a good time & the Twins won. Woohoo! Big thanks to Steph & Mike for the tickets!!!
Well, I have a date for lunch with Ben in the school cafeteria in a few minutes. Will finish the update after I talk with Al later this afternoon.
Thanks for stopping by & signing the guestbook!
Kelly
Thursday, September 13, 2007 11:47 AM CDT
Hi -
Sorry to go a whole week with no update! Abe is doing well & we've been at home this past week. We had his counts checked last Friday here in Bemidji & his ANC was only 308. Too low to start the next phase of chemo that was scheduled for Monday the 10th. His ANC needs to be at least 750 to begin Induction #2, so we'll recheck counts tomorrow at the local clinic. If all is well, the next phase will start on Monday at Children's.
It's been REALLY nice spending the whole week at home waiting for counts to recover! A nice little break for Abe before things get tough again. Abe & I drop his brothers off at school in the mornings & then come home to have the whole day to ourselves. I love that. He's been feeling pretty good this week, but is still tired & walking is still a challenge for him. He's working on it, though, once he sets his mind to something he does not give up!
Abe's brothers are adjusting well to being back in school this fall. Isaac seems to like 5th grade, & the coolest thing so far is having his very own locker. I do worry about him because he's older & understands what's going on with Abe. So I think having a routine again & being with his friends every day has really helped him. Ben loves everything about kindergarten, including riding the bus home from school. He is definitely our story teller & will talk your ear off if you let him. So it's fun to hear his version of a school day. Of course I worry about how all of this is affecting him, too. He knows that Abe's cancer is back & talks about it quite a bit. But most of all, he says he just wants all of us to be in the same house.
Abe is doing his schoolwork at home for now. His counts will be too low during the first several months of relapse chemo to be in the classroom. We're hoping that maybe when counts allow, he'll be able to visit school once in awhile. He misses being there & seeing his friends. Yesterday his teacher sent home letters that all of his classmates had made for him. He thought that was pretty cool & we had fun reading through them. (They were so sweet, I had to read them through tears!) Thank you so much 1st graders, you really made his day!!!
I realized that I haven't updated with results from the HLA (bone marrow) typing. We basically found out that none of us were a good bone marrow match for Abe. We pretty much knew that Al & I wouldn't be, but had hoped that Isaac or Ben might match. So, next best thing is to continue on the 'more chemo' route. Abe's relapse protocol will last about 2 1/2 years & will be much more intense than the first time around. A lot of people have asked if they can be tested to see if they would be a good match for Abe & we really appreciate that! For now, though, chemo is the best option for him. We've been told that kids in Abe's situation don't do as well in transplant with unrelated donors, I guess it's more risky. I won't get into all of the details, and to be honest, I don't know much about it. But I do know that signing up with the National Bone Marrow Registry is a good thing. Even though we're not looking at a transplant for Abe right now, there are LOTS of other kids like him who NEED that perfect match to improve their chances. So it's worth checking into. There. I put in my plug for the Bone Marrow Registry!
Well, my little man is patiently waiting to kick my butt again playing his Pokemon:Master Trainer board game. I won a few days ago & was rubbing it in a little. Abe reminded me that I wasn't even CLOSE to becoming a Master Trainer. He said, 'Mommy, you have to actually KNOW stuff about Pokemon first'. He's right. :o)
Thanks for checking in.
Kelly, Abe & family
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Quick update, we got Abe's Day 29 bone marrow results.
Only 1 percent blasts! REMISSION!! This is great news. When his relapse was diagnosed just a month ago, he was at 75 percent blasts in his bone marrow. Even though he's technically in remission now, they need to keep hitting hard with a lot of different chemo drugs to KEEP him in remission. So this means we'll move on to Induction #2 on Monday morning which includes another 5 week phase of heavy-duty chemo. And then on to Induction #3, 5 week phase of different heavy-duty chemo. The whole treatment lasting 2 to 2 1/2 years.
But I don't want to think about that today. I am just going to be happy that the chemo is working, that his blasts are down to 1 percent, he is HOME for 3 or 4 days & right now he's feeling OK enough to be downstairs giggling with his big brother :o)
Happy to get some good news,
Kelly & all the boys
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Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Thanks for checking in on Abe. He & Al went to Minneapolis yesterday. They needed to be at Children's bright & early this morning for a spinal with chemo & a bone marrow biopsy. He has officially completed Induction 1 - Hooray!!I talked to Al earlier today & he said things went well for Abe this morning at Short Stay. We'll find out results from the bone marrow later today or tomorrow morning. Hopefully we'll hear the word REMISSION. Send good thoughts, please! If all is well with the bone marrow results & his counts stay where they are now, he'll move on to the next phase of chemo on Monday - Induction 2. His ANC was at 989 this morning, which is just a little lower than it was last week. But it just needs to be 750 & platelets over 75,000 to start the next phase. Platelets were 237,000 (great) & hemoglobin 10.7 (good) today.
Abe did end up having a blood transfusion last Tuesday. All of his other counts were good & we got the OK to come home for the rest of last week. So they fueled him up with some blood & we were on our way up north. Abe was happy to be at home for FIVE WHOLE DAYS poke-free! He still wasn't feeling great, was having stomach pain & just really tired, but still managed to enjoy his time at home. Of course he wanted to go fishing, so Al took him out in the boat for a few hours on Saturday. I didn't see them bring back any fish, but he still loved it!
Abe's stomach pain has gotten better, but now he's having trouble with his legs. The combination of high-dose Prednisone & Vincristine has really weakened his leg muscles & his flexibility. He is hobbling around like a little old man & can hardly make it up the stairs at home - and we have a lot of stairs in our house. So hard to see him like that. We ended up having to carry him up & down most of the weekend. He's feeling frustrated/sad about not being able to move around much on his own & told me that his legs were like 'worthless twigs' :o( We're just trying to reassure him that it'll get better. Now that he's done with his 29 days of Prednisone (did you hear that? DONE WITH PREDNISONE!) it should slowly improve. We're going to start physical therapy again soon to work on building up his strength. He's excited to see Cheryl, his P/T. She's so great with him. So anyway, back to finishing steroids. It sure felt great to give him the LAST dose yesterday! Well, he'll have more steroids in his treatment, just not a whole month straight of high doses. It'll take awhile for the puffiness, mood swings, muscle weakness, crazy food cravings that Prednisone brings to wear off. His cravings really kicked in the past few weeks. One of his favorites this time around is smoked salmon, of all things. Pricey taste this boy has! We were more than happy to buy it for him, but finding it was quite a challenge at times. Morey's (the 'big fish' store) in Motley appreciates that particular craving, I'm sure!
Abe & Al are going to the Twins game tonight. The RMH had 2 tickets available for tonight's game against Cleveland. Abe is pretty excited. I hear that he & Daddy were working on a sign this afternoon to hold up during the game in hopes of being circled by Bert. So c'mon Bert, circle my little man. All of you MN baseball fans out there know what I'm talking about. Go Twins!
Today was the first day of school for Isaac & Ben. Ben was SO excited to start kindergarten. I can't even believe that our baby is now in kindergarten! And our oldest in 5th grade, his last year before starting middle school. Makes a girl feel kinda old :o)
Sounds like they both had a great first day with lots of stories to tell, especially Ben. Ben always has a story to tell.
I'd better end this now, I have a baseball game to watch. Thanks so much for stopping by Abe's site & all of the guestbook messages. One of these days I will catch up on returning phone calls, emails, sending thank you cards, etc. For now, just know that we really appreciate everything that's been done to make this past month easier for us. Will update tomorrow with bone marrow results.
Kelly
Saturday, August 25, 2007 6:26 PM CDT
Hi everyone. Thought I'd add a quick update on Abe tonight. Things are going OK for him. We've been staying at the Ronald McDonald House since last week. Today is Day 20 of the first phase of chemo, Induction 1. That means along with all of the other chemo he's gotten over the past few weeks, he's also had 45 mg of Prednisone every day. It sure is some nasty stuff with yucky side effects including mood swings, HUNGER & stomach pain. The mood swings & hunger we can handle, but I sure wish he could get some relief from the terrible stomach pain he's been having many times a day. It's been another hard week for him. The good news is that after today he only has 8 days of Prednisone left, at least for awhile.
Abe's procedures on Monday went well. He had a spinal with Methotrexate, another set of PEG shots, IV Vincristine & another bone marrow biopsy. We were happy to hear that bone marrow results show he's responding well to treatment, so that was good news! His foot is also healing nicely where the bone biopsy was done about 3 wks ago. Still wearing the brace when he's out walking around to protect it. The steroids he's on right now slow the healing process down a bit, so hopefully when he's done with those it will get even better. Abe's counts are really low this week since the chemo is doing it's job. His ANC was 10 on Monday & then up to 104 on Thursday, so we've been laying pretty low in our room at the RMH. He really hasn't felt well enough to be up & around much anyway. Hemoglobin was down to 8 on Monday, but is holding steady this week so he didn't need a transfusion.
Abe is adjusting to all of the pokes & procedures pretty well. It's still really hard for him, though, & he has quite a bit of anxiety before the port access, shots, etc. Child Life at the clinic has been helpful in finding ways to make things easier for him. This week, they brought in some crafts for him to do while we were waiting & they're also helping him make a special book about his trip to Florida that he can work on every time we go to clinic. I know that it'll get easier with time & he'll find a way to get through this again, he's such a strong little guy. I just wish he didn't have to be so strong & brave. His hair started thinnning about a week ago & the past few days is coming out by the handful. He's really sad about losing his hair this time around. The first time he lost it he was only 3 & didn't really notice or care. It's much harder now that he's older & realizing yesterday that he would soon be bald again was tough for him. So, another thing to work through. I think today he & Daddy decided that using the clippers to get rid of what's left would be a good idea. First, Abe is going to shave Dad's head & then MAYBE they'll shave his. He wasn't sure yet. He also wanted me to go & find a do-rag (I don't know if I'm spelling that right?) while I was out shopping today. I didn't have much luck in that department. Anyone out there in the Minneapolis area that knows where to find them, please let me know! I did find a few cool bandanas for the time being & will try to find a few good hats for him tomorrow.
Uncle Brian is here visiting this weekend & the boys were so excited to see him. Al & Ben also came back to Mpls on Friday after being home in Bemidji for a few days. It's great to have all of them here, I know it helps Abe a lot & is a good distraction. They've been playing video games & hanging out at the RMH.
On Monday Abe will have more IV chemo at Children's & his LAST set of PEG shots for this phase. We'll be so glad to be done with those for awhile. Depending on how he's doing & what his counts are, we may be able to go home for a few days this week again. Send good thoughts our way, I know Abe would love to be in Bemidji even for a few days. He had such a good time fishing when we were home last time. He & Al caught one walleye, Abe named him 'Floppy' & then later that night ate him for supper :o) He really does love to be out in the boat.
Well, I'd better get back to the RMH now. I'm taking a little break today at my aunt Linda's house. Thanks again for checking in on Abe & our family. We really appreciate all of the support you've given us. I'll update again soon, hopefully with some new pictures too.
Take care,
Kelly
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Hi everyone,
Thought I'd fill you in today on how things have been for Abe. Sorry I haven't gotten a chance to update, things have been quite hectic as you can imagine. We arrived at HOME last night! Not home for good, just until Friday. Abe's doctor thought it would be alright if we came to Bemidji for a few days this week. Every time we saw Dr. Mike at Children's, Abe was asking him when he would get to 'just go home'. Being in the hospital was really hard on him. Abe is so excited to be in his own house with all of his own things. It sure felt great to sleep in our own beds last night. I'll take him back to Minneapolis on Friday morning, as we need to be at the hospital again that afternoon. And after that, I'm not sure when we'll get a chance to come home again. Abe will be at high risk for infection during his first Induction phases (there are 3 of them) of chemo. And since we happen to live more than 4 hours from Children's, they want us to stay in the Minneapolis area for the first months of his relapse treatment to be near the hospital.
Last week was pretty tough on Abe. The IV Doxorubicin made him very sick. He spent a good part of the week feeling dizzy, sick to his stomach & vomitting :o( Even with the anti-nausea patch & meds they gave him, it was hard for him to even be up & around for too long. But, after about 3-4 days of that, it slowly improved & he was able to start eating, drinking & playing a lot more. The PEG shots (one syringe-full of chemo into each thigh muscle) were hard for him. Can't say I blame him. No matter what you do, they are painful & they burn. It's bad enough that it had to happen once, but he will need to get them once a week this month. He had another set on Monday at the clinic & Al said he did pretty well with it. Can you imagine being 6 years old & working up the courage to sit through something like that?
Anyway, he was discharged from the hospital on Friday & we stayed at my aunt Linda's for the weekend in Mpls. Abe was feeling pretty good & his foot is starting to heal from the bone biopsy. I'm impressed at how well he's getting around on it. When we go places he needs to wear the brace (his 'boot') & it's kind of big & clunky but he does well with it. He'll wear that for about 4 more weeks. So, since he was feeling well over the weekend & his counts were still decent, we decided to go out & have some fun. On Saturday we went to the movie 'Surf's Up', he & Isaac really liked it. On Sunday we all went to the Mall of America & Abe, Isaac and Ben had a blast on the rides. On Monday Abe had more chemo at the clinic at Children's. He got Vincristine and the PEG shots. He had kind of a hard time with his port access when his nurse put the needle in. His port works great, but it was the first time being accessed since his surgery & I think it was still sore. Also dealing with having to get used to all the pokes again. His nurse, Ellen, is wonderful though & we're working on some things to make this transition easier for Abe. His ANC is dropping quickly, it was at 440 on Monday & is probably still on its way down. Getting used to having to wear a mask out in public again will be another adjustment. Platelets & hemoglobin were down too, but not low enough to need transfusions yet. He'll have more bloodwork done at his appointment on Friday.
On Monday the 20th Abe will have spinal chemo, IV Vincristine, more PEG shots & another bone marrow test. The good thing (if there is a 'good thing' in that sentence) is that he'll be sedated for the spinal & bone marrow so he'll be sleeping during his 3rd set of yucky, painful leg shots. Send us some good thoughts, if you will, for great bone marrow results. Obviously we're hoping that he'll be in remission again soon & that those stubborn leukemia cells are already on the way out the door. I'll update as soon as we know results from the bone marrow test.
Today, Abe is feeling great & despite the high-dose Prednisone that he takes three times a day, he's his happy little self. I think being home, even for a few days, is helping to lift his spirits. He's doing a good job getting used to taking all of the oral meds again. The Prednisone (steroid) tastes nasty, so that took some convincing last week especially since he was so nauseated from the IV stuff. But now he's taking it like a champ along with all of his other meds. His appetite is definitely back thanks to the steroids. He's been one hungry little man! Lots of salty, spicy foods like pizza, pasta, pretzels, etc. He had a serious craving for some Giovanni's cheese pizza over the weekend. I couldn't find any in the Cities, so we called good old Daddy who was on his way to Minneapolis that day & he came to the rescue with 2 large pizzas hand-delivered from Bemidji, MN! Talk about one happy little Abey :o)
Well, lots to do here at home before Friday rolls around & then we'll be headed back down to Mpls. Abe really wants to go fishing while we're home, so Al will take him tomorrow evening. Weather, please cooperate!
Last thing, I want to thank everyone for the overwhelming support we've gotten in the past few weeks. Really, we are so lucky to have so many that care about Abe & our family. We appreciate all of the phone calls, cards, emails, guestbook messages & everything else more than you know. We know that this is going to be a tough road ahead, but it sure does help to know that we're not alone. I'll update again soon, thanks for checking in.
Love,
Kelly & the glad-to-be-home-for-a-few- days crew
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Tuesday, August 7, 2007
Well, this is a journal entry that I hoped to never have to write. A few days ago we found out that Abe has relapsed. Results from a bone marrow biopsy done on Friday show 70 percent blasts. It's been only 6 months since he finished treatment, and his leukemia is back. I don't have much time to write today, but wanted to add a quick update.
Abe has been here at Children's since Friday. Yesterday he had surgery to put in another port-a-cath. They placed it on the other side of his chest this time. He started on his relapse protocol yesterday. Chemo will be more harsh this time around. They've also started testing Isaac, Ben, Al & me to see if any of us are a good bone marrow match. Siblings are more likely to be a match than parents. If Isaac or Ben are a match, then Abe will have a bone marrow transplant 3-4 months down the road. If no one is a match, then he'll continue with chemo for about 2 1/2 more years. I don't know all of the details yet since we're still pretty overwhelmed with all of this. We won't find out about the HLA typing until at least next week.
Abe is doing alright. He's still having pain in his foot from a bone biopsy that was done on Friday. He is trying to hop around on crutches a little today & it's good to see him up & around. It's still wrapped in bandages & he's also wearing a boot/brace to protect the area until it heals. The port-placement site on his chest is still pretty sore as well & his back from the bone marrow biopsy. Lots of morphine over the weekend, then oxycodone, & today tylenol is doing an OK job with the pain. So he's quite a bit more alert & acting like himself. He's in the 8th floor playroom right now with Al & Isaac playing a video game & was going to try to stand up long enough to whip them in foosball. He is spending most of his time in his bed so we're trying to keep him occupied. He's been using his Lite Brite, Crunch Art, video games & something called Aqua Dots - he'd seen it on TV & had been asking for it since we got here. Al was on an all-out search to find it for him the past few days. Seeing the smile on Abe's face when he finally got it was well worth driving all over Minneapolis looking for it.
We're not sure how long he'll be in the hospital. It will depend on how he handles the big scary chemo he's started. For those of you who are familiar with chemo-talk, he had IT ARA-C, Doxorubicin, Vincristine & started his 28 days of Prednisone. He'll get PEG shots tomorrow morning, one very painful shot in each leg muscle. Yuck. We'll need to be in Mpls for quite a while, at least the first month or so. We haven't made any decisions about where we'll stay, etc. For now we are taking turns, one stays at the hospital with Abe & the other at my aunt Linda's with Isaac. Al will try to get back home to work some & Ben is still in Bemidji being well taken care of. I haven't seen him since last Wed. though & I miss him so much I can hardly stand it. Abe is doing OK with things & we've of course answered a lot of questions from both him & Isaac. The hardest thing so far I would say was telling the world's sweetest 6 year old that his leukemia is back. How do you explain that? He thought he was done with all of this & it really just plain sucks. But, I suppose it will soon become our routine again. He is one tough little guy with an amazing attitude even when things don't seem fair.
Well, I'd better get back upstairs to his room. Sorry if this is rambling & doesn't make much sense. I'm finding it hard to eat, sleep & breathe most days, so bear with me on forming thoughts in sentences for other people to read. Thank you to everyone for the support in the past few days & to all of you back home who are taking care of my littlest man. Give him a big hug & a kiss from all of us. Big thanks to Auntie Linda too for everything, I don't know what I would've done this week without having you here with me.
I'll update again soon. Thanks for checking on Abe.
Really hating cancer today,
Kelly
Thursday, July 12, 2007 2:29 PM CDT
Happy Summer! Thanks for checking in on Abe. I know that I started the last update (way back in April) with the words 'Happy Spring' & I think that means that I need to update this page more often!! I promise to not let a whole season pass before updating again :o)
Abe is doing well & having a great summer with his brothers. I feel like they just finished the school year & now the summer is half over already. Busy with summer activities & other fun stuff. Abe really loves to go fishing & Al has been taking the boys out in the boat quite a bit. Abe came home from fishing a few nights ago with lots of fish & a huge smile on his face. He also LOVES to play golf. Grandma Rose has been taking Abe & Isaac golfing once a week this summer & I hear that they're both naturals at the game. Thanks so much, Grandma! They really look forward to their weekly golf ~ I think it's safe to say that they're hooked! Ben has been playing soccer & also taking skating lessons so that he can play hockey this year. He loves them both & keeps us running with his activities. It's a good kind of busy, though, with 'normal' stuff & I'll take that any day!
Abe is doing well on the medical front & it has already been 6 months(!) since he finished his treatment. He had an appointment at Children's in Minneapolis last week & his counts looked pretty good. We got to see his oncologist Dr. Mike & our favorite nurse Ellen. Was nice to visit with Dr. Richards & hear that Abe is doing so well. His immune system still isn't quite back to normal, but it's not expected to be this soon after finishing 3 years of chemo. His ANC has been just over 1000 for the past few months & a WBC in the 3's, so slowly but surely we're getting there. Still taking his asthma meds & that seems to be staying about the same. Our current medical issue this week is some kind of infection in Abe's foot. Not sure what the cause is, but it's been pretty painful & swollen the past few days & is keeping him from walking on it. Took him in for xrays & some blood work on Tuesday. The xrays looked good & the lab numbers show an elevated white count so our Dr. started him on antibiotics. Send us some good thoughts for the yucky meds to do their job & the mystery infection to just hit the road! Abe is pretty bummed about the whole foot thing, especially since he couldn't play golf today because of it. Hopefully in the next few days he'll be running, jumping & able to keep up with his brothers.
I guess the most news-worthy event since my last update is Abe's Make-A-Wish trip to DISNEY WORLD!!! We went to Florida for a week in May & I can't even begin to try to describe what an AMAZING time we had. We are so grateful to MAW and all that they do for kids like Abe. He had a smile on his face from the time the limo picked us up(at 5:30 am!) to take us to the airport until we landed back at home a week later. Honestly, the whole trip was better than we even imagined it would be. The kids had a blast & the weather was perfect. The place where we stayed is called Give Kids the World. It's a village where only 'Wish' families can stay. Staying there was definitely one of the highlights of the whole trip. I posted a link for GKTW at the bottom of the page if you want to take a look & get an idea of what it's like there. We did so much during our week in Florida & I won't even attempt to give you all of the details. (I will bore you with lots of pictures & video, though, so beware!) At Disney World we went to Magic Kingdom, MGM Studios, Animal Kingdom, Typhoon Lagoon Water Park & Downtown Disney. We also went to Sea World & Universal Islands of Adventure. Some of the kids' favorites were the Shamu show at Sea World, all of Islands of Adventure (especially the rides), the stunt show at MGM, the wave pool at Typhoon Lagoon & lots of roller coaster rides! I didn't know that all of my boys were roller-coaster-kids. They must've gotten that trait from Al because I am a total wimp & literally couldn't even WATCH them get on some of those rides - especially Expedition Everest at Animal Kingdom. The kids were so excited that their Uncle Brian & Aunt Missy were able to spend part of the week with us in Florida. Luckily, they are good sports & took the kids on all of the rides that I couldn't handle. Thanks, guys - it was so much fun to see you & we're so glad you could be a part of Abe's trip. So, it was a great trip & was hard to get back to reality after a week like that. I've got tons of pictures & am in the process of trying to post some of them.
Well, I guess I'd better end this now, we're off to Ben's last soccer game. Thanks again for stopping by & signing the guestbook to let us know you were here!
Kelly
Thursday, April 19, 2007 5:59 PM CDT
Happy Spring!
Again, sorry for the lack of updates & thanks to all of you who are still checking in on Abe! I guess no news is good news. Things have been going well here in our neck of the woods. We are LOVING this nice spring weather that has finally arrived. It's so much fun to see the boys run outside after school to ride their bikes, play basketball, jump on the trampoline, etc. They're completely exhausted by the end of the day, but in a good way. Makes bedtime quite easy for this mom :o)
We had a nice Easter & got to spend the day with family. Thank you to Al's parents for hosting all of us this year, it's always fun to get together & celebrate holidays with all of you. The Bunny was good to Abe & his brothers, as usual. It was still pretty cold here that weekend with lots of snow left on the ground. But they managed to have fun running around hunting for eggs all bundled up in their winter gear. I think the Easter Bunny got cold & a little lazy this year because their baskets & most of the eggs were hidden INSIDE!
A few weeks ago we had a 'No More Chemo' party for Abe. We stayed at the Hampton Inn, along with a bunch of family & friends. The Hampton has such a fun pool area & is Abe's very favorite place to swim, we really had a blast. The kids swam until they looked like shriveled-up little prunes! We ate, drank & hot-tubbed the night away. Thank you to everyone who came to help Abe celebrate. And a great big THANK YOU to our family for doing this for him/us, you guys are the best! Seriously, I don't know what we would've done without all of you the past few years, we feel very lucky.
Abe had his 3 month off-therapy appointment last week. Things went well & Abe handled his monthly blood draw like a champ. I'm always so impressed with how he just finds a way to handle whatever comes his way. Arm pokes used to be so traumatic for him & now he doesn't even complain. The only part that bothers him is the tight 'rubber band' that they put on his arm before the blood draw. The lady that was in the lab this time was really fast & took the band off right away, scoring major points with Mr. Abe. You can bet that he'll be looking for her next time we go in for an arm poke! Anyway, the check-up went well & his counts were great. He's had a cough that just doesn't seem to go away & has also been pretty wheezy. We had been told that the chemo he was on was probably suppressing his asthma & that it might flare up once he finished treatment. So it seems that is the case, nothing major, but enough that his doctor upped his Pulmicort nebs & started him on daily Singulair. We'll go back in a few weeks for an asthma follow-up. Other than that, life is good here.
It's hard to believe that the kids will be ending the school year soon, lots of fun stuff coming up in May with field trips, an all-school play, picnics, etc. I think there are only 7 weeks left. Well, Isaac reminded me the other day that he only has *six* weeks left because we will be gone on Abe's Make A Wish trip for a week in May! We are all getting so excited & the countdown has begun. A friend of ours just got back from Disney & dropped off some brochures/maps for the boys to look at. I think by the time we leave on our trip the paper on them will be worn thin & nothing but shreds!
Well, not much else to report. Al will take Abe to Minneapolis in a few weeks for his next monthly check-up at Children's. They're both looking forward to some daddy & Abe time. I think they might try to catch a Twin's game that weekend.
Well, I didn't mean to write a novel tonight. I guess I should update more often. Will also try to post some new pictures of Abe, Isaac & Ben soon. Thanks again for stopping by & for the messages in the guestbook. It really makes my day when someone has signed in :o)
Take care,
Kelly
Saturday, March 17, 2007 6:35 PM CDT
Happy St. Patrick's Day!
Sorry it's been awhile since my last update. All is well in our household. Abe & his brothers have been enjoying their 'Spring Break' this past week. They also had 2 days off the week before for parent/teacher conferences, bringing the grand total of days-off-school to 11 days! It's been a nice break. They've spent lots of time outside even though the weather hasn't been very spring-like. We were actually happy to get some snow this week, since Al wanted to take the boys tubing out at Buena Vista today. (Thank you, Mary & Bob for the passes!!) They had a blast tubing down the ski hill & have been telling me all about their adventures since they got home. Sounds like they had a great day.
On Sunday Abe, Isaac & I went down to Minneapolis. Abe had a check-up at Children's on Monday morning & everything went well. He has been doing such a great job with his blood draws every month & is getting used to not having a port. His counts were great, his ANC is almost approaching the low end of normal and his hemoglobin was over 11. Woohoo! Abe was also scheduled to have an echocardiogram on Monday. He had one done when he was first diagnosed as a baseline & then they do one after treatment ends. Some of the heavy chemo he received early on can cause damage to the heart. We were happy to find out that everything looks just fine. Abe didn't mind the test at all, he even slept through most of it! It was also good to spend some more time talking with Abe's oncologist about life off-treatment. About a thousand questions I hadn't thought to ask them last time we were there. What to worry about, what NOT to worry about, etc! So far, we just love being in the 'Off-Treatment' category. No complaints :o)
The boys had so much fun while we were in Minneapolis. We got to spend 2 nights at Auntie Linda's house. On Sunday we went to the Park at the Mall of America, Abe & Isaac had a great time going on all of the rides. We also had dinner at the Rainforest Cafe, what a cool place to eat. On Monday after Abe's appointments we went to Linda's work with her & the boys got to do some fun stuff in her office. Then we decided to take the Light Rail back to the Mall of America so that they could use the rest of their ride tickets. (I know, we must be crazy to go to the MOA two days in a row!) Thank you, Auntie Linda for entertaining us again. We really had a great trip & Abe & Isaac have been talking about it non-stop. Ben stayed home but got to spend 2 days with Grandma Rose & Grandpa Jerry. He loves being at their house & of course had quite a few stories to tell us when we got home, too :o)
We got some exciting news from Make A Wish a few days ago.... Abe's wish to go to Disney World has been approved!! The dates have been set & plane tickets have already been booked for us. The kids are SO excited, I can't even describe it. It's so great to finally have a date on the calendar, May can't come soon enough for them! Pretty exciting stuff in the Fagerstrom household.
Well, not much else new around here. Abe does have a nasty cough now that's really been hanging on. Dr. Mike said he sounded pretty wheezy on Monday, so we're back to doing breathing treatments every four hours with albuterol. Still giving him pulmicort nebs twice a day, too. We'll see a Pulminary doctor next time we're at Children's to see what they have to say about Abe's asthma. But for now, it only seems to flare up when he has a cold/cough.
So it's back to school for my kiddos on Monday, it's been so nice to have them home for the past week. But I think they're ready to see their friends. Abe's class has a field trip this week to see the play 'If You Give A Mouse A Cookie'. A big trip for a boy in Kindergarten, he's pretty excited.
Hope everyone is having a great weekend. Thanks for taking time out of your day to check on our little man, we appreciate it!
Kelly
Wednesday, February 14, 2007 4:18 PM CST
Hope that everyone is having a great Valentine's Day. Ours has been pretty busy. The boys each had a party at school today & with a small amount of running around like a crazy woman, I was able to make it to all three. Abe sure had a good time at his party, it was fun to watch him open all of his little Valentines with his class. He's turned into quite the social butterfly the past few months. Hard to believe that this is the same boy who earlier in the school year was clinging to my leg with tears in his eyes! I offered to let him ride home with me today since I was already there & he said, 'Nah, I think I'll ride the bus'! Funny boy. It's also Kindness Week at their school with lots of fun activities & prizes all week. All of the classes are bringing in 'spare change' throughout the week for the Ronald McDonald House. The class that collects the most earns a pizza party at the end of the week. Each year the school chooses a different organization & I'm so glad they decided to help out the RMH.
Well, life off-treatment has been pretty good so far. The first week was a little rough for Abe, he had a bad cough & high fevers which turned into pneumonia :o( But after some heavy-duty antibiotics & a week home from school, he seems to be much better now. We had our first monthly off-therapy appointment on Monday. Abe wasn't very happy when I reminded him that we'd be going to see the doctor after school that day. I think he's a little confused about being 'done' with treatment, but then still having to go in for blood draws. He cried & told me that he feels good now & his body doesn't hurt anywhere so he didn't think he should have to see the doctor. We did explain things to him when he finished his chemo, that we would still be going in to check his blood, etc every month. I'm sure this will all become routine after a few months & he gets used to the arm pokes & not having a port. He did really well with the blood draw, though. He was quite proud of himself. His counts were pretty good, his hemoglobin is finally starting to creep up to a decent level. It was 10.2 which is still much lower than normal, but great compared to his usual 9. Overall, we are LOVING being done with chemo. So nice to not have to give Abe those nasty pills every night. One thing that has changed is his appetite, he's been eating like crazy! I thought he was just a picky eater, but now I'm thinking that the nightly chemo was making him just feel yucky. It's great to have his appetite back.
Tomorrow will also be an exciting day in our house - some volunteers from Make-A-Wish are coming over to meet Abe & talk to him about what he might like for a wish! When Abe was first diagnosed we found out that he qualified for MAW, but decided that we'd wait until he finished treatment. We're looking forward to talking with them. Abe has a pretty good idea of what he is going to wish for, but I think I'll wait until it's approved before spilling the beans :o)
Well, I am off to have some heart-shaped pizza with my sweeties at our favorite pizza place. Thanks so much for checking in on Abe & leaving messages in his guestbook!
Take care,
Kelly
Saturday, January 13, 2007 9:07 PM CST
Abe is officially DONE with treatment! WOOHOO!!
He took his very last chemo pills last night at bedtime. Tonight will be the first night in YEARS that I don't have to give him a syringe-full of chemo when I tuck him in! It's hard to grasp the idea that we're really done. It feels great. I've been a picture-taking fool this week & I think that Abe is getting rather annoyed with me. I took pictures of him taking his last dose of 6-MP, last dose of Methotrexate, last Vincristine...I'm pretty sure he's rolling his eyes at me in some of them. I even got a shot of the pill crusher & syringes before I threw them in the garbage!
Abe is pretty excited about now being able to drink milk before he goes to bed. His nightly chemo needed to be taken on an empty stomach with no dairy 2 hrs before. 7pm has been his cut-off for as long as he can probably remember, since he was not even 3 yrs old when diagnosed. For a boy who LOVES his milk, this is a huge deal. He never really complained about it, but to watch him walk into the kitchen & check the clock to see if it was too late for milk or a snack each night just didn't seem fair. So tonight we each had a big glass of milk in a fancy wine glass to celebrate! We are planning on having a real celebration for him soon, just haven't decided on when to have it yet.
Other exciting news - Abe has been DE-PORTED!!
His surgery went well on Monday at Children's. He was a little nervous going in that morning, but the nurses at Day Surgery were great with him. I think having his big brother Isaac there also helped. Abe wasn't very impressed with the 'surgery' pajamas. You know, the 2-piece mint green ones. He came back into the room after changing & said to Isaac, "Just *LOOK* at what they're makin' me wear today! I look so weird." I thought he looked adorable in them & of course took lots of pre & post surgery pictures. He woke up happy afterwards, until he saw the IV they had placed in his hand while he was sleeping. His nurse made up for it by letting him eat almost their entire supply of purple popsicles. We did get to keep the port. Abe even decided to look at it, only after Isaac told him how cool it was & that it was CLEAN. He's now willing to show it off if you ask to see it. He seems to be recovering well & he went back to school on Wednesday. He said that the site doesn't hurt unless it gets bumped (or you fall off the balance beams on the playground at recess - Yikes!) His teacher had a little celebration for him & brought in popsicles for the class at his request. All of the kids in his class had signed a certificate for him - it was so sweet. The only thing he's kind of bummed about is having to sit out in Phy Ed for 2 whole weeks until the incision is completely healed. Doctor's orders. And it's a floor hockey week. Other than that, I guess he's a happy boy.
We had a great trip to Minneapolis. We actually survived the long drive to & from with all 5 of us in one vehicle. Isaac & Ben were so happy to be able to come along this time. Thank you to Auntie Linda for allowing us to invade your house for three days! We did some fun stuff while we were in the Cities. On Sunday we took the boys to a big indoor park. They had a blast at Adventure Peak. Then on to Chuck E. Cheese's for pizza & video games. Monday was mainly hospital stuff. Abe had a clinic appt. that morning for his last Vincristine & we chatted with Dr. Mike & Abe's nurse about end of treatment details. Now that Abe is finished, he'll have monthly blood draws & check-ups. We got the OK to go down to Minneapolis every other month & be seen at our local clinic in between. That will save us a LOT of driving, although I have to admit I will really miss our monthly 'trips' together. Abe will still take his daily Mepron (antibiotic) for three more months. And we will continue with his daily Pulmicort nebulizer treatments to prevent wheezing/asthma symptoms. But that's the easy stuff. I think the main challenge will be the monthly blood draws with no port. I know that Abe is already dreading the arm pokes, but I guess we'll deal with that when the time comes. I have a few weeks to come up with some good bribes!
Well, I guess I've rambled on long enough. Thank you, thank you for all of the well-wishes & congrats on Abe finishing treatment. We really do appreciate that you are still checking in on us after 3 long years!
Abe just came up & wants to add his 2 cents :o)
it is mi lass naeit av six am p! =======================================
So cute. "It is my last night of 6MP!"
Take care,
Kelly
Saturday, January 6, 2007 11:26 PM CST
Happy New Year!
Just wanted to add a quick update on Mr. Abe tonight. Sorry it's been a few weeks. We had a nice Christmas & got to spend time with a lot of our family. The kids finally started feeling better a few days after Christmas & spent the rest of the break just taking it easy. I don't know what kind of virus it was that hit our house mid-December, but it sure was nasty!
Abe's counts have been great the past few weeks. His ANC was 2000 on Monday! Even though it was higher than usual, his doctor decided to leave doses the same again this week. Thought we'd just leave well enough alone since we're so close to being done. On Monday we went to the local oncology clinic for the last time to check counts. When he finishes treatment he'll only have blood draws once a month. So we'll either go to Children's Mpls or to the regular lab/pediatrician for his monthly check-ups. Abe's nurse had a little gift for him to celebrate being done with treatment. We're really going to miss seeing her every week! Of course Abe won't miss the pokes, but he & Kalynn have gotten pretty close over the past few years. All of the other nurses & some of the patients were cheering & clapping for him as we were leaving. He was all smiles.
I guess Abe's countdown is now at 6 days! On Monday he'll have his last dose of Vincristine at Children's. He'll take all of his other oral chemo pills until Friday the 12th. And he'll have just enough days left on treatment to squeeze in one last 5 day pulse of steroids. So we're pretty excited around here, to say the least! It's hard to even put into words what it feels like to almost be done. Three years & two months is a long time. I know Abe will be so glad to be done with his 'sick blood' medicine. His teacher said he was even telling his classmates about it in school this week.
On Monday Abe will also have surgery to remove his port. I was talking to one of the nurses about the procedure the last time we were at Children's & she said a lot of parents/kids ask to keep the port. I agreed with her, I had already planned to ask for it the day of the surgery. Well, when I asked Abe if he wanted to keep his port he looked at me like I was from another planet. He said, "No way. Tell them to put it where they put all of the other yucky things!" :o) I'm still going to keep it, I think when he's older it might be kinda cool. I think he might be a little nervous about the whole thing. He's been asking lots of questions about it, but doesn't want anyone to mention the 'S' word to him. He whispered in my ear, "You know, SURGERY". I'm sure he'll do fine once we get there. He's already packed his favorite blanket & stuffed penguin to keep him company.
Kindergarten is going really well for Abe. His teacher is planning a party for him when he gets back to school next week. She asked him what kind of treats he would like at his party & he chose purple popsicles. His all-time favorite treat. (As long as it's purple. He doesn't mess with all of the other colors in the box!) It's so nice of her to celebrate the end of his treatment with the whole class & Abe is really excited about the party.
Well, I guess that's about it for now. I'll update more next week. Thanks for stopping by!
Take care,
Kelly
Wednesday, December 20th, 2006
HAPPY 6TH BIRTHDAY ABE!!!
Abe had a great "Happy Feet" birthday party with his friends at the Science Center on Saturday. About eight of his little kindergarten friends showed up & they really had a good time - lots of presents & cake, snakes to hold (Abe passed on that one!) & a wandering turtle. Isaac's party also went well, but was more WILD than I had expected. I didn't know that 10 year olds sometimes go cuckoo while sledding in the back yard! But, I think they all had a good time & we only had one broken sled & one injury. Yikes. We also had our family over last night to celebrate Abe, Isaac & their cousin Tanner's birthdays. LOTS more presents, more cake and now I think we're ready to move on from birthdays to Christmas.
Unfortunately, today both birthday boys are sick. Isaac stayed home from school today with a sore throat, headache, stomach ache, just feeling miserable. Abe went to school this morning, came home smiling, wearing his birthday crown that his teacher had given him & then started feeling a lot like Isaac. He is currently sacked out on the couch, feeling too yucky to even play with his new birthday loot. So it looks like they will both miss their Christmas parties at school tomorrow. We'll take any good thoughts you have to send our way for no fever for Abe & that they will both feel better before Christmas this weekend. Abe spent most of Christmas Day in the ER last year. He's been talking about that a lot this week wondering if he'll have to be at the hospital again on Christmas. Hopefully he'll be at home, hanging out in his pajamas with his brothers on Christmas morning.
Abe's class had their Holiday program at school yesterday. It was the cutest thing I've ever seen! He did such a great job singing & was so proud of himself. We also went to my niece & nephew's choir concert on Monday night at their school. They each had a solo part & sounded great, they have such beautiful singing voices. I am one proud aunt!
Well, we are still counting down the days until the end of treatment & looking forward to taking those last pills on January 12th! Only 23 days left. Abe's counts were nice & high on Monday, probably due to the steroids he had just finished. His doctor decided to increase his doses just a little this week. They didn't want to make any drastic changes in hopes that his ANC will still be decent when he goes in for port removal surgery in January. Dr. Mike also said Abe won't have to go in for a blood draw next week to check counts. Yay! We've been going to the clinic every Monday for so long now, it'll be nice to have a week with no pokes for Abe.
Thanks for visiting Abe's site & leaving messages in the guestbook, we appreciate it.
Merry Christmas,
Kelly
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Tuesday, December 12,2006
Happy Holidays!
I can't believe how fast the month of December has been flying by. I apologize for not updating more often, thanks for still checking in on us! I suppose all of you have been busy getting ready for the holidays. I'm not even close to being done with my Christmas shopping. Mostly because I'm still in birthday mode. Two of my little sweeties will celebrate birthdays next week! Abe's b-day is on the 20th & Isaac's the 19th. Hard to believe that they will be 6 and 10. So we've been busy, busy, busy planning parties. Abe's going to have his party at the Science Center this year. He's really getting excited about it & has invited about half of his Kindergarten class. I'm glad he has a lot of friends, but am really hoping that at least a few of them have other plans. That's a lot of little people to keep track of! Isaac is having a bunch of friends over to our house for his party. Should be a fun but busy weekend.
The boys are getting so excited for Christmas, they run to their advent calendars every morning. Of course Ben has already sneakily opened all of his except days 22-25. That boy loves chocolate! His brothers have learned the hard way to hide theirs from him. We're going to get our Christmas tree either today or tomorrow. We've put out most of our other decorations, just haven't had a chance to get a tree yet.
Now for the best news on the medical front - Abe had his LAST spinal with chemo yesterday! Woohoo!! I can't even tell you what a great feeling that is. Everything went well, but Abe wasn't happy about the way things started out at Short Stay. The port access didn't go very well. After we were done Abe said, "That nurse stinked at trying to put the needle in my port". She had a hard time getting it in the right spot & was sort of digging around with the needle already through his skin. His port area looks like it's been through the ringer today :o( But, she did make up for it a little by ordering him TWO fruit roll-ups for his breakfast tray in honor of his FINAL SPINAL. She was actually a really nice lady, just not familiar with the tricks to accessing Abe's port. He said he's going to miss going to Short Stay. Well... mostly just their fruit roll-ups & the "milky-medicine nap", in his words. I have to say that I won't miss hanging out at Short Stay. Although I really do like the staff there, those nasty chemo spinals can hit the road. I'm so glad to be done with that part of Abe's treatment. Speaking of being done with treatment, Abe will be done on January 12th. Only one month to go!! He'll have his last dose of Vincristine on Jan. 8th, and he's also scheduled to have port removal surgery that same day. He'll have his last steroid pulse that week, and take his LAST oral chemo pills on the 12th. After school today, we're making one of those paper chains to keep track of 'how many days left of chemo'. So, let the countdown begin!
Abe has been feeling pretty good lately, knocking on wood as I type. His ANC has been low. It's been in the 200's the past few weeks, but he's been able to be at school almost every day since the pneumonia in November. Hemoglobin has still been kind of low, 9.3 yesterday. But he's definitely not lacking energy. His ANC was great yesterday. They really cut his chemo down a few weeks ago, so his ANC was up to 1066. Even though his counts were up yesterday, his doctor decided to just leave doses as they are to make sure we don't bottom him out again. With birthdays, Christmas & everything else coming up it would be nice to not have to factor in low counts, too. So many germs out there this time of year. We just want to cruise right through this last month with no fevers, infections or ER visits! Keep your fingers crossed for a nice, high ANC on Monday :o)
Abe & I had a great trip to Minneapolis this weekend. I just love spending two whole days with my little man. We spent the night at my aunt Linda's house & my aunt Jodi was there for the weekend, too. We had so much fun visiting with them. On Sunday night we took the Light Rail downtown to see the Holidazzle Parade. Abe loved the parade, and loved riding on the light rail - it was his first time and we got to sit in the car that looked like the Polar Express. The weather was perfect for the parade, much warmer than last year. Of course, no Holidazzle Parade would be complete without riding up & down the escalators in Macy's a few times. Another one of Abe's favorite things. After the parade we went to the bowling alley for a bite to eat & a few bottles of grape pop. Abe ended the night singing some karaoke with Jodi, Linda & our cousin Jennifer. A very fun day. Thank you for entertaining us again Auntie Linda & Auntie Jodi - or should I call you Aunt Smoochy & Aunt Pinchy?!?!
Well, the boys will be home from school soon and I still need to get to the store to stock up on steroid foods. It's Day #2 & Abe is already asking for sticky rice from New China.
Have a great week.
Kelly
Sunday, November 19, 2006 1:32 PM CST
Hi. I'm sorry it's been so long!
Abe is doing well. He seems to really like being in Kindergarten these days. We've made lots of progress in the no-tears-in-the-morning department. It's so great to see that smile on his face when I drop him off at school. He's earned a lot of stickers on his chart & A LOT of prizes from the prize jar at home. (Hey, a little bribery never hurt anyone!)
Things are also going well on the medical front. Abe is feeling great this weekend. A few weeks ago he had several days of fevers & a terrible cough that wouldn't go away. We had a chest x-ray taken & found that he had the beginnings of pneumonia. Luckily, his counts were good that week, so we were able to just give him some oral antibiotics at home. That seemed to do the trick, his cough is much better & he's been fever-free for awhile now. After missing an entire week of school, he was excited to get back into the swing of things this week.
Al & Abe went to Minneapolis this past week for his monthly appointment at Children's. Things went well with his IV chemo & he also had another chest x-ray to make sure the pneumonia was cleared up. They said his lungs looked great. We've still been giving him lots of breathing treatments with pulmicort & albuterol every day to keep his asthma under control. His counts have been great lately, his ANC seems to really be hanging in there. His hemoglobin still runs a little low, but he still has plenty of energy most days.
Sounds like Abe & Al had a good time on their trip to the Cities. They saw Monster House at The Riverview, a movie Abe had been waiting to see. (He made his brother Isaac quite jealous with that one!) They also went to his newest favorite hang-out, a bowling alley that Auntie Linda found with some cool video games. He's getting to be quite the pro at air hockey. Another perk is that they serve grape pop there, in a bottle. If you ask Abe, it just doesn't get any better than that! They also stopped at the big Cabela's on their way home on Monday. Abe loves to see all of the animals & fish. And he especially loves the 'shooting' gallery upstairs. A fun, *manly* thing to do, I guess. During our Minneapolis visit last month we went to a place called Chutes and Ladders, a huge play area at Hyland Park Reserve. He really had a blast there, I could hardly keep up with him. OK, I'll be honest - I couldn't keep up! Good thing Auntie Linda was there to do all of the climbing with him :o)
Other than that we've just been keeping busy with everyday stuff, which is good. On Thursday night, the boys were excited to watch their cousins, Kenzie and Tanner perform in 'Seussical'. They each had a part & did such a great job! We loved it. They were the best & most talented Bird Girl & Cadet on the stage!!
Well, I'd better end this now. We're going to see the movie Happy Feet in a few minutes. I promise to update again soon - lots of things happening in the next few months. (Birthdays, port removal, END OF TREATMENT!, etc.)
Thanks for checking in on Abe. Have a Happy Thanksgiving.
Take care,
Kelly
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I also wanted to mention that the 3rd Annual Ronald McDonald House Fundraiser is going on through the month of November. ECFE and the local McDonald's restaurants are working on collecting items from the RMH Wish List. I know that at least one of the elementary schools & several businesses are also involved. The past few years, this group has done a great job & has been able to bring lots of Wish List items & donations to the RMH. Most of you already know that when Abe was diagnosed, we spent almost 2 months living at the RMH of the Twin Cities. They offer so many wonderful things to families who have a child with a serious illness. We know of several families in the Bemidji area who also have needed to stay at a RMH & we're happy to do anything we can to give back a little. If you would like to see a Wish List, I've got a link to the Mpls RMH at the bottom of this page. Items can be dropped off at either McDonald's in town or at the ECFE building. Feel free to call or email me with any questions. Thanks!
Friday, October 13, 2006 7:10 PM CDT
Hello from blustery Bemidji, MN! I don't know what's going on with this weather we're having right now. Snowy, windy & definitely not the way October is supposed to be. The boys think the snow is great. They brought out all of our snowpants, boots, sleds & other snow gear yesterday. A whole lot of work just to play in an inch of snow! But they had a great time together in the back yard, so it was well worth the effort.
School is going well for the kids. I think Abe is getting used to being in Kindergarten. He still has days that he cries when I drop him off, but I think it's getting easier for him. His teacher said that he does really well throughout the day. She's so great with him, we feel lucky that Abe has her for a teacher this year. He gets a sticker every morning to add to his collection & she also sends him on special 'errands' around the school during the day. He thinks that's pretty cool. He & Isaac had a blast at the Fall Festival Dance at their school last week. Abe really loves music & LOVES to dance. He's so funny. I had the best time just watching him shake his little booty on the dance floor - his favorite move. I kept my moves off the dance floor, so as not to completely embarrass my oldest, coolest child :o) Isaac really loves 4th grade. He seems so grown up all of a sudden & will be taller than me before I know it. Yikes! Ben is having a good time at preschool. He's such a friendly & social little guy, it's fun to hear him tell stories about his day.
Abe's counts have really been hanging in there. His ANC was 2200 this week! That's almost a record high for him & it's probably just because he's fighting off a few different bugs right now. He's had a cough/cold & has also had Pink Eye in the past few weeks. Yuck. It's spreading through that classroom like wildfire. Isaac & Ben also got it. I feel like my main goal lately has been getting eye ointment into three sets of eyes, day after day. Not so bad with Abe & Isaac, but Mr. Ben (4 yrs old) is a whole different ballgame. Very challenging, but we got it done. I'm glad the kids have had a few extra days off from school this week for conferences. Hopefully when they go back next week those nasty germs won't be hanging around the classroom. Wishful thinking, I know. Abe's hemoglobin has been kind of low again, it was 8.7 last week. I'm sure that's why he's been so tired out & also part of the reason mornings are tough for him at school. But all other counts were good, so no complaints.
Abe & his brothers are getting excited for Halloween. He wants to be a ninja this year. Not a Ninja Turtle, not a 'mean' looking ninja, but a nice one. Isaac wants to be a knight. The 4th grades have a Medieval Festival instead of a Halloween party & he's really excited about that. They decorate the room like a castle, have a big feast & lots of other fun things that day. I'm looking forward to helping out with all of the activities. Ben wants to be a red Power Ranger with muscles. So I'm on a costume mission this week. Hopefully the weather will shape up in the next few weeks so they don't have icicles hanging off their little noses while trick-or-treating!
We are off to the cities later this weekend. Abe has treatment at Children's on Monday morning. He's counting down the days, as usual, until we leave. We had to make a special trip to the store today so that he could buy himself a new Color Wonder tablet for the long ride to Minneapolis. He loves those things. He'd been saving all of his money from the tooth fairy. Speaking of the tooth fairy, she's been a real regular here lately. Abe has lost 3 teeth in the last few weeks. He looks SO cute with all of his missing teeth! So he had enough money for his tablet & also bought himself 3 minutes on a massage chair at the mall today :o)
Well, thanks for checking in on Abe. Have a great weekend.
Kelly
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P.S. Abe has a new joke for you
How do you make a handkerchief dance?
**** Put a little boogie in it
Saturday, September 23, 2006 12:14 AM CDT
I can't believe it's been two months since I've updated this site. Thank you for still coming back to check on Abe even though I've been such a slacker! We really do appreciate it.
Abe is doing well, other than being crazy hungry this week due to the lovely 5 days of Dexamethasone (steroids) he just finished. I can't remember the last time he's eaten this much so many days in a row. His appetite hasn't been that great recently, so the monthly steroid pulse has definitely helped with that. The main requests have been 'sticky rice' from New China, and strawberries - lots & lots of strawberries. Odd combination if you ask me, but it's good to keep a boy on steroids happy if at all possible!
The kids had a great summer & it seems like August just flew by. Abe spent a lot of time playing outside with his brothers & friends from the neighborhood. Our yard was definitely full of kids this summer, riding bikes, playing basketball, slip n' slide, treehouse, trampoline, etc. He also got to go to his first Minnesota Twins game a few weeks ago. He & Ben went with Al & Grandpa Jerry, they had a fun boys' weekend in the cities. Abe loved watching the game (they beat Detroit) & he's now even more of a baseball fan. Al has been taking the boys fishing quite a bit. Usually one at a time, I guess you don't get much fishing done w/ 3 little boys in a boat! Abe really likes catching fish. I have some great pictures from this summer that I will get on here sometime soon. I got to sneak away for about a week to visit my friend Heather in Colorado. It was so great to spend some time w/ her family & to just get away for awhile. I had kind of forgotten what that feels like!
Well, the school year started a few weeks ago & I think we're getting used to having a routine again. Abe is now a Kindergartner! He loved school the first few days & came home smiling from ear to ear. But then as the days went on I think the reality hit him that he'll be there all day, every day & he didn't think it was such a good idea. We've had lots of tears in the mornings & a few throughout the day. But I think it's getting a little easier every day. Yesterday I dropped him off & he didn't cry at all, so I think we're making progress. (I was so happy, I felt like doing cartwheels down the hallway!) His favorite parts of school are riding the bus home, gym - they're doing rollerskating this week, & 'reading buddies'. They each have a third grader that reads with them once a week & he was excited that his 'buddy' is a girl who lives in our neighborhood. He was at the table drawing last night, & I suggested that he save one of his pictures to give to her next week. He said, "Oh no, then she might think that I LOVE her!" OK then, I guess mom doesn't know about what you should & shouldn't do to keep up your image in Kindergarten.
Abe's counts have been great for the past month & he's been on a steady dose of his nightly oral chemo. I think they've finally found the right amount that will keep his ANC where it should be in the Maintenance phase of his treatment. After years of always having such a low ANC, it has been so nice to be at (& sometimes a little above) 1000 this past month. Knocking on wood, of course. He still goes in for blood draws once a week to check counts. Abe has also had a cough/virus that has been hanging on for about a month & some wheezing. But no trips to the ER w/ a fever, so that's good news. We're back on the breathing treatments w/ pulmicort & albuterol on a pretty regular basis. We were able to take a break from the twice a day pulmicort nebs this summer, but will now continue those through the fall & winter.
Abe had his visit to Children's in Minneapolis earlier this week. We were at the Short Stay Unit for his spinal w/ Methotrexate & also his IV Vincristine. Everything went well, he still loves going to Short Stay & getting a Fruit Roll-Up when he wakes up from his 'nap'. He says they also have better stickers there & you get to watch movies while you wait your turn to see the sedation doctor. Makes sense, I guess :o) I'm just glad that he looks forward to going there, for whatever reasons. He's got such a great attitude. We also made some time for fun things while we were in the cities. Abe finally got to go to Chuck E. Cheese's. It's been on his list of things to do for awhile now, & since his ANC has been great we decided it would be OK to enter the germ-factory that I usually avoid. He had a blast. So I ate pizza & watched him run around happily playing games for a few hours. He's really into playing video games & looking for arcades right now. Every town we go through he wonders if they might have a 'good' arcade. We also got to spend the night at Auntie Linda's house & visit with her. Thanks for lunch & for finding another place for Abe to play games close to your house!
Well, I guess this has gone on long enough. Thanks again for stopping by & for signing the guestbook. Abe still loves to have me read the messages to him, he thinks that's pretty cool. I will update again soon with some pictures.
Take care,
Kelly
Friday, July 14, 2006 2:25 PM CDT
Hi everyone. Again, sorry for the lack of updates!
Abe is doing well & I guess there is nothing new to tell on the medical front. He's been taking steady doses of his oral chemo every night & his counts have been alright. Still checking those counts every Monday morning at the clinic. This week's ANC was at 558, not too bad. It's been between 300 - 650 the past month. His hemoglobin is still hanging on the low side at 9.5, but it did actually go up to 10.0 for a few weeks in a row. Overall he's been feeling pretty good, other than his legs being 'tired' & his tummy hurting. We were told to try giving him Zantac with his nightly chemo & then again when he wakes up in the morning to see if that will take care of the tummy issues. He's also still going to physical therapy to help with his legs. He loves going to P/T & showing Cheryl what he can do. We're currently working on skipping.
Our last trip to the cities went well. We brought both Isaac & Auntie Jodi along & had a great time staying at Auntie Linda's house as usual. We all went to Como Zoo, the boys love to go there. We also got to have dinner at Abe's newest favorite hang-out in Minneapolis, the Pizza Pie & I. He says they have the best french fries, root beer (in a bottle, very important) & video games. Thanks, Linda, for taking us to all of Abe's favorite places again! And thanks to Jodi for keeping the boys entertained on the long ride to & from Minneapolis! Even if it meant speaking in a British accent for an hour :o)
Abe's visit at Short Stay went smoothly, he had his monthly IV Vincristine & his LP (lumbar puncture) with Methotrexate. Abe wore his 'disguise' - a pair of glasses w/ the fake nose, bushy eyebrows & mustache through the whole pre-spinal preparation. He's such a little joker.
We had a great 4th of July weekend. We started off by celebrating Ben's 4th birthday. He had a blast at his party & every present he opened was 'just what he always wanted'. What a sweetheart. Highlights of the party were him peeing off the deck in front of all of the guests - OOPS. (His defense was that he had to water the rose bushes.) And his practice swing for the pinata hitting me square in the big nose - OUCH. (Good thing it was a plastic bat.) Other than that, I think it was a great party.
We spent the day of the 4th up north in Big Falls, a small town near where I grew up. We love to take the kids up there every year for the 4th of July celebration. They've got all kinds of fun activities for kids. The boys ran in the foot races, dug in the sawdust pile (Abe's favorite, he found a whole pile of 50 cent pieces, JACKPOT!), water balloon toss, egg toss, three-legged races, it was great fun. Isaac drove the go-cart & Ben rode his new Spiderman bike in the kiddie parade. Abe & I decided to just sit on the curb & watch the parades so we could load up on candy. Seemed like a good idea to me, until I got hit on the knee cap with a pack of Now 'N Laters - OUCH. Serves me right for being a 30-something-year-old candy grabber. Seriously, though, it was bruised & it really did hurt. Next year I'll remember to wear my protective gear :o) They also have the best fireworks ever, by far our favorite part of the whole day & definitely worth the 1 1/2 hour drive to get there.
Al brought Abe to a youth archery clinic at Gander Mountain last weekend & he really had a good time. He even won the grand prize drawing & is the proud new owner of a real bow, just his size. He's been out in the back yard practicing ever since & is getting pretty good at hitting the target. He & Isaac are thinking of joining the youth archery league this fall. Ben said that he now wants a hat with a feather in it so he can be like Robinhood :o)
Well, I guess that's about it for now. Al will take Abe to the cities next week for more IV chemo. I'm not sure what fun things they'll find to do while they're in Minneapolis. They were hoping to catch a Twins game, but we just found out they aren't in town next weekend. I'm sure Abe has a whole list of things he'd like to do. I'll try to update sooner next time. Thanks for checking in on Abe.
Take care,
Kelly
P.S. Our family is participating in the Relay For Life again this year. I will try & get a link to our team site on here soon, but if anyone would like to join us in walking or be involved in any way just let me know. Thanks!
Wednesday, June 21, 2006 5:50 PM CDT
Happy Summer! And also a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my niece Makenzie!!
We are having a great summer so far. The boys are finding lots of ways to keep busy, or maybe I should say, keep ME busy :o) Abe is getting excited to start karate next month & will also be taking swimming lessons in July. He decided that he wasn't going to play
t-ball this year, he wants to wait until he's old enough to play 'real' baseball. I guess he doesn't want to mess around with the 't' part of it. We'll just keep practicing in the yard. I think that karate & swimming will be enough for one summer anyway. Ben will take swimming lessons too, & Isaac just wants to play some golf.
Abe has been doing really well. He seems to be feeling good, aside from being tired out. He's been on a fairly steady dose of his nightly chemo, and his counts have been pretty good. His ANC has been OK, last week it went down to 300 but then on Monday it was back up to 660. That's still on the low side, but at least he's been able to tolerate more consistent doses of his meds. His hemoglobin was better this week, too. It was up to 10 (Woohoo!), that's the highest it's been in quite awhile. It had been hanging right around 9 for months. Hopefully he'll have more energy now for all of that serious playing, trampoline jumping, bike riding & chipmunk chasing that he loves to do!
Our last trip to Children's in Minneapolis went well. Abe's appointment didn't take long at all, just a blood draw for counts & a quick push of IV chemo (Vincristine) into his port. We were in & out of there in about an hour. It's funny that we drive 4 hours (each way) for a push of chemo that takes about 20 seconds. It does take awhile for the bloodwork, though, and it is nice to see Abe's doctor & nurse every month to make sure that he's on track. It also leaves us lots of time to do fun things, like spending time with Auntie Linda & going to Abe's favorite park. Abe & I also went to Como Park Zoo while we were in the cities. We had a great time, Abe loved to see all of the animals - he's still not too sure about those gorillas, though. We had to cut the animal visits short because it was so HOT that day. Wow, I think it was almost 100 degrees, not my kind of day. (I'm a northern MN girl!) The amusement park at Como was more shaded, so we spent most of our time there. Abe's favorite part was the Water Balloon War booth. We were definitely cooled off after that, soaking wet. Next time I will know that when the guy who runs the booth says "I'll play against you guys", I should run the other way. Obviously, he was really good at his job. I looked like a drowned rat, or like I was maybe the sweatiest person in the Twin Cities. Eww! Oh well, it was fun and that's what counts.
It's almost time again for Abe & I to head to Minneapolis again for his next treatment at Children's. He'll have a spinal w/ chemo & his monthly IV Vincristine. This appointment takes a little longer, we have to be at the hospital early in the a.m. & are usually there for 3 or 4 hours. Isaac is coming with us this time, he & Abe are really excited about the trip. Abe wants to show his big brother what Short Stay is like, he thinks it's so cool that he goes to sleep & then when he wakes up there's a food tray w/ a fruit roll-up waiting for him. It should be a fun trip.
Not much else new here I guess. Abe would like me to tell you that he learned to tie his shoes the other day. It only took him part of a morning to master the shoe-tieing, now he pointed out that he needs some new velcro-less shoes. Ben started riding bike without training wheels yesterday, he's been zooming around the yard ever since. He was up at the crack of dawn this morning, heading out the door to ride his bike. I could hear him shouting at the neighbors, "Hey, I'm riding a 2-wheeler, yee-haw!" He's 3 yrs old & will turn 4 next week, but he's doing his darndest to keep up with his big brothers!
We finally got our garden planted & the kids have been helping us keep the weeds under control. I made the mistake of telling them that part of earning their allowance this summer would be pulling weeds, so now they're out there all of the time waiting for weeds to pop up. I think there are some suspicious-looking empty spots in some of the rows where cucumbers & peas used to be. Money-hungry little guys, now aren't they :o)
I also wanted to mention that there is a documentary called "A Lion in the House" that will air on Independent Lens on PBS tonight & tomorrow night - June 21st & 22nd. It follows five kids diagnosed with blood cancer & their families for a number of years. I've heard it is a very honest & real look at what it's like to have a child with cancer. I think the movie may be difficult to watch, but it will help to raise public awareness for childhood cancer. I'm not sure what time it will air, but you can find the listing under Independent Lens on PBS.
I will try to update more often & will get some new pictures up soon! Thanks for checking in.
Take care,
Kelly
Friday, May 26, 2006 9:55 PM CDT
It's been way too long since my last update....sorry! Thanks for checking in, even though I've been such a poor excuse for an updater.
The good news is that Abe has been doing really well. He's been feeling good & his counts have been decent, too. His ANC was 810 this week & 624 the week before that. His hemoglobin has been fairly low, usually anywhere between 9.0 - 9.5. (Normal is 11.5 - 13.5) I think that's probably the reason that he tires so easily. He takes a nap almost every day. His hair started coming out again about a month ago. It had gotten thinned-out & patchy looking, so we decided to get it cut pretty short. So he didn't even notice that it was falling out. I think it has stopped thinning now, & looks like it's starting to grow back in. Abe finally has his appetite back, he's been quite the hungry boy lately. It's so great to see him want to eat & try some new foods.
We've still been going to the local clinic every week to check counts. Abe does such a great job with the pokes now, that it's not a big deal to him anymore. He even said that he likes that "woozy" feeling when they flush his line with saline. The nurses are so good with him & he really likes them. He does his best to entertain them, too. His latest trick is to draw a funny face around his belly button. It also talks & tells knock-knock jokes & has the funniest laugh I think I've ever heard. If you see him anytime soon, ask him for a demonstration & I'm sure he'll be happy to show it off :o)
Abe officially graduated from preschool last week. His school had a program/graduation on Friday night. All of the kids were up on the stage with their teddy bears singing their hearts out - minus one Abe Fagerstrom. We couldn't convince him (or even BRIBE him) to get up there & sing with his class. He did sing & do all of the motions while sitting on my lap. I did finally talk him into walking up to get his 'diploma' when his name was called. It was pretty cute. Thank you Auntie Marci, Kenzie, Tanner & Grandpa Jerry for coming!
Other than that, I guess we've just been busy with end-of-the-year school activities. Picnics, field trips, parties, potlucks. Isaac is counting down the days until summer vacation, he'll be done a week from Monday. His 3rd grade class has a trip to Itasca State Park planned for next week & he's excited about that. Ben is just excited about EVERYTHING in general & is still a very busy boy. He loves to try to coax all of the neighborhood cats into our yard so he can play with them. Abe is still afraid of cats, so he then paid Ben a dollar (in nickels) to chase them back into their own yards so he can have a cat-free bike ride in the driveway. As soon as Abe goes inside, Ben sweet-talks his kitty friends back over. I'm starting to think that little Ben has a mind for business: get the cats to come over & "play", big brother pays $$$ to chase them away....Hmmmmmm.
It's already time for another trip to Minneapolis for Abe's treatment next week. He's excited & we're going to try to go to the zoo while we're there. The last 3 times we've been in the cities it has rained, so I probably shouldn't even type the word (zoo). We had a great time in Mpls. last month. Auntie Linda took us to the Mall of America. Abe loves to go to Camp Snoopy, or 'The Park at the MOA' as it's now called. He had so much fun on the rides, his favorites were the race cars & the bumper cars. I'm embarrassed to say that I actually got kind of sick on the mini race cars - twice. In my defense though, those little puppies really whip around the corners. Thank you to Linda, for going on all of the rides with Abe!
Hope you all have a nice Memorial Day weekend. We're planning on planting our garden & maybe doing some fishing. We'll also get together with my family for our annual picnic near Littlefork. We're looking forward to seeing lots of relatives & friends.
Thanks again for checking in on Abe. I promise it won't be an entire month before you read my ramblings again :o)
Take care,
Kelly
Wednesday, April 26th, 2006
Just wanted to add a quick update......Abe seems to be feeling much better. He's been fever-free for over a week now. He's got some of his energy back & went to preschool yesterday for the first time in 3 weeks! He still has a nasty cough/wheeze, but breathing treatments seem to help. So we're back to semi-normal in our household. The Easter Bunny did get to visit Abe at home - he wasn't feeling all that well, but still had a great time hunting for eggs in the yard. He and his brothers are still up to their ears in candy & I'm still finding that fake grass everywhere in the house no matter how many times I've vacuumed! (I may just start a campaign to out-law that stuff, but that's a whole 'nother journal entry!) We also spent Easter day at my sister's house. It was a great day & the weather was perfect.
Abe's counts were pretty good on Monday. He was off from his oral chemo for about a week & a half when he was sick, so his ANC was up to 960 this week. He was restarted on reduced doses of both 6MP & Methotrexate. I have to say that he really liked not having to take his nightly meds when he was sick. We got to break the no-food-or-dairy-in-the-evening rule for about 10 whole days! I've never seen a boy so happy to drink a nice big glass of milk at bedtime :o) Of course he still had other meds to take every day, his regular antibiotic AND a new, nasty, pink antibiotic three times a day for an ear infection. He disliked that one so much that he tried many tactics to get out of drinking it. First he tried tricking me, then bribing me, distracting me, hiding from me, begging me, gagging, along with lots of tears. Poor little guy, but he's done with that med now. Hopefully when they check his ear on Monday the infection will be gone. His hemoglobin was better - it was at 9.4 this week, up from 8.5. Well, enough of the medical stuff, I don't want to bore you to sleep with the details.
Abe & I will be off to the cities this weekend for his IV chemo at Children's. We're really looking forward to our little trip together. He's been saving his money & is working on a list of things he wants to do while he's in Minneapolis. We may have to narrow it down some, since we'll only be there for 2 days :o)
Thanks for checking in on Abe.
Kelly
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THURSDAY FEVER UPDATE:
Well, we did end up at the ER this morning :o( Abe had a fever of 102, so off we went. We spent most of the day there getting chest xrays, blood cultures, throat cultures & all the other stuff that goes along with a trip to the ER. Yuck. They ended up giving Abe IV & oral antibiotics, so we'll see if that helps. His ANC was at 266, just a little lower than it was on Monday. We were prepared to drive down to the cities today for him to be admitted to Children's since his counts are so low, but his Dr. gave us the OK to come home with antibiotics. So now we will be on fever watch & hope that it doesn't get much higher. We'll take any good thoughts you have to spare for the fever to hit the road & for Abe to start feeling better so we can be at home this weekend! We do love our trips to Minneapolis, just NOT the unplanned ones on Easter weekend - Abe wants the Easter Bunny to visit him at HOME!
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Wednesday, April 12, 2006
Happy Spring!!
I think it's officially spring now in Bemidji, the snow has finally melted. The weather has been great & it's supposed to be 60 degrees today! The kids have been really busy outside this week riding their bikes, jumping on the trampoline & playing baseball. Abe is so happy to be able to ride his bike, he's had a permanent smile on his face for days. He pedals as fast as he can down the driveway, gets to the end, & then slams on his brakes to make that cool "skidding out" sound. Over and over and over. Only one wipe out/elbow scrape, which didn't slow him down. He's one tough little cookie. I'm glad he has so much fun riding his bike. It's actually the best physical therapy for him & uses all of the muscles that get tight from his IV chemo, so it's a good thing.
Abe & I went to Minneapolis last week for his monthly visit at Children's. He had his IV Vincristine & also a spinal with Methotrexate. It went really well. He was actually excited about going in for his spinal this time. When I asked him why he wanted to go there he said, 'Because when I go to short stay & wake up from my back poke, they give me a fruit roll-up'. A fruit roll-up. He really can find the good in just about anything. (Because in my opinion, spinals at Short Stay really stink.)That is the kind of kid Abe is. Always a smile on his cute little face, & grateful for a fruit roll-up.
Usually when we go to the Short Stay Unit for Abe's spinals there at least 3 or 4 other kids there waiting for procedures/chemo, etc. We sometimes end up doing a lot of waiting around, it's a whole long process. Well we lucked out, because Abe was the only one on the schedule that day. So he really got the royal treatment, extra stickers, bandaids (he collects them) & lots of attention from the nurses & sedation doctor. They were having a good time with him & he had some fun planned for them also. Auntie Linda had given him some 'Flarp' - for those of you not familiar with it, it's noise putty that makes some pretty realistic sounding ...well, fart noises. He decided he should bring it to the hospital to trick his doctors & nurses. Abe thinks it's just hilarious, & I'll admit it is pretty entertaining. He sure got a lot of laughs out of the docs, in fact, right up until the minute they injected his sleepy medicine (Propofol). He woke up from sedation as happy as ever, popped out of bed & was out the door, fruit roll-up in one hand & Flarp in the other. I highly recommend the noise putty. I think we might bring Flarp for everyone next time we go to the hospital! OK, enough about that already, I sound like some kind of Flarp commercial :o)
We had a great time while we were in Minneapolis. We got there on Sunday afternoon & it was raining, so we decided to see a movie with Auntie Linda. We saw Nanny McPhee at a theater near her house & Abe loved it, what a great movie. We also went to Auntie Linda's office & got a chance to see where she works. Abe learned how to send a Fax, he thought that was pretty cool. He'll really impress his preschool teachers with that one! The weather was nice on Monday, so after we got done at the hospital Abe got to go to a park with Auntie Linda, one of his very favorite things to do. I got a chance to do some shopping while they were at the park, thanks Linda!
Abe has been feeling OK. He's had a cough/cold since last week & some low grade fevers on & off, but nothing serious. His counts have been pretty low the past 3-4 weeks. His ANC ranging from 400 a few weeks ago, to 528 last week, and then down to 288 on Monday even after a week of steroids. (Steroids usually boost the counts) Not much infection fighting ability right now, but that's nothing new to Abe. We are so used to his counts being low that it just seems normal for him. We've been trying to stay as germ free as possible, avoiding crowds & things like that. But Isaac has been home from school with a high fever, headaches, body aches this week. So with an ANC of 288, it's more than likely that Abe will end up with a fever with a possible trip to the local ER. Keep your fingers crossed for no fevers & his counts to be up on Monday. His hemoglobin has also been running on the low side. It's been right around 9.2 or 9.3 for awhile now. I think a normal range is between 11.5-13.5. It was only 8.7 on Monday, which would explain why he looks pale & has been taking long naps almost every day. It's not a huge worry, & kids don't usually get transfusions until it goes down into the 7 range. We're hoping it gets back closer to normal so that he feels better & isn't so tired all of the time. But, overall, he's doing great & he sure isn't complaining - so I guess I won't either!
Last weekend we went up to International Falls to visit Grandma Mary. The boys wanted to tell her Happy Birthday in person & bring her some cupcakes to celebrate. We had a great time visiting & we got to see Auntie Jodi. (By the way, Auntie Jodi & Grandma Mary like Flarp, too) Abe said he can't wait for summer so we can go up to Grandma's house more often & visit. He also wants to play T-Ball this summer, so we'll sign him up for that soon. He's quite the slugger & will hit the ball as long as someone will pitch to him. We also have an open house for Kindergarten coming up soon. I can't believe Abe will be starting in the fall. He's ready for it, now if I can get used to the idea! I'm working on it :o)
I hope everyone has a Happy Easter this weekend & that you can spend it with family & friends. We'll be spending the day at my sister's house & are looking forward to seeing our family. Abe, Isaac & Ben are excited to hunt for eggs & baskets on Sunday morning. I hope the Easter Bunny can actually hide them outside this year, the forecast is looking pretty good so far.
Well, I guess that's enough for now. Thank you for checking in on Abe. I'll try & get some new pictures up soon, Abe just had his preschool pics taken last week.
Take care,
Kelly
Friday, March 17, 2006 7:54 AM CST
Happy St. Patrick's Day! We're going to bake some shamrock cookies this morning. That's about as exciting as it gets around here. The kids love to help me bake, and really, I'll use any excuse to make cookies. I also made cream puffs for dessert last night. I'm not even going to admit to how many boxes of Girl Scout cookies we ordered this year. I think my sweet tooth has gone into overdrive!
The kids have been off from school since last Thursday. They had 2 days off for parent/teacher conferences combined with their spring break, that's a grand total of 11 days at home. Yikes. I don't want to jinx things, but they've been getting along really well so far. They've been able to play outside quite a bit too, which helps. It's been warm enough to be out there, but not warm enough to melt the snow and ice. When Abe found out that he wouldn't have school because of 'spring break', he had his heart set on riding his bike in the driveway. Well, it's still very much covered with ice. Yesterday he said, "I like spring break better when it's actually SPRING!" :o)
Abe had his appointment in Minneapolis a few weeks ago. Isaac came along this time & we really had a great trip. We let him miss a day of school, which he thought was pretty cool. I think he feels a little left out sometimes when Abe & I take our monthly trips to Minneapolis, since we're usually gone two days. It's good for him to be a part of that & also to see what Abe has to do when he goes to the hospital. We stayed with Auntie Linda, the boys always look forward to going to her house. We had a great time at the Science Museum & got to see 'Ocean Oasis' at the Omnitheater. Abe & Isaac really loved it. Thanks for taking us there, Auntie Linda! And for the pictures, the boys were excited to get them in the mail.
Abe's IV chemo at Children's went well. His appointment was with his main oncologist this time (he's not always in clinic when we're there so sometimes we see other doctors). Anyway, I had a nice long visit with Dr. Mike & he's happy with how Abe is doing in his treatment right now. Abe's counts have been hanging in there, & his ANC had been above 1000 for about a month. We were even able to slowly increase his doses of oral chemo, he is actually at his full dose now of 6MP. The Methotrexate is still at a much lower dose, but his doctor is OK with it since we know that Abe is very sensitive to that. (It stays in his system much longer than the average kid on chemo.) So it was a good visit. His doctor also started him on something new to try & get rid of this cough that he's had forever. Steroid nasal spray - sounds fun, huh?
Abe's ANC was down to 437 this week, I suppose from the increase in his oral chemo. He seems to be feeling well, just doesn't have any infection fighters right now so we're trying to stay away from germy places. I guess it's a good thing that he didn't have preschool this week. We usually send him to school even with low counts, but there is so much junk going around right now. So we'll wait & see where his ANC is at on Monday when we go in to check counts. His port has been giving us a hard time, sometimes they aren't able to draw blood out of it. When they can't draw out of his port, they have to take it out of his arm - he really hates that & I don't blame him. He had to have an 'arm poke' a few weeks ago & was pretty sad about it. So this week when we went in he was very worried when the nurse couldn't get blood to draw. Finally his port worked, they had to literally tip him upside down to get it going (me too, since he was sitting on my lap - imagine that scenario!) Abe decided that being upside down is way better than an arm poke :o) So please send us some good thoughts that his port will continue working. Sometimes kids outgrow their ports & they have to be replaced, so we're really hoping that he can keep the same one throughout his treatment.
Abe couldn't think of any new jokes for this update & he's pretty busy playing game cube with his 'big brudder' right now. So I guess that's all for today. Thanks for checking in on us, we really do appreciate it.
Kelly
Wednesday, February 15, 2006 2:54 PM CST
Happy Belated Valentine's Day!
We celebrated last night with heart-shaped pizzas from Keith's, our favorite pizza place. Even though the heart shape only lasts about 2 seconds before everyone grabs a slice, the boys still think it's pretty cool. I also got the bright idea to make some real, homemade cheesecake - Al's favorite dessert. I have this brand new springform pan set that I bought from Pampered Chef many years ago, never been used. Well, I'll just say that it was by far the weirdest cheesecake that I've ever tasted. I'm blaming it on the recipe. So anyone out there with a good (no fail) cheesecake recipe, feel free to pass it on!
Abe had a great time at his Valentine's party at preschool yesterday. He had a huge smile on his face all day long. Isaac was home with a sore throat & was pretty bummed that he had to miss his party at school. I took him in for a throat culture & it was negative for strep, so that's good news. Ben came down with the same thing this morning & had to miss his class today, too. So I've been trying to keep them all occupied at home for a few days. It's too cold to play outside today, so they've been busy building a fort out of blankets & pillows most of the day. They even posted a sign with their 'club' name & rules to enter. Rule number one: you have to be at least 4 years old to get inside. I guess keeping their (3 yr old) brother Ben out is their top priority :o)
Abe is doing well, except that his cold is back & he'll probably end up with the sore throat/virus that his brothers have right now. He's also had some pain in his legs on & off for awhile now. It seems to be the worst about 3 weeks after he has his Vincristine (IV chemo) & his steroid pulse each month. His counts have been great the past few weeks & he's been right on track with his chemo. They were able to increase his doses a little this week, so we're hoping that he's able to handle more chemo w/out his ANC hitting rock bottom. We still go to the clinic for blood draws every Monday to check his counts. Abe also sees a physical therapist once a month to monitor some weakness he has in his leg muscles from the Vincristine. He has what they've called a slight 'foot drop'. This just means that he has trouble picking up the front part of his foot when he walks sometimes, causing his feet to kind of slap on the floor. This is pretty common for kids on Vincristine & should go away after he's done with treatment. His P/T has given us exercises to work on at home that really seem to help.
Abe & I had a great trip to Minneapolis last week. His appointment went well. He really likes going to the clinic at Children's. We also went to the Science Museum in St. Paul with Auntie Linda and our cousin Jennifer. Abe really loved it there, it's just huge & there was so much to see. His favorite part was the 3D movie we saw about bugs. Abe said he's definitely going back to that museum again - the gift shop was pretty cool, too. Thanks again for taking us, Auntie Linda!
We've been watching some of the Olympic events, the boys like to see the skiing & snowboarding races. We've also been following the U.S. curling, both teams are based out of Bemidji. The women's team won against Denmark this morning. It was fun to watch, but I'll admit I'm a little confused by the scoring sometimes. Al & I have curled a few times, many moons ago, but the bonspiels we were involved in were pretty recreational and involved a lot of beer. But I do remember that we had a good time :o)
Thanks for checking in on Abe & leaving messages in the guestbook. Have a great rest of the week.
Kelly
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CHEMO COUNTDOWN: 331 days left!
Thursday, February 2, 2006 6:27 PM CST
CHEMO COUNTDOWN : 344 days
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Thanks for checking in on Abe. Well, I guess I don't have a whole lot to report since last time. Abe is doing really well, he's been feeling great & I think he's finally over the cold that has been haunting us since early fall. (Knocking on wood right now of course.)
The boys have been having a great time outside in the snow. It's been so warm here, (for January in MN anyway) in the 30's & 40's almost every day. They made a snowman one day last week & when they woke up the next morning it had almost melted away. Abe loves to sled down our little hill and has been making a lot of snow angels in our yard, too. I love the fact that the boys can burn off all of that after-school energy outside instead of in the house!
Abe's counts were great this week, his ANC was at 2000, up from last week's 528. It has been bouncing around between 400 & 700 for about a month, so they decreased his nightly oral chemo a little last week & that seemed to help bring it back up again. Of course, now they've increased doses this week, so who knows what it'll be on Monday. Overall though, his counts are good. No complaints. He's been able to be at preschool a lot this month, I think he's only missed maybe one day. Today his class had a pajama party, they are learning about the letter 'P' this week. He wore his POKEMON PAJAMAS, they ate PANCAKES, had a PARADE, played with a PARACHUTE & made PINK PIGS! He really does love it there.
I guess I'm having my own personal letter 'P' celebration tonight. I'm watching Survivor: PANAMA, eating chocolate PIE, and reading my new issue of PEOPLE magazine during the commercial breaks :o) (Sorry)
Anyway, I'll leave you with Abe's newest favorite joke.
-What time does a dinosaur go to the dentist?
* Tooth-Hurty
He also asked me something so funny today - he's so sweet.
"Mommy, is my last name Lincoln?"
Have a great weekend. Abe & I are really looking forward to our trip to Minneapolis on Sunday. He'll have his IV chemo at Children's on Monday morning.
Take care,
Kelly
Thursday, January 12, 2006 6:39 PM CST
Happy New Year!
365 days until Abe is DONE with chemo!!!!
We got Abe's official end of treatment date -
January 12th, 2007. One year from today. I know that still sounds like a long haul, and it is, BUT it sure feels great to be able to say that he has 'less than a year' of chemo left. Let the countdown begin!
Al and Abe went to Minneapolis on Sunday/Monday for his IV Vincristine & spinal Methotrexate. Everything went well with his procedure & Abe did a great job as usual. Sounds like they had a really good nurse at the Short Stay Unit this time & he even earned a new Beanie Baby as a prize. He was pretty excited to add that to his collection. The boys have a LOT of beanies already & Abe loves to set up his 'pet shop' at home & sell things to his pretend customers - mainly me :o) Anyway, his counts were pretty good. His ANC was 748, up from last week's 400. It's been hovering between 400 & 750 this month, but we haven't had to stop his oral chemo at all & he's been handling it pretty well.
The boys really enjoyed their birthdays this year, December 19th & 20th,and both got to celebrate with friends at their parties. Abe had a great time at the Gym Bin with his buddies & Isaac decided to have a sledding party in our backyard. Very fun, but this mom is glad it's over - what a hectic weekend! We also had a nice Christmas & got to spend a lot of time with family. Luckily, I had cleaned out a whole bunch of toys in early December because otherwise I don't think all of their new things would've fit in their rooms! They really made a haul again. It was fun for them to spend time with all of their cousins - Kenzie, Tanner, Taia, Kira & Remy. We did have a slight change of plans on Christmas Day. We were supposed to go to Grandpa & Grandma Fagerstrom's for dinner, but Abe ended up in the local ER instead. He had a high fever that day & spent about 5 hrs at the hospital. They weren't able to get his port to draw, so they spent about an hour trying to find a vein in his arm(s) & hand(s). They finally found one & gave him some IV antibiotics & sent him home. He was completely heartbroken when he found out he'd have to see the doctor on Christmas Day & felt pretty crummy all week. But he seems to be on the mend now, mostly just the cough that never seems to end.
The kids were excited to get back to school last week. Their break was short & sweet this year, but you won't hear me complaining about that. It was just long enough to relax, sleep in, play with new games & toys for a few days - but then it's nice to get back to the normal routine before the bickering & arguing starts :o) Abe's class had a sliding party today, so he got to bring his snowpants & sled to school. He had a blast & said his sled was fast & that he only ran into two people on the hill! Yikes.
Tomorrow is our last day of steroids for the month. Good thing, I think I've bought out the cheddar cheese supply at the local grocery stores. Boy, can that kid eat cheese! He wants orange cheese, and he wants it now :o) That's all well and good - until about 7:00pm & then the 'no dairy after supper' rule takes effect. (His nightly 6MP has to be taken on an empty stomach & with no dairy products) Then we switch to purple popsicles as a substitute for real food. I definately pick my battles on steroid weeks, and food is not one of them!
Al had surgery the week after Christmas & is home from work recovering. It's been nice to have some adult conversation during the day, I'm probably bombarding him with words - the poor guy. I haven't noticed any earplugs in his ears yet, though :o)
Well, I'm going to try to update this page more often in the new year & hope to get some new pictures up soon.
We also have some sad news since I've last updated. Our Grandma Helen passed away last week. Her battle with cancer ended on January 3rd. She was my grandma and Abe's great-grandma. We got to see her on Christmas Eve at her house, I'm glad that Abe & his brothers got a chance to see her one last time. We will miss her more than any words I could ever type in this journal. If you could keep our family in your thoughts during this sad time, we would appreciate it.
Thanks for checking in.
Kelly
Friday, December 16, 2005 10:57 AM CST
Happy Holidays!
Sorry it's been so long since my last update. I know I must sound like a broken record when I start each update with those words. I've sat down many times over the past month to update, typed a few words, got distracted with my busy boys, lost everything I'd just typed, and here we are a month later. So, thank you for checking in on Abe. We started this site more than 2 years ago & you are still coming back to see how our little man is doing! We really do appreciate you.
Abe is doing well & is finally getting over a nasty cough that had been dragging him down for over a month. We've done more breathing treatments than I care to count with Albuterol & Pulmicort. Now we can get back to our normal routine of just Pulmicort twice a day to prevent Abe's wheezing/asthma symptoms & use Albuterol as needed.
Abe's counts have been great the past few months - woohoo! His ANC has stayed over 1000 (aside from a few weeks) for awhile now, almost unheard of for Mr. Low Counts. His Dr. has decided that even when Abe's counts are low, we will stay the same with his doses. He's been tolerating this really well & we haven't had any breaks in chemo, which is a good thing. I can't tell you how happy this makes us. MORE CHEMO! MORE CHEMO! That is so exciting in a twisted sort of way. Keeping a steady dose of chemo in Long Term Maintenance is important for him. Keep your fingers crossed that this system continues to work well for Abe & his counts. We need to get as much chemo into his little body as he can handle until he's done with treatment.
Abe & I had a great trip to Minneapolis on Sunday/Monday. He had his IV chemo (Vincristine) & his appointment went well. He did so well with his port access, even though his nurse Ellen wasn't in that day. He said the best part of the trip was staying at Auntie Linda's house. On Sunday night we went downtown to the Holidazzle parade & Abe loved it. His favorite floats were the spinning snowman & nutcracker. He also got to ride up & down the escalators at Marshall Field's many, many, many times. That's quite an adventure for an almost 5 year old! Thanks, Auntie Linda for taking us to the parade & entertaining us again :o)
We also went to the Hem/Onc Holiday party at Children's on Sunday afternoon. Abe had a good time watching Peter the Juggler. He performed some pretty cool magic tricks that really had us stumped. Abe's favorite part, of course, was the finale of toilet paper shooting out of a leaf blower! It's nice to be able to do fun things at the hospital, too.
Abe is getting really excited for his upcoming birthday - he'll turn 5 on Dec. 20th. And Isaac will be 9 on the 19th. I know, what were we thinking having 2 kids a day apart right before Christmas?!?! Stressful. Both boys are having their friend parties this weekend (separately of course!) & they're counting down the days. Should be a fun weekend.
There was a Christmas program at Abe's preschool last night. Unfortunately, Abe decided at the last minute that he wasn't going to sing with his class. We tried to coax him up to the stage, tried some pretty tempting bribes, but no deal. But, he enjoyed singing along while perched between mom & dad in the audience. I should've known we might be in trouble, when earlier in the week he told me he was *NOT* going to sing that Little Drummer Boy song or play the drums on his legs! For some odd reason, that song really ticks him off. I think steroids might've had something to do with how things went down last night. He was on Day 4 of this month's 'roid frenzy. He always gets a little more emotional, to put it mildly. For some reason, his Dexamethasone pulses always seem to fall during or right before a birthday or major holiday. At least he's been eating well this week. The past few weeks have been just a bite here & there. He's craving fresh strawberries this week. Now if we could find a good place to buy them in Northern Minnesota in the middle of December we'd be all set!
Abe, Isaac & Ben are so excited for Christmas & run to their advent calendars each morning. We are really looking forward to spending time with our family this year. The boys can't wait to meet their baby cousin Remy, who lives in Wyoming & was born last month. Of course they're excited to see all of their other cousins, aunts, uncles & grandparents, too!
Well, if you've made it to the end of this extremely long entry, thank you. I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season. I probably won't update again until after the birthday & Christmas chaos. And don't be surprised if you get a Happy New Year card from me instead of a Merry Christmas one this year :o) I'm still trying to get a good picture of all three boys.
Take Care,
Kelly
Thursday, November 10, 2005 1:20 PM CST
It's been a few weeks since I've updated - thanks for being patient with me!
Halloween was fun, the kids had a good time trick-or-treating. We had a Ninja Turtle, a Bionicle & a cowboy riding a horse. Abe's cousins Kenzie & Tanner were with us that night - we rang many, many doorbells & got plenty of candy. I hope to get some pictures on here soon, though it seems that I'm usually a season behind in posting them! We had planned to take the boys up to Littlefork on Halloween - they had such a good time trick-or-treating there last year. But had to change our plans because Abe was running a fever the night before & was feeling pretty crummy that day. Luckily his fever didn't quite reach the magic number (101.5), so we avoided a trip to the ER anyway. He still managed to have a great time & of course was the cutest little Ninja Turtle in Bemidji!
Ben earned himself a trip to the ER last week by sticking a rock up his nose. I guess he thought things were getting a little boring around here. It was one of those pretty, polished ones from the Science Center from Abe's rock collection. He wouldn't let me, Al or Grandma Rose try to get it out - he said, That's OK mommy, I'll just keep it in there. Of course he sat perfectly still for the doctor at the ER. Kind of a spendy little rock! I know I shouldn't laugh, but the *FOREIGN BODY IN THE NOSE* sheet that they sent home with us was definately scrapbook-worthy. To me, this ranks right up there with the old 'cutting a big hunk of your sister/brother's bangs' with scissors. (Who didn't do that when they were a kid??) I'm sure Ben will tell you all about it if you see him anytime soon, but he always ends with 'I promise I'll never do it again'. Never a dull moment. :o)
Abe is doing well, he still has a nasty cough from his latest cold but it seems to be getting better. Lots of breathing treatments w/ Albuterol & Pulmicort. He's had a few mouth sores this week, but those are also improving & don't seem to be affecting his appetite. His ANC has been really high - this week it was 2200 & last week 5200! (All-time high) But this was because of the cold/virus that was brewing in his system causing his white count to be high. Still good though, & they were able to slightly increase his oral chemo doses. Now if he can get rid of this cold.
Abe is still loving preschool, he goes 2 days a week & always looks forward to seeing his friends and his teachers. We had conferences at both Abe & Isaac's schools this morning. It was nice to talk with their teachers and hear all of the good things they had to say about each of them. Of course I already know what great kids I have, but it's fun to hear it from others, too!
Al will take Abe to Minneapolis next week for his monthly IV chemo. Abe is counting down the days until they leave. Al has been deer hunting, but no deer yet. I think he secretly just says he hasn't seen any deer yet, to extend his hunting season the entire 3 weekends. I'm on to him though!
I also wanted to add that the 2nd Annual Ronald McDonald House fundraiser is going on through the month of November. Last year, Laurie Dickinson/ECFE did a great job collecting items from the House Wish List & other donations for the RMH of the Twin Cities. This year they will be collecting items to benefit the Fargo RMH. We know firsthand what great things the RMH offers to families who are in need of a place to stay. We also know of several families in our area who have needed to stay at a Ronald McDonald House. If you are interested in helping out in any way, email or call me & I will get you a copy of the Wish List from the Fargo RMH. You can also call Laurie Dickinson at 444-6123. Thanks!
Kelly
Monday, October 24, 2005 1:27 PM CDT
Hi. Just wanted to add a quick update today. Abe is doing well & had a good trip to Minneapolis last week. He had his monthly IV Vincristine & spinal Methotrexate. They also gave him his flu shot that day - thought we'd sneak that in while he was sedated! He decided to have some fun with the nurses at Short Stay by hiding bats, rats & spiders in his sheets & under his pillow. He even sent a rat home with the sedation doc so that he could scare his daughter with it :o) Auntie Linda, thanks for all of the fun, creepy stuff for Abe & his brothers!
Abe's counts were great last week, and the week before. His ANC has been between 1000 & 1500 two weeks in a row, that's right where we want it to be. That's all I want to say about that, I don't want to jinx our good numbers! We're waiting on results from this morning's blood draw, hopefully his ANC is still hanging in there. They increased his doses a little last week, so we'll see.
The boys didn't have any school on Thursday & Friday because of MEA. So we decided to head up north for a few days to visit Grandma Mary, Grandma Helen & Auntie Jodi. We also got to see Auntie Linda and our cousin Jennifer. It was great to visit with all of them, the kids had a lot of fun. Our friends Payton & Reese were nice enough to have us over to play while we were in Littlefork, too. Thanks for the candy & bubbles, girls! Abe was on his week of steroids, but did really well considering. Just a few more tears, a little more drama & some fierce cravings for SALTY food. I made sure to stock the van with pretzels & popcorn for the ride.
Abe & his brothers are getting very excited for Halloween. Abe wants to be a Ninja Turtle & Isaac a Lego Bionicle. Ben said he 'just' wants to be a cowboy riding a horse :o) It should be a fun week with Halloween parties at their schools & trick-or-treating. Keeping our fingers crossed that the snow will stay away for another week.
One last thing, Abe wanted me to tell you that he lost another tooth this weekend! Yes, the Tooth Fairy has become a regular here at our house the past few weeks. At this rate, her pockets may soon be empty!
Have a great week ~ thanks for checking in & signing the guestbook!
Kelly
Saturday, October 8, 2005 7:10 PM CDT
It's been too long since my last update - sorry!! Thanks for checking in on Abe. Time has been going by so quickly, it seems like we were just getting ready for school to start & now it's already October. Abe still loves going to preschool. He wouldn't want me to tell you this, but there are two girls in his class that just can't get enough of him! His teacher told me that they want to be right next to him all the time. The only thing he had to say about them was, "Man, those girls were really after me today". The curse of being irresistable :o) The only thing I was thinking was that I hope they don't have runny noses - keep those germs away!
We've been enjoying the fall so far & have been keeping busy. One evening last week we went out to Buena Vista with Ben's ECFE class. The boys had fun going on covered wagon rides & Ben especially loved seeing horses up close. The highlight of the night for him was the 'real' cowboy riding a horse who sang cowboy songs to us. The weather was perfect & we also climbed the ski hills to see the fall colors. From the top you can see seven different lakes & the view was really amazing. (I also found out that I have some muscles in my legs that I don't think have ever been used - ouch!) Of course I took plenty of pictures, all the while thinking what great pages these will make in my scrapbook :o)
The most exciting news this week is that the Tooth Fairy made a visit to our house. Abe lost his very first tooth! He was so excited to put it under his pillow. He was a little disappointed when he saw that the T.F. actually took his tooth - he wanted to bring it to school for Show & Tell. Oops. If you see us anytime soon, I'm sure he'll show you the space where his tooth used to be!
Abe is just getting over a cold that has really been hanging on. Luckily the fevers hit last time we were in Minneapolis, so they gave him an IV antibiotic (Rocephin) at the same time he had his IV chemo (Vincristine). They also found that both of his ears were infected, so more oral antibiotics for that. But he is feeling much better now. I think that for him, the worst part was that he had to miss school for a whole stinkin' week!
We have still been going in for blood draws every week to check counts. Abe was able to finally start taking his Methotrexate last week, as his ANC was above 1000. But now on Monday it was back down to 168 - after taking only one measely pill of MTX :o( That stuff really does a number on his system. His Dr. decided to leave his doses the same this week, so he did take his MTX again. They want to see what actually leaving doses the same for 2 weeks in a row will do. So we'll check counts again on Monday & hope that his ANC isn't at rock bottom. Keep your fingers crossed. Abe's next trip to Minneapolis will be in about a week. This time he'll have both spinal & IV chemo at Children's.
Thanks for thinking of us! I'm off to spend a wild Saturday night at the dining room table with my scrapbook supplies :o)
Take care,
Kelly
Thursday, September 15, 2005 6:01 PM CDT
I'm happy to report that Abe started preschool last week & he loves it!
I was a little worried a few weeks ago when he cried through the orientation & said he had changed his mind about preschool. I'll admit that I brought him to 3(!) different orientation sessions to get him used to the idea of being there by himself. By the end of the third practice visit, he said OK, when does the real school start!? Enough already, mom!
He comes home happy & smiling with stories to tell. When I picked him up today, I found him chasing a little girl around the playground, giggling. I also heard that he was a wizard today & led a dress-up parade around the school. I'm so happy he's enjoying himself & is making new friends. Never mind the crop of gray hair that are sure to sprout on my head this year worrying about preschool germs!! A small price to pay :o)
Ben also loves the class he goes to once a week. The only problem is that he thinks he should go *every* day & cries when his brothers go to school and he has to come home with boring old mom. He wears his backpack everywhere we go - I guess on the chance that I might change my mind & drop him off at school! Isaac likes 3rd grade but is getting to the age when it's not cool to tell your parents details about your day - but as long as he still wants a hug before he leaves for school in the morning, I'm OK with that!
Abe has been feeling good the past few weeks & is finally over his cold. His counts have been a little on the low side, ANC was 350 last week so oral chemo was on hold. It was up to 750 this Monday & he was started back on a little dose of 6MP. We hope that his ANC is high enough next week to get back on Methotrexate. Next week we'll go down to Children's for Abe's monthly IV chemo. He is SO excited to go to Minneapolis & even more excited to see Auntie Linda!
On Monday Abe starts another fun-filled week of steroids.
STEROIDS plus PRESCHOOL = ???
Keep your fingers crossed for a good week for all of us!
That's about all from our house for now. Survivor: Guatemala starts tonight & I wouldn't want to miss that! I'm ashamed to admit it, but I'm hooked :o)
***TIME FOR ANOTHER ABE JOKE***
What did '0' say to '8' ?
- Nice belt!
Thanks for checking in,
Kelly
Saturday, August 27, 2005 11:18 PM CDT
We've had a busy, but fun, couple of weeks. We went on our mini 'vacation' last weekend. Basically just a few fun things scheduled around chemo in Minneapolis, but we had a great time. We took the kids to Valleyfair on Monday after Abe was done with his treatment. They loved it there - Abe & Ben went on as many rides as they could possibly fit into a day. Isaac is now tall enough for the big rides. He picked one of the roller coasters as his first ride, & then was looking pretty pale & kinda green for most of the day. Poor kid, it seemed like a good idea at the time! He still managed to have fun, though. And Abe really hung in there, too considering he had chemo earlier in the day. I'd forgotten how big Valleyfair is & in my packing frenzy also forgot to bring our stroller. Not a very smooth move on my part. They did have nice big wagons to rent & the boys thought that was great. I thought it was great, too... until I had been pulling that giant wagon from one end of the park to the other! Let's just say we all slept well that night :o) It really was a great day & the weather was perfect.
We also went to Como Zoo one day, another place the kids love to visit. We got there just in time to see the Sparky the Sea Lion show. That was definately a highlight of the day. The seals are always their favorite part of going to the zoo. It's fun to watch the kids' reactions to all of the different animals. Those of you who've been around us know that 2 of the 3 boys are pretty scared of dogs. Well, monkeys are now on that list as well. Abe really wanted to see the monkeys, especially the *big* ones that swing from the ropes. We watched them for a few minutes & he was tugging on my shirt saying, 'Let's get out of here...that gorilla is staring at me!' He was so serious, too - what a funny little guy he is.
Abe's clinic appointment at Children's went well, his counts were even good this time. Woohoo! We kind of expected his ANC to be up there since he had been on just the bare minimum of Methotrexate the week before, & no 6MP. But we celebrate any decent ANC around here! His ENT appt. also went well, the Dr. wasn't concerned at all about his tonsils or adenoids & we were glad to hear it.
Our Relay For Life team was a success, although I can't take any credit for that myself. The reason being that we weren't able to be at the actual event. Abe came down with a cold the night before & we ended up taking him to the ER right before the opening ceremony thanks to a high fever. They did a chest x-ray, ran blood cultures & everything looked good with those. So they gave him some heavy-duty IV antibiotics and sent us home. In the year & a half since Abe was diagnosed we've only had to take him to the local ER a handful of times. I feel lucky for that, as it's very stressful. It's hard for Abe too, because it's all unfamiliar to him & they do things differently than at Children's. He's had some low grade fevers on & off since then, but seems to be fighting it off pretty well. After we were done at the hospital, I was able to go to the Luminary ceremony at the Relay & was so glad to be there. Thank you to all of our family for working so hard that night & picking up the slack for us Fagerstrom's! Abe was pretty bummed that he couldn't be there, but he loved seeing the picture of the big purple sign w/ his name on it. I'm looking forward to next year's Relay & promise to be of more help!!
School starts here this week & I think we're ready for it. It's hard to believe that Abe will start preschool. I'm excited for him, but also really nervous about the whole germ thing since he's the king of low ANC. He has his little Ninja Turtle backpack all ready to go & is very excited. Hopefully he'll still feel that way after I drop him off on the first day!
Thanks for checking in,
Kelly
Monday, August 15, 2005 1:03 PM CDT
Well, I guess it's about time for an update ~ the last weeks of summer have been flying by. We have about 2 1/2 weeks left until school starts! I think the kids are ready to get back into the swing of things, I know I am :o)
Isaac will be in 3rd grade this year, Ben will go to ECFE & Abe will start preschool.
Last year, Abe wasn't able to go to preschool ~ mostly because his ANC was so low all of the time. His oncologist thought it was too risky to expose him to all of the germs that preschoolers carry around. The big ones we worry about are chicken pox & the flu. I had high hopes that by this Sept. his ANC would level out & he would be on a dose of oral chemo that he could handle. Well, it's now mid-August & his ANC is still low. It was 350 last week, and 500 the week before, so his oral chemo has been held for 2 weeks again. We talked to the Dr. about it, & he gave us the OK for preschool. We agreed that it's important for Abe to be able to experience all of the normal kid stuff ~ not just hanging around adults & the hospital! He's been begging to go to school & we're so excited for him. We'll just keep him home when his ANC is too low (no infection-fighting ability) and hope for the best.
Abe has been feeling pretty well the past few weeks. He's had some pain in his feet & has been limping around for a few days. I'm hoping it's just a side effect from the IV chemo he had earlier this month. It doesn't slow him down much, though. Last week he decided that he didn't need training wheels on his bike anymore. It only took him about a day of practice & he's been cruising around ever since. He insisted on hauling his bike all the way to Int'l Falls last week so he could show Grandma Mary how fast he can ride his '2 wheeler'!
We went to the clinic this morning to check counts & will get results this afternoon. Send us all of the positive vibes you can muster up for a good ANC ~ we need to get back on that oral chemo!!! Abe will have his IV chemo at Children's next week. He'll also see the ENT Dr. to have his tonsils & adenoids checked out. Last time he had a spinal, the sedation Dr. noticed that they were both pretty swollen. We're going to make a family trip out of it this time & stay for a few extra days. I've heard talk of Valleyfair & the zoo ~ the kids are really looking forward to some fun in Minneapolis.
I also wanted to mention that our family has a team for the Relay For Life. This is an event to raise funds & awareness for the American Cancer Society. The Relay is this Friday, August 19th at BHS. We got a late start on getting things organized, but we have some fun things planned for our team. We're looking forward to spending time with our family, it should be a great weekend. If anyone living in the area would like to join us, we'd love to see you there! (Last-Minute-Notice should be my middle name!!) We also have a few wristbands left & lots of luminary bags if anyone is interested, just let me know.
I guess that's about it for now, there are some new pictures in the photo album of Abe & his brudders :o)
Take care,
Kelly
Tuesday, July 26, 2005 2:08 PM CDT
Just wanted to add a quick update today. We got home from Minneapolis last night & had a good trip. Abe & I stayed with Auntie Linda on Sunday night, he is always so happy to be at her house. We also got to see our cousin Jennifer, thank you guys for hanging out with us at the park!
Abe had his spinal & IV chemo yesterday morning - everything went well. Even though they didn't know we were coming, our clinic nurse forgot to schedule Abe's procedure. (We still love her, though!) We walked into the Short Stay Unit where they do spinals w/ sedation & I could tell by the look on the nurse's face that they weren't expecting to see us. They only take 4 or 5 kids a day & didn't think they could fit us in. After some serious begging & pleading on my part & some fast paperwork on theirs, Abe got his spinal. What a relief, I really didn't want to drive all the way back to Mpls. later in the week. With all of the road construction & detours it took us over 5 hours to get there on Sunday!
Abe's counts were pretty good yesterday. His ANC was 992, up from 240 last week. He's been off oral chemo a lot in the past few months, so we're glad he's able to start back on his 6MP & MTX this week. We'll still check counts every week. Keep your fingers crossed that his ANC hangs in there so that we can stay on track w/ the oral chemo! He's been feeling pretty good lately. But he has had some mouth sores from the MTX & hasn't had much of an appetite. He started his 5 days of steroids yesterday, though, so he'll be eating plenty this week! Looks like they're already kicking in. We stopped in St.Cloud for Abe's favorite lunch yesterday at Pizza Hut & then started to head home. Well, Abe spotted the McDonald's in Sartell (less than 5 min. from the Pizza Hut we had just eaten at) and he decided that he just *had* to have some chicken nuggets for the ride home. Of course I made a quick u-turn & hit the drive-thru. I'm just happy to see him with a healthy appetite. That, & I didn't want to listen to him begging for chicken for 4 more hours :o)
Not much else new at our house, the boys are still enjoying their summer & getting along (fairly) well. Isaac just told me that Abe is doing his 'evil' laugh again. Steroids.
Thanks for checking in on us & leaving messages in the guestbook! Have a great week.
Kelly
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Abe made up a new joke yesterday while we were waiting and waiting and waiting for his prescription at the hospital:
Knock knock.
-Who's there?
Irish.
-Irish who?
Irish that nurse would bring me my Decadron so I can
GO HOME!
Friday, July 15, 2005 11:13 AM CDT
Hi ~ Thanks for checking in on us. Hope that everyone is having a nice summer. I've had enough of summer already, so it can cool off anytime now! It's been really hot & humid here the past few weeks. The boys love to go to the beach, so we've been doing that a lot. Abe doesn't care much about actually swimming in the water, he's really into finding rocks on the beach. Yesterday when I was packing up all of our swimming things, ready to leave the beach, Abe's bag was so heavy I could hardly lift it. Hmmm... I wonder if there are any rocks left on Grace Lake Beach!? He really does love his rock collection though, & spends a lot of time washing them, sorting them, counting them. I can see they will be travelling with us too, he's loaded up his Batman case that he brings to his Dr. visits :o)
I took the boys to a strawberry farm last week. You get to ride on a wagon pulled by a tractor out to the field where you pick. I'm pretty sure that was their favorite part of the day. I think the actual picking part was not quite what they had in mind. Ben threw a couple of berries in his bucket & said he was ready to go. Abe LOVES strawberries, & said he WASN'T leaving until all 3 buckets were full. He thought he hit the jackpot. So we've been up to our ears in berries. I've made pies, 2 batches of jam, & I couldn't even count how many Abe eats in a day!
I guess there isn't anything new on the medical front, which is a good thing. (Knocking on wood, of course) Abe's ANC had slowly been creeping up to 1000, so they were able to restart him on a tiny dose of his chemo a few weeks ago. Of course with the increase, it was back down to 750 on Monday. But that's still an OK number, no complaints here. They will gradually try & increase his doses, at the same time trying not to bottom out his ANC again. This means we've had to have blood draws every week to check counts, but Abe just rolls with the punches. His words, "At least I'll have more stickers & bandaids for my collection". He also knows I'll take him to get a Cherry Icee after we're done. The lady at the Walmart food counter probably thinks I'm off my rocker. There we are bright & early every Monday morning for a slushie & she's thinking, nice breakfast mom! Oh well.
We've been lucky enough to connect with a few of our online Caringbridge friends this past month. Last time we were in Minneapolis we got to meet Noah & his family. They brought us lunch at the RMH after Abe's appointment. Thanks guys for the yummy pizza! Abe has been telling people about his new friend Noah who 'wears cowboy boots & has a port just like me' :o)
We also got to meet Bailey, her mom & little brother a few weeks ago. They were in town visiting family & were able to stop by & play for awhile. Bailey's mom & I somehow met through Caringbridge, & it turns out she grew up here. Small world. Thanks for taking time out of your busy weekend to meet us!
www.caringbridge.org/mn/noahhurley
www.caringbridge.org/mn/baileygrace
Abe will have his IV & spinal chemo in about a week at Children's. He & I will be going alone this month, strict orders from Abe. He was pretty upset with me for bringing Isaac along on 'our' trip last month. Oops, here I thought it would be fun for him to have someone to play with. I guess he likes our 2 days of alone time just as much as I do.
Abe : "I don't need my big brudder bossing me around in Minneapolis" :o)
Boy, I guess if I updated more often I wouldn't be so long-winded. Have a great weekend.
Kelly
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Abe's favorite joke of the moment:
What do you call cheese that doesn't belong to you?
** Na-cho cheese
Thursday, June 23, 2005 11:07 AM CDT
Well, first of all, thanks to all of our faithful checker-inners. It's been way too long since my last update, I'm sorry! Even though I haven't been updating much, we still check the guestbook at least once a day. And we really do appreciate the messages & Abe *LOVES* the jokes. So thank you for keeping up with Abe's progress & I promise to update more often!
Abe has been enjoying the summer so far. He's not too sure if he likes having Isaac home every day yet, though. He keeps asking me when school starts again. The pecking order has definately changed in our house - usually when Isaac goes to school, Abe feels like the king of the castle & he has little Ben trained to follow his orders! Well, his daily routine just doesn't work out sometimes w/ a meddling older brother involved :o) The 3 of them do get along pretty well & have been having lots of fun outside now that we've finally gotten some summer weather. They've been spending every day out in the sprinkler. They also love to 'help' me water the flowers & the garden, but mostly love to play with the hose. Now if we could just get rid of the bugs. It seems that we've been overrun with mosquitos this week & they really love Abe, the poor kid is covered with bites. So he's really been itchy & for some reason his bites turn into HUGE welts, I guess that's all part of the fun of summer. I'm really not a warm weather type of person & am looking forward to those cool days of fall! It's supposed to be 90 degrees in Bemidji & humid today. While most moms will be taking their kids to the beach, we're going to see a movie in the nice air-conditioned theater. The boys are very excited to see Herbie: Fully Loaded.
Abe has been feeling pretty good overall, but has been extra-tired the past few weeks. We had his counts checked last week & his ANC was down in the 400 range. So he was taken off his oral chemo for a week & we checked counts again on Monday. His ANC had gone up to about 680, which still wasn't high enough for him to start back up on his 6-MP & Methotrexate. So, he's off chemo for another week. He has to be in Minneapolis for his monthly IV chemo on Monday, so hopefully his counts will be up where they need to be to get back on track w/ his treatment. Missing entire weeks of oral chemo is not something that we want to do, so keep your fingers crossed that his counts are up on Monday. Of course, Abe thinks it's great not having to take his nightly dose of 6-MP. (This is the one that has to be taken w/ NO DAIRY and NO FOOD 2 hours before bedtime.) He's even been telling people, "Guess what? I don't have to take my 6-MP tonight!" And they have no idea what that means or why he's so excited about it. He's been totally enjoying a big glass of chocolate milk every night before he goes to bed :o)
We're heading to Minneapolis this weekend, we need to be at Children's early Monday morning. Abe & I are going to bring Isaac along on this trip. I think he's been feeling a little left out & has been begging to come with us every month. I've been letting him come to Abe's P/T & blood draws since school's been out so he can see how that all works. It should be a fun trip, hopefully they won't fight in the back seat the entire way. Could be a long 4 hours each way!
So that's about all the news from our house. Ben will turn 3 next week & is very excited. I asked him what he wanted for his birthday & he said he would like a real cowboy that says 'howdy partners' & he also wants to ride a real horse. Of all the things to ask for, I didn't expect it to be that! So if you don't hear from me this week, I'll be busy planning a Cowboy Party & trying to round up that 'real' cowboy :o)
Take care,
Kelly & family
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ABE'S NEW FAVORITE JOKE:
Where does a snowman keep his money?
* In a snowbank!
(Thanks for the new supply of jokes Auntie Linda!!!)
Saturday, May 21, 2005 9:03 PM CDT
Hi. Thanks for checking in on Abe. We've been trying to keep busy & have been patiently waiting for some warm, sunny days. Hey, we'd even settle for some dry days! In between rains, Abe has been out in the yard practicing his batting skills & has decided he wants to be a baseball player when he grows up. He's a persistent little guy & wants me to pitch to him non-stop. He's pretty impressive for a 4 year old, & hits the ball almost every time! Maybe we've got a future Minnesota Twin on our hands. He would love to play t-ball this summer, but kids have to be at least 5 to join the league. So for now, he's happy to practice his 'hitting lessons' in the yard with me. Summer 2006, watch out little league - HERE COMES ABE!
We spent today at Auntie Marci & Uncle Pat's house. Baby chicks, 4-wheeler rides, motorcycle rides, Gus the dog, yummy food & Grandpa Richard, too. It was like going on a field trip compared to our boring house! All of that fresh air & excitement really made bedtime easy tonight, the boys fell asleep in the van on the way home. Now I'll just have to come up with a plan to wear them out again tomorrow for an early bedtime. (The Desperate Housewives season finale starts at 8:00) It's always fun to run around the track at Isaac's school :o)
Abe will have his IV chemo (Vincristine) at Children's next week. He also has an appointment that day with a physical therapist at the hospital. He's been going to P/T once a month here in Bemidji so they can watch for side effects from the Vincristine.
We had his counts checked last week & his ANC was still hanging in there around 1000, so they increased his oral chemo again. Abe has been feeling OK, but a little tired out & not much of an appetite. He also has some mouth sores again, thanks to the increase in chemo I'm guessing. Hopefully they'll heal soon, I'm sure that's why he hasn't wanted to eat much of anything. He told me today that a Cherry Icee would make his mouth feel better, so off I went to Burger King. They'll probably be seeing a lot of us this week!
--------------------------------------------------
Abe has a few new jokes to share. New to you, we've heard them about 100 times each :o)
Why did the cookie go to the doctor?
-Because it was feeling crummy.
He told that one to his nurse last week, & then she taught him a good one:
What did one grape say to the other grape?
-How did we get into this jam!
Have a great week,
Kelly & Abe
P.S. Abe says thanks for the messages & funny jokes in his guestbook.
Monday, May 2, 2005 9:03 PM CDT
Hello ~ It's been awhile, sorry! Abe and I went down to Minneapolis yesterday & just got home a few hours ago. We had a great trip, Abe is really good at keeping himself occupied in the car. We play LOTS of 'I Spy' games & he has his favorite CD's, mainly the Shrek and Pokemon soundtracks. It's pretty cute to hear him singing along in his little 4 year old way :o)
Kind of a long day today though, he had to be in the Short Stay Unit at Children's at 7:30 this morning for his IV & spinal chemo. It's a long process when he has to be sedated for the LP (lumbar puncture - in other words, needle in his spine. Yuck!) But, no complaints here - everything went really well and his spinal fluid was clear which is always a relief. When they give him his spinal chemo, they also draw a little fluid to check for any stray leukemia cells that might be hiding in there. Anyway, his counts were good today - his ANC has been hanging right around 1000-1100. So his Dr. was able to up his oral chemo a little bit. I guess their goal is to slowly try & get him back up to the 100 percent dose recommended for his weight. Right now he's at about half of that, so we'll keep our fingers crossed that his ANC stays up there. This also means that Abe will still have blood draws every other week to check counts. He's gotten to be an old pro at having his port accessed. Even though he hates the pokes, all it usually takes to make it OK is a band-aid for his collection. He has never liked them on his port, so he sticks them on his box of lizards & snakes that he brings to his Dr. visits. It's so full of band-aids that we've had to expand to bringing 2 boxes each time. Now that's a lot of pokes!
Abe has been feeling really good, he's had a cold off & on for the last month but nothing too serious. He usually has a few days where he's kind of worn out & tired - but most of the time he's full of energy, & jokes, & always has a few tricks up his sleeve! He got a new trick camera from Auntie Linda yesterday that squirts water - he's been taking lots of 'pictures' so beware :o)
Abe started his 5 day steroid craze today. The cravings have already kicked in, looks like it'll be a string cheese & strawberry week.
----------------------------------------------------
Abe wanted to add his 2 cents:
Knock knock,
Who's there?
Boo.
Boo who?
Don't cry, it's just a joke!
(This is his version of a joke left in his guestbook. Thanks Willie, Guy, Jodi & Jennifer!)
-----------------------------------------------------
Thanks for checking in on Abe even though I've been a slacker with my updates. It really does mean a lot to us.
Take care,
Kelly & Abe
Thursday, March 31, 2005 6:29 PM CST
Happy Spring!
(I'm pretending that it DIDN'T snow here yesterday!)
Hope everyone had a nice Easter weekend. We spent the day at my sister's house with lots of family - it was a great day of visiting, eating and playing games. The Bunny also left plenty of treats at our house, the boys were up at the crack of dawn to hunt for eggs, of course. They're up to their ears in chocolate & Peeps, & loving every minute of it!
Abe hasn't been feeling well - he's had a cough and fevers on and off for a couple of weeks now. His cough had gotten worse over the weekend and his temp was high, so I ended up taking him in to the clinic on Monday. They took some chest x-rays and his lungs were clear, that was a relief. They sent us home since his counts were pretty good - ANC 870. He's been fever-free for 3 days, so we're hoping he's on the mend. We've been giving him breathing treatments w/ albuterol about 4 times a day and that seems to help his cough.
Abe will have his IV chemo (Vincristine) at Children's on Monday. He's got big plans to bring his blue bike to Minneapolis so he can ride it to the park by Auntie Linda's house. We're also gearing up for more steroids next week. Hopefully we'll have some nice spring weather so he can be outside a lot. That way he can take out his steroid moments on the trampoline instead of his "brudders" :o)
Abe says he only has one favorite joke this week:
What do you call a horse that lives next door?
A "NEIGH"bor
Have a great weekend,
Kelly and Abe
Friday, March 11, 2005 1:22 PM CST
DAY #5 OF STEROID WEEK: Overall, not too bad. We've had a few episodes, mostly just Abe clenching his little fists and growling at people. But we're all OK, Isaac and Ben have learned to steer clear of him when they can see the Hulk emerging! Every other sentence out of Abe's mouth today has been, "Oh, and by da way mommy, what do we have to eat?" He's had a bag of HIS pretzels in his hand at all times, don't mess with the boy and his salty snacks :o)
Along with the 'fun' side effects of steroids, it also adds to the list of daily meds. On a day like today Abe takes his daily antibiotic, a dose of Dexamethasone(steroid) and Zantac in the morning, another dose of Dex w/ Zantac in the evening, his daily oral chemo at bedtime, and 2 breathing treatments w/ Pulmicort every day to prevent asthma symptoms. Added to the mix, some have to be taken with food and some on an empty stomach with no dairy, 2 hours after supper, most effective when given at bedtime, stand on your head and clap 3 times - OK, I made that last one up but you get the idea. It can get kind of tricky when you have a hungry steroid boy and have to make him stop eating 2 hours before bedtime. Ahhhhh!
I'm really not writing this to complain, I just thought I'd take the chance to brag Abe up a little. He does such a great job taking all of his meds throughout the day. From the beginning, oral meds were one of our biggest struggles. We got every dose in, but Abe fought it every time. It has slowly gotten easier over the past year, and now it's just a normal part of the day. He hasn't mastered swallowing pills yet, so we crush them and mix with liquid into a syringe. He's very proud that he now takes them ALL BY HIMSELF! He has quite a system, he lines them up biggest to smallest and squirts them in his mouth - even the ones that taste like you-know-what. We don't even have to use the sticker chart, prize bucket or quarters anymore. All I have to do is let him 'burp me over' after he's done. ('Burp me over' = me pretending to fall backwards after he burps) Probably not my most shining moment as far as parenting skills go - but it's simple, he thinks it's hilarious, and IT WORKS!
Abe had his IV chemo in Minneapolis on Monday and everything went well. They had increased his oral chemo doses last month, so his ANC was a little low. It was 734, which is an OK number for a kid who is sensitive to chemo. We had a nice visit with Abe's doctor and he decided to leave his doses where they are and have us check counts every other week. Auntie Marci came along this time and we got a chance to do a little shopping. Abe loves it when we have company on our trip. He said his favorite part this time was staying at Auntie Linda's and going to the park by her house - and of course driving through the tunnels to get there. Pretty easy to please, huh?
JOKES FROM ABE:
Knock Knock.
Who's there?
Duane.
Duane who?
Duane the bathtub, I'm d'wowning!
(He just learned that one from our cousin Jennifer and has been telling it ever since :o)
Knock Knock.
Who's there?
SpongeBob.
SpongeBob who?
SpongeBob, I'm yellow and square and I ripped my pants!
(As you can probably guess he made that one up himself. I made the mistake of buying him the 'Ripped My Pants' episode of SpongeBob on his GameBoy for the trip to Minneapolis. He wanted me to type all of his new made-up jokes on here today, but I'll spare you!)
I'll try to be more regular with updates, and hope to get some new pictures up soon.
Have a great weekend!
Kelly and Abe
Monday, February 14, 2005 8:06 PM CST
Happy Valentine's Day!
We just got home from our favorite pizza place, Keith's, where we go every year for heart-shaped pizza. The boys had a good time, Thanks Grandpa Jerry! Abe spent most of the morning making valentines - lots of cutting and tons of glue. Ben pretty much just likes the glue part, so if you get one from him be prepared :o) We had some surprise Valentine visitors today. Grandma Helen and Auntie Jodi were in town for Grandma's LAST day of chemo! Abe was happy to be able to give them their valentines in person - thanks for stopping by to visit!
Not much news on the medical front this week, Abe has been doing well. He had his spinal and IV chemo last week at Children's and everything went well. It was also the dreaded steroid week, which actually wasn't that bad this time around (other than a few minor raging moments). He definately had his 'roid cravings and pretty much ate the week away. For once, we were relieved he ate non-stop since we'd been having a hard time getting him to eat anything the past 2-3 weeks. He made up for it last week in PB sandwiches, mac n' cheese and purple yogurt. (And of course Cherry Icee's from Burger King - the ultimate bribe in our house)
Abe's counts were great this time, his ANC was 1760 and I think that might be an all-time high for him. They did increase his MTX to 2 pills, since he's been on such a low dose for awhile now. This will probably bring counts right down again, but they need to make sure he's getting enough chemo in his system. I'm glad they increased it, low counts are better than not enough chemo - hope that makes sense! Isaac and I both had strep throat last week, but so far Abe hasn't had any symptoms - must be all that Purell we've been using :o)
We'll get counts checked locally next week, and our next trip to Minneapolis will be on March 7th.
THOUGHTS FROM ABE:
"My favorite color is purple and I'm the Batman kid"
"I really like going to Minneapolis, I just wish that doctor didn't live there"
(This is so true, before each trip he's up early that morning packing his little bag. But I can hear him under his breath saying "If it wasn't for that stinkin' doctor")
Here are 2 of Abe's favorite jokes at the moment ~
Abe: Knock Knock
Who's there?
Abe: Little old lady
Little old lady who?
Abe: I didn't know you could yodle!
What did SpongeBob get when he tried karate with a pig?
~ a pork chop
HAVE A GREAT WEEK!
Kelly and Abe
Monday, January 31, 2005 7:46 PM CST
First of all, thanks for checking in on us. I know I haven't been updating much lately - I can't even think of a good excuse! I'll try to get back to my weekly updates from now on. I guess no news is good news, not much going on here on the medical front. And the GREAT news is that we had Abe's counts checked last week and his ANC was 1122! Right where it should be in LTM (Long-Term Maintenance) WooHoo!! I'll knock on wood as I type this, but I think maybe they've found the magic doses of his oral chemo. We hope so anyway, as this would mean he wouldn't have to go in for blood draws so often. Keep your fingers crossed!
Abe has come down with another cold, he's mostly coughing and had a low-grade fever for a few days. But it seems to be getting better each day. We've been giving him breathing treatments 2-3 times a day and those help. Al is pretty sick right now too, hopefully it'll stop there and not go through the whole family. Seems like we just got over our colds that we had during Christmas. I make myself feel better about it by following them around with Purell. They probably have nightmares about giant bottles of hand sanitizer!
Abe has been keeping busy doing puzzles and baking peanut-butter cookies. I think he probably knows the recipe by heart now - and he is the guy who gets to criss-cross the cookies with a fork.(the 'cookie smasher') PB cookies are one of the only things that always taste good to him, no matter what part of treatment he's in. Honestly, we make them almost every other day. That would explain why none of my jeans fit me anymore :o)
Isaac had his Pinewood Derby race at Cub Scouts last week. He and Al worked on that car for a week straight. Their efforts paid off - Isaac's car came in first in every race but the last one, where he finished second. I don't know who was more excited, Isaac or Al (former cub scout and pinewood derby champ)! He's really looking forward to the district race coming up.
The boys have been enjoying the snow and the warmer weather we've been having. They've been busy building forts and tracks for their sleds in the snowbanks. Have tried to convince them that shoveling the driveway is fun too, but they're not falling for that one! Today was perfect snowman making weather, Abe and Ben made one just their size with a carrot nose. Abe keeps checking out the window to make sure it doesn't melt like the one in his book 'The Snowman'. He saw a bunny in the yard tonight and is wondering if the carrot nose will still be there in the morning. He got this serious look on his face and said,'I wish I could ask that bunny if he ate my carrots, but I don't speak rabbit'. :o)
Al and Abe will go to Minneapolis on Sunday - Abe will have his spinal and IV chemo bright and early Monday morning. I think Grandpa Jerry is going along on this trip, Abe's going to show him how things are done. I feel guilty sending the guys down there on Super Bowl Sunday, but driving in the weather this time of year really stresses me out. I'm sure they'll be comfy at the RMH watching the game on the big screen anyway!
Have a great week,
Kelly
Monday, January 10, 2005 6:47 PM CST
Well, Al and Abe are on their way home from Minneapolis today. Abe had his IV Vincristine at Children's this morning. I talked to Al after they were done and he said everything went well. I also heard that they went to Camp Snoopy yesterday (the Mall of "Tamerica", as Abe calls it). I can't wait to hear all about it when he gets home tonight!
His counts were good this morning, his ANC was 750. That isn't as high as they'd like it to be, but for Abe(low ANC)Fagerstrom, it's decent! Right now they have him on a very small amount of his oral chemo. He takes just one pill of Methotrexate once a week,(the full dose for his weight is 6 pills)so they can't reduce that one anymore. He's also on less than half of the regular dose of 6MP. They drew blood for more tests today to check the levels of MTX and 6MP in his red blood cells. I don't know the details of this yet, but will get results next week. Al said they told him this was to make sure he's getting enough chemo in his system with the reduced doses.
We'll have his counts checked here at the clinic in 2 weeks to see where he's at. We're hoping that at some point we won't have to check counts so often. I have to say though, that the nurses who access his port at the local clinic are great with him. He's gotten to know them pretty well. Last week he wore a pair of funny glasses with a fake nose attached to surprise them. He even popped in to say hi to some of the patients, we go to the adult oncology clinic for his blood draws. I think he's the only little boy who goes to that clinic right now, so he gets LOTS of attention. He's such a joker, and will do anything for a laugh! (There's a picture of Abe in disguise in the photo album :o).
Al took the boys ice fishing this weekend, they were so excited and even brought a fish home on the first night. Talk about dedicated, they got up at 6:30a.m. and went fishing before they headed to Minneapolis yesterday! I can see that I might actually get some time to myself this winter with all of these little fishermen in the house!!
Abe started his week of steroids today. I've been busy stocking the fridge with necessities: string cheese, purple yogurt, sticky rice, and the Pizza Hut delivery guy is in for a busy week, too. Because you don't want to see what happens if we run out of these gotta-have-it cravings during a steroid pulse - GRRRRRR!
Have a great week, thanks for checking in!
Kelly
Friday, December 31, 2004 10:04 PM CST
Happy New Year!!!
I'm feeling a little guilty about my lack of updates. But in my defense, it has been a busy household the past few weeks! Birthdays, Christmas, colds, no school, and of course Al in his UPS truck delivering all of those holiday packages! Anyway, things are nice and calm now so I guess I need to get my act together :o)
We had a nice Christmas and were able to spend time with both sides of our family. Abe, Ben and I came down with colds last week, so we really took it easy over the weekend. Abe's doing well with his so far and is mostly coughing now. He has been back on the breathing treatments about 3 times a day, and that seems to help. He really is a trooper, never even a complaint.
We had Abe's counts checked on Wednesday. He got a disguise kit for his birthday and decided that he wanted to tell his nurse that he turned into a pirate. He looked so sweet with his little pirate eye patch walking into the clinic. He really has the pirate-lingo down, it was so funny, "Argh with me ole pirate ship me hardies!" When his nurse was getting ready to access his port he told her to "walk the plank". (I think he was serious about that part!) They got a good laugh out of that one. He still doesn't like the pokes, but it's getting a little better each time. His ANC was still low, 540. So his doctor reduced the dose of his oral chemo again. We'll check counts next Wednesday here at the clinic. Abe already has a plan for his next disguise - a huge pair of plastic ears. I'll have to be sure to bring the camera next time!
Isaac is enjoying his break from school and will start back on Monday. Abe loves being able to play with his big brother every day, but I think he's ready to be the king again. Yesterday I heard him ask Isaac, "Uh, which day on the calendar do you go back to school again?" Ben is just happier than ever with all of his Christmas loot. Should keep him out of mischief for at least a week or two :o)
Wishing you all a happy and healthy 2005!
Kelly
Monday, December 20, 2004 1:45 PM CST
****HAPPY 4TH BIRTHDAY ABE!!!****
Well, the birthday boys had a fun weekend - Isaac turned 8 yesterday and Abe is 4 today! What a busy week it has been. We had a kids' party on Saturday at our house and then our family party for both boys yesterday. The house looks like a party explosion. I suppose by the time I get things back in order it'll be time to open Christmas presents! Abe is having a great day today and wanted to spend a quiet day at home for his birthday. I think maybe he really wanted to play with all of Isaac's new b-day presents while he's at school :o)
Abe and I spent Tuesday - Thursday in Minneapolis last week. He had his scheduled IV chemo and they also did a bone marrow biopsy and aspiration on Wednesday. The results from the bone marrow were good - big sigh of relief there, that's always a huge worry for us. The other 3 tests they ran the week before also came back fine (Parvo, immune studies and enzyme test for 6MP). So we're kind of back where we started with the low ANC. They do know that he's just really sensitive to Methotrexate and still need to find an amount that he can handle, even if it's just a tiny bit. Abe's counts were good on Wed., his ANC was finally up over 1000! Of course this was after being taken off oral chemo for 2 weeks, but still it was good to see it up there. So now he's back on his oral meds. and we'll keep checking counts every other week until they get things figured out for him.
We managed to squeeze some fun into our trip to Minneapolis last week and we stayed at Auntie Linda's house. She took us to see the Snow White display at Marshall Field's, Abe thought it was pretty cool - but the escalators were even more fun. The display is on the 8th floor - now that's a lot of escalator rides!! We also went to the Holidazzle Parade downtown on Wed. night, Abe loved it. He didn't get to go with the other kids last year, so he made sure to tell them all about it when we got home!
Other than that, we've just been getting ready for Christmas. We're hoping that the steroids Abe has been on for the past 5 days will work their way out of his system before Christmas - wouldn't want to scare Santa away :o)
We wish you all a happy holiday season. We're looking forward to being home for Christmas this year and spending time with family.
Love,
Kelly, Al, Isaac, Abe and Ben
Friday, December 10, 2004 2:29 PM CST
Just a quick update today...
We met with Abe's oncologist at Children's on Monday, they wanted to run some tests because his ANC has been low for awhile now. Even with very reduced doses of chemo, and being off his oral chemo, his ANC doesn't recover like it should. A few different possibilities were mentioned as to what might be causing the low counts. We know he is sensitive to the MTX, and they did another enzyme test to see if he is also sensitive to 6-MP. These are both oral chemo he takes at home and will have them for the next 2 plus years. They also ran some immune studies (IgG, I think), they will be able to tell from the results if he'll need to have infusions (IVIG) to boost his system. The other test was to check for a virus (Parvo) - we'll get the results from these early next week. Abe will also have a bone marrow test on Monday morning to make sure there isn't anything more serious going on. The dreaded bone marrow test :o(
I know, enough medical stuff already! The kids had a great time at the party at Children's on Sunday, they especially liked Peter the Juggler. They giggled and laughed through his whole show, Al and I were pretty impressed by him, too! The boys' favorite part came at the end of the show - he used something that looked like a leaf blower with 2 rolls of toilet paper attached to the end - and shot it out into the crowd. I could almost see the wheels turning in their heads, hmmm, I think daddy has a leaf blower at home!! We stayed at the RMH and the kids had a good time with their friends Tobey and BryAnna. BryAnna and her family got to move HOME this week after living at the RMH for over a year and a half!
Abe and Isaac are getting excited for their birthdays. Isaac's is on the 19th and Abe's the 20th of December. And of course they're all pumped up about Christmas. They've been plotting and planning and making lists for weeks now! Ben has been having a good ole time in the snow, it's the first thing he wants to do every morning and he would spend the whole day outside if he could.
Abe and I will leave for Minneapolis on Sunday and hopefully be back home on Tuesday.
Oops, I guess this wasn't such a quick entry, I'll update more next week when we get test results. Thanks for checking in and signing the guestbook! (hint,hint) :o)
Kelly
Saturday, December 4, 2004 9:40 PM CST
Well, we're off to Minneapolis tomorrow morning. We had Abe's counts checked this week and his ANC was still low, so they want to run some more tests at Children's on Monday morning. His ANC was down to 190, and they had already reduced doses of all of his oral chemo a few weeks ago. So he has been off all meds. this past week, and we'll see where his ANC is at on Monday. They'll do another enzyme test, this time to check his sensitivity to 6-MP. They also mentioned immune studies- I don't know all of the details yet. Hopefully we can get some answers soon. Abe will have his monthly IV chemo the following Monday the 13th in Minneapolis, too. Two trips the the Twin Cities back to back right before Christmas - hey, I see some shopping in my future!!
We're planning to go to the Holiday Party tomorrow afternoon for the Hematology/Oncology Clinic at Children's. The kids are really excited, it sounds like a lot of fun. We weren't able to go last year, so I'm looking forward to it, too. It'll be nice to connect with other families that go to the clinic, we haven't done much of that being that we live way up north!
We went to Bob's Tree Farm today and picked out our Christmas tree. Al and the boys usually pick out the biggest, fullest one they can find - but they changed the game plan this year and picked a smaller one with long needles which still looked very nice. We brought it home and finally got it into the stand only to notice that it does have some Charlie Brown qualities about it. Oh well, the kids love it and had a good time decorating (or fighting over which ornament was theirs, who got to hang one first...) Isaac actually hid one ornament so that he could put the LAST one on - and then Abe told me that he would wait until Isaac went to bed so that he could take that last one off and put it on again! Our boys and their lovely Christmas spirit :o)
Hope everyone is having a nice holiday season so far. Thanks for checking in!!
Kelly
Wednesday, November 24, 2004 11:06 AM CST
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
I have been a real slacker on updating lately - I usually try for about once a week, but my laundry room (and every other room in our house) deserved some much-needed attention!!
Our trip to Minneapolis went well last week. Abe has really gotten to be a good little traveller, as long as he gets to pick the music. This time it was the Shrek soundtrack - but only the "rock star" song, all the way there and back (almost 10 hours! minus the time he falls asleep, that's when the girlie CD's come out) Seriously though, I love being able to have two days of alone time with Abe. And I'm even getting used to driving in the big-city traffic, until it snows anyway - then it's Al's turn :o) We spent the night at Auntie Linda's house, Abe was pretty excited about that. He thinks he's cool because she has a cupboard with his name on it at her house, filled with his favorite things - and QUARTERS. Thanks Auntie Linda!
Abe had his spinal and IV chemo on Monday morning in the Short Stay Unit at Children's. They sedate him with propofol, so he sleeps through the procedure. He does pretty well with that part. It's what leads up to it that has been really hard for him, mainly accessing his port. He had gotten pretty good about it up until about a month ago, meaning we would still have to hold his arms and legs, but he was "OK" with it. The last few times have been hard, a job for two or three nurses and me holding him. It almost seems like the older he gets, the more he realizes that this really STINKS and that it won't be over any time soon. We're hoping that the port access gets easier for him. We're going to try and connect with the Child Life dept. next time we're at clinic, they are great at Children's in helping kids with these things. Anyway, I don't mean to whine - I know that if this is our biggest complaint right now, we're in pretty good shape!
Abe's counts were good, except that his ANC was low, 630. They reduced his doses of 6MP and Methotrexate again to see if that will level it out. It's great that he responds so well to chemo, even if it keeps his ANC a little low. At least we know that those nasty drugs are doing their job, and hopefully any leftover leukemia cells in his body won't stand a chance!
We're still on the lookout for Chicken Pox and keeping our fingers crossed that they'll bypass Abe altogether. If that's what Ben's rash was, there's no way to tell for sure. Ben and I were lucky enough to get our flu shots last week, Abe got his early in October.
We had conferences at Isaac's school last week, he's doing well in 2nd grade and really likes his teacher. He's already counting down the days until his birthday in December. Ben is busy doing 2 year old things, like sneaking out of his bed in the middle of the night and turning on as many lights as he can reach - so much for a good night's sleep! His favorite thing to say now is "Can I get a Boo-yah?" (this means he wants to hear you say
Boo-yah, for those of you who don't watch the Disney Channel's Kim Possible show :o)
We're happy to be home for Thanksgiving this year and are looking forward to spending the day with family at my sister's house. On Friday night we'll go to the parade here in Bemidji, Isaac is walking with the Cub Scouts. This is also the night that they turn on all of the Christmas lights down by the waterfront of Lake Bemidji. Should be fun, they have fireworks, wagon rides, music, Santa and all kinds of other fun things. We'll have to wear our winter gear - it's in the 20's here today and will be even COLDER on Friday!
Hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving!
Kelly
Sunday, November 14, 2004 0:28 AM CST
Well, it's been a hectic week here - was it me who said in my last journal entry how uneventful our house had been? What was I thinking! Anyway, the week started with Ben's mystery rash - I took him to our pediatrician who said it could possibly be Chicken Pox. So Al and Abe made a late night trip to Minneapolis to get VZIG shots - one in each leg :o( These will hopefully keep Abe from getting Chicken Pox or at least a less severe case of them. Another thing to worry about....
They also had us check counts on Thurs. morning to see where Abe's ANC is at - it was 759 which is OK, but not great. All of his other labs looked good.
Abe was diagnosed one year ago today (or yesterday I guess, it's late). It's hard to believe it's been a whole year already - and then some days it feels like we've been doing this forever. I remember wondering how in the world we were going to get through the next year. Last year at this time he was so sick and had stopped walking completely. It would be almost two months before he even tried to take steps, and almost a month before we saw him smile or laugh. Today I was watching him chase his brothers around the house, with his crazy little laugh. We're so lucky that he's doing well and is still the same sweet, funny, happy little boy that he was before he got sick.
Abe and I will leave for Minneapolis bright and early in the morning. They've decided to go ahead with his procedure on Monday. He'll have spinal chemo (methotrexate) and IV Vincristine. He won't be able to have his 5 days of steroids this week because of the possible CP exposure - I can't say we're really disappointed about that news!
Thanks for checking in - we appreciate it.
Kelly
Tuesday, November 2, 2004 1:23 PM CST
Well, the past few weeks have been pretty uneventful in the Fagerstrom household. In leukemia world, this is a good thing! Abe did have his counts checked at the clinic here in Bemidji yesterday. He really gave the nurse a run for her money - she had to try at least twice to get the needle in the right spot on his port because he was fighting it so hard. He's gotten pretty good about letting nurses access him lately, not sure what set him off this time. He was trying to hide his port from her, which makes it kind of hard to access! Maybe he's just tired of all the pokes I suppose. Anyway, his counts were good. His ANC was 819, a little low, but not low enough to decrease his doses of oral chemo. He'll stay on the full dose of 6-MP and still at 50 percent dose of the Methotrexate. The MTX is still causing some mouth sores once in awhile. Hopefully soon they can get his doses adjusted, I know it takes awhile into LTM to get things just right. Abe would say, "You KNOW you have to be patient" :o)
Abe has had a cold the last week or so, but seems to be fighting it off pretty well. We're back to giving him breathing treatments with albuterol about twice a day. He'll also have pulmicort twice a day now through the winter, hopefully to prevent the wheezing he always has with his colds.
We had a fun Halloween weekend, we spent the day at Grandma Helen's house on Sunday up in Littlefork. It was great to spend time with grandmas, grandpas, aunts and cousins. The boys went trick-or-treating with their cousins Makenzie and Tanner and really had a blast. Isaac's favorite part was the candy trade they had on Grandma's living room floor when they were done, he scored everyone's KitKats - probably a good 6 month supply! Abe kept saying,"Boy, I really do like Halloween mommy". He looked so cute in his Simba costume running from house to house. Makes me think back to last year at this time when he was so sick. He had stopped walking about a week before Halloween, but still wanted to dress up (as Simba) and go trick-or-treating with his brothers. So we pushed him in the stroller and he still managed to have a good time. Our pediatrician thought that he was getting over a strep infection that was causing his joints to ache. We were assuming she was right and hoping he would be better after the course of antibiotics she prescribed. What a difference a year makes. We're so grateful that he's doing as well as he is and he is able to enjoy the fun things that a little boy his age should.
Abe will have P/T and another O/T assessment on Thursday. He can't wait, he thinks it's so cool that he gets to go and excercise and his brothers don't! I'm having the kids' pictures taken tomorrow, hopefully they will sit next to each other without a major brawl :o) Last time I had them done professionally it was a complete disaster - so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
Al is getting all pumped up about going up to deer camp this weekend. In a matter of days, the house will be covered in blaze orange hunting gear in preparation! I plan to cover the dining room table in scrapbook supplies while he's gone :o)
Also, if I could ask you to please keep our Grandma Helen in your thoughts, she is also going through chemotherapy right now. We would appreciate it - thanks.
Kelly, Al, Isaac, Abe and Ben
Thursday, October 21, 2004 8:23 PM CDT
Our trip to Minneapolis on Sunday and Monday went well. Abe just had treatment at clinic this time - IV Vincristine. His counts were good, and his ANC was 1395 - right about where it should be now. So now he'll be back on the full dose of 6-MP and still at a half dose of Methotrexate. Hopefully Abe will do well with this. They've decided to have us check counts every 2 weeks to see where his ANC is at. He did a great job at clinic this time, he even helped his nurse carry his blood in a little tube to send off in the rocket. He wanted me to take pictures of him for his scrapbook. Ahh, the things we do for fun these days!
We stayed at the RMH and Abe was happy to see they had gotten some new toys since last time we were there. They really have great play rooms for the kids (and grown ups too!) Al and I took him to Camp Snoopy at the Mall of America on Sunday. Abe was so excited to find out that he is finally tall enough to go on the bumper cars. The last time he was there was over a year ago and he was heartbroken when he had to watch daddy and Isaac drive the cars. It was fun to see him having such a great time. Of course I did follow him around with my purse-sized bottle of Purell :o)
The boys are getting excited for Halloween, especially since last year was kind of a bust. Abe was very sick (we didn't know how sick yet) and it was really COLD. Abe says he's going to wear the same costume as last year, a Simba lion. Isaac is going to be a race car driver - Ben wants to be a dog or a cowboy, he loves to say "Stick 'em up!" Hopefully it won't be too cold that night, at least NO SNOW!
Thanks for checking in -
Kelly
Thursday, October 14, 2004 6:21 PM CDT
COUNTS ARE UP!! Abe's ANC was at about 2000 on Monday, which made us happy. Of course that was after no chemo last week and half doses the week before. So now we're back to giving him half doses of the oral chemo at home for the rest of this week. Their goal is to get him back up to a full dose of the 6-MP and then adjust the Methotrexate as needed. They did finally do the right test to try and figure out if he was absorbing the MTX correctly. Turns out he does absorb it in a different way than the standard kid, it stays in his system much longer. So now they know that he doesn't need the full dose that's required for his weight.
Hopefully we can get his counts to be more consistent in the next few months. Especially with flu season coming up. Abe has had his flu shot already, but I haven't had much luck in finding a way for the rest of us to get ours.
Abe had physical therapy yesterday, and he loved it as usual. They want him to go once a month from now on so they can check his progress. He'll have Vincristine every 28 days from now on and this is the med. that has affected his walking and balance a little. His left side is still weaker than the right and he has a hard time putting all of his weight on that leg. But he is still running and jumping and all of the other things a little boy should do!
Al and I will take Abe down to Minneapolis on Sunday. He'll have his IV Vincristine Monday morning and they'll also check counts. And then, of course, we'll start on another 5 days of steroids when we get home on Monday. Hopefully the miniature-hulk-steroid-side-of-Abe won't surface too often next week :o)
Isaac is excited that it is supposed to snow here tomorrow and is already making big snow-related plans! Maybe it'll just be a few flakes, I haven't even taken my usual 3 rolls of film of the boys in the leaves yet. Ben is still busy trying to keep up with his big brothers. He is usually right on their heels saying, "How 'bout me, how 'bout me?" He is SO cute and so very persistent :o)
Kelly
Thursday, October 7, 2004 1:22 PM CDT
Abe had his counts checked at the clinic here in Bemidji on Monday. Of course, he wasn't happy about that at all. Not our favorite way to start off a Monday morning! But Abe's doctor at Children's wanted to see where his ANC was at after a week of the reduced dose of his oral chemo. Last week his ANC was at 550 and on Monday it was down to 360. They've decided to hold all of his doses of chemo this week (6-MP and Methotrexate) and have his counts checked again on Monday. We're really hoping his ANC will be up closer to 1000 on that day. I talked to Abe's nurse at Children's about it and she said that they might have to figure out a different plan of treatment for him. They're thinking that the MTX and 6-MP might be just too much for his body.
Anyway, we'll be glad when they get it figured out. Abe is getting used to wearing his mask again this week. He's pretty good about it. When Ben sees that Abe wears one, of course he wants one too. They are quite a pair!
I took Abe and Isaac to see Shark Tale last weekend. Abe hadn't been to a movie in almost a year, so he had a great time. Their cousins Tanner and Makenzie were there too, which made it even more fun! Isaac is looking forward to the Fall Dance at his school tomorrow night. I didn't realize what a busy social schedule second graders have :o)
Thanks for checking in and signing the guestbook. We really appreciate it!
Kelly
Friday, October 1, 2004 12:50 AM CDT
Hi everyone ~ sorry it's been awhile since the last update. Things are going well here this week, Abe is feeling and looking better. He had his IV chemo at Children's last week, just at the clinic since he didn't have a spinal this time. Sounds like he and Al had a good trip - Abe said the best part was staying at Auntie Linda's house. He always has a great time with her and loves to ride his bike to the park near her house. He said the worst part was the "poker shot" (flu shot) his nurse gave him at the clinic. He was downright disgusted about that.
Abe's ANC was at about 550, and should be somewhere between 1000 and 2000 during maintenance. They reduced his doses of oral chemo (6-MP and Methotrexate) to 50 percent of what we had been giving him. Hopefully this will even things out with his counts, it's hard not having his counts checked every week or two. We had assumed they were low, since he had mouth sores and just didn't look good the whole first month of Maintenance. We'll have his counts checked here on Monday to see where his ANC is at, and they'll probably adjust his doses then, too.
We survived another week of steroids - we're pretty much all glad to have that behind us for a few weeks anyway. When Abe gets mad he says, "Do you want me to get a monkey in this house?" When we asked him where he would get a monkey he said - Como Zoo. Obviously a well thought-out plan! He also said, "Mom, you know a monkey would tear this place apart." So I guess I've been properly warned :o)
We have been enjoying the nice fall weather lately. The boys spend a lot of time on the trampoline and in their treehouse. Ben would still like to live outside if we would let him! We usually have to bribe him to get him to come inside. Isaac started cub scouts a few weeks ago and is doing well in second grade.
We're still waiting for the "easy" part of long-term maintenance - it must be coming soon :o)
Take care,
Kelly, Al, Isaac, Abe and Ben
Thursday, September 16, 2004 4:31 PM CDT
Well, I think we're getting adjusted to our back to school schedule. It's good to have some kind of routine again, and Isaac seems to like second grade so far. I even decided to take Abe and Ben to the grocery store with me this morning after we dropped Isaac off at school. (BIG mistake) They have these cute miniature carts there for kids and by the time we got to the checkout my kids were screaming and trying to knock each other over with them. Then I remembered why I usually go by myself to the store after Al gets home from work :o) Had this happened a year ago, I might've never shown my face in there again - but now it doesn't even phase me. As long as they let me back in the store next time!
Anyway, Abe is a little under the weather this week. He has a cold and just hasn't been feeling well the past week or two. Hopefully he will feel better soon, he asks me every morning if his cold is gone yet :o)
He also has some mouth sores now thanks to his weekly Methotrexate. He doesn't want to eat much of anything. They let us reduce his dose for this week so his mouth doesn't get worse. They'll do the test to find out what level of Methotrexate he can handle next week.
Al will take Abe to Minneapolis on Sunday - he has an appointment at the clinic Monday morning. He'll get chemo IV through his port this time. They'll also check counts and hopefully be able to adjust some doses for him if needed. Abe is excited to spend some time alone with daddy, except for the doctor part of course. He says that part STINKS. I've been told they are going to listen to AC/DC the entire trip!
We've got some new pictures in the photo album if you want to check them out. Thanks for checking in on Abe and signing the guestbook. We've met such great people through this site - THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!
Kelly, Al, Isaac, Abe and Ben
Thursday, September 2, 2004 9:45 AM CDT
So far, Week 2 of long-term maintenance is much better than Week 1! The steroids really did a number on us this time around - yikes! So we'll try and enjoy our steroid-free weeks in between with no complaints. Abe is doing pretty well with the other oral meds this week. He has a new trick at med time - he points out the window and says "Look mom, a bird" and then takes off running in to the other room and hides. The giggles usually give him away every time. That, and he always hides in the same place :o)
He seems to be feeling better this week and doesn't have those dark circles under his eyes anymore. We didn't get the results from the Methotrexate test yet. They ordered the wrong test so we'll have to wait until his next clinic appointment to retest for that :o( Hopefully the dose he's getting now won't bring his counts way down again. I know that during the first few months of LTM they adjust doses to keep his ANC somewhere between 1000 - 2000. So as long as he's doing well and nothing comes up we won't have to go to Minneapolis until Sept. 20. It's so great to be at home!
Isaac's first day of school went well yesterday. Abe is enjoying being the king of the castle while Ike is gone during the day! I think he misses having him around though because about half way through the day he was bored and said,"I'm missing my big brudder". He's so sweet. Good thing he's got his baby "brudder" to play (fight) with every day :o)
Have a great Labor Day weekend!
The Fagerstrom's
Friday, August 27, 2004 2:34 PM CDT
Hi everyone. Abe started his long-term maintenance on Monday!!! His counts were good last week so he had his spinal and IV chemo at Short Stay on Monday morning. We're so glad to finally get started on this phase.
Abe had a hard time at Short Stay this time - he never likes it there, but for some reason this time was harder than usual. He cried and screamed the whole time, I felt so bad but there wasn't anything I could do to make it better for him. He was mad because they put tagaderm on his port -he knows what it's like to try and get it off :o(
And then because he was moving around so much and fighting the nurse had to put more tape over his port so the needle wouldn't come out. That really ticked him off. But, by the time he woke up from sedation he had a big smile on his face because they had taken his needle out while he was sleeping. (Thank you nurses! They're getting to know him so well.)
So far, it has been a rough week for Abe. LTM involves more oral meds. at home and this is definately not our strong point. He's having a hard time with the meds. and we spend a good part of our day trying to get them in at the right times. He has an antibiotic every day, steroid with Zantac twice a day, 6-MP (oral chemo) every day, and Methotrexate (oral chemo) once a week. The steroids are starting to kick in already - we have a miniature Incredible Hulk living here some days :o) He has trouble sleeping at night when he's on steroids, usually up from 3 to 5a.m. most nights. Good thing the steroid is only the first five days of each month!
Hopefully he'll be feeling better next week. We'll get the results from the Methotrexate test on Monday and maybe they can adjust the dose so his counts will stay up from now on.
I'm going to try and get some more recent pictures on here next week. Thanks for checking in.
Kelly, Al, Isaac, Abe and Ben
Wednesday, August 18, 2004 3:35 PM CDT
We had Abe's counts checked again on Monday. His ANC still isn't high enough to start the next phase of treatment - it was about the same as last week. We'll check them again on Friday here in Bemidji and will leave for Minneapolis on Sunday either way. If his ANC is up to 1000 he'll start his Maintenance on Monday morning - if it's not up he'll have a bone marrow test to make sure everything is still OK with that. We're trying not to worry too much, but it's hard since we know they only test bone marrow at this point when there's a possibility something isn't right.
Abe's doctor thinks that it's possible that the IV Methotrexate he had during the last phase could be the reason his counts are staying low. He seems to be very sensitive to it and it takes his body a little longer to get it out of his system. There is a test they can do to check this ( I can't remember what they called it) and they'll draw blood for this when we're at Children's on Monday. I hope that this is the reason his ANC has stayed low and not something more serious. The last dose he had of MTX was in early July. Once he starts his long-term maintenance he'll have an oral dose of Methotrexate every day for the next 2 1/2 years. So I hope they can figure out a dose that his body can handle and that will still be effective in getting rid of any remaining leukemia cells.
Well, enough with all of the medical details - sorry! Abe has been feeling pretty good over the last weeks and has for the most part been his happy little self. He thinks it's great that we've been home for almost a month with no long trips to the cities. Even though he does like to listen to daddy's AC/DC almost all the way to Minneapolis! Between that and his movies we do pretty well. I always have strict orders from all of the boys in my family that there will be no "girlie music" in daddy's truck :o) I am way outnumbered. He has also been practicing up on his somersaults (sp?) and that's probably the first thing you'll see if you come to our house. That and his new hair of course, he's very proud!
Isaac and his cousin Tanner are going to a football camp today and tomorrow at the high school for a few hours each day. The boys love to have Makenzie and Tanner over to play. School starts here on Sept. 1 - Isaac's looking forward to second grade and seeing his friends every day. He'll start flag football sometime in September.
Thanks for checking in, I'll update more on Monday.
The Fagerstrom's
Friday, August 13, 2004 4:47 PM CDT
Hi everyone - not much new here this week. We had Abe's counts checked on Monday and his ANC is still not up to 1000, it was down a little from last week :o( We'll check them again on Monday the 16th and hope that his ANC is up. Seems like we've been waiting around for a long time - the last IV chemo he had was on July 19th. He's almost two weeks late on his chemo now so we'll be glad when he can get back on track with treatment. And then of course this mom can stop WORRYING so much!
If his counts are good we'll go to Minneapolis on Tuesday and have Abe's treatment on Wednesday morning. He'll have a spinal with chemo and Vincristine IV. This is done at the Short Stay Unit at Children's, it's on a different floor than the oncology clinic. Abe gets so mad when we get off the elevator and he sees the doors to Short Stay. He knows what's up before we even get in there. He's gotten used to our clinic visits and doesn't mind them so much anymore. It helps that he really likes his nurse, she lets him do some pretty fun stuff when we're there. He's been helping her put his blood in the "rocket" to send to the lab(tube system kind of like at the drive-thru bank). He even gets to punch in the secret code to launch it - Isaac thought this was pretty cool and got to have a turn last time he went with us. Abe says his nurse is the BEST!
Al took Abe to physical therapy on Monday, he's been going about every other week. His therapist said he's doing great and he'll probably only need one more visit. She is still noticing some weakness in his left ankle/leg muscles so we're working on having him use that side more. It should improve now that he won't have Vincristine so often. He'll get it once a month when he starts the next phase of treatment. He'll have another O/T assessment in a few weeks and hopefully he'll do as well as he did last time and won't need any more P/T or O/T. The fewer appointments for him the better!
Ben had his two year old check-up today at the clinic and he did great. It was kind of hectic because Isaac and Abe came with us, too. The three of them together are a little bit like a human tornado! We gave our pediatrician a taste of what it's like in the Fagerstrom household on a daily basis :o)
Keep Abe in your thoughts and hope that his counts are up on Monday. Thanks!
Thursday, August 5, 2004 7:35 AM CDT
Hi. We're still waiting for Abe's counts to go up. We had them checked again on Monday and his ANC is now at 650. They're not too concerned about it since it's slowly going up ~ so I'm trying not to worry.(Yeah right!) We'll check them again on Monday the 9th and hopefully his ANC will be up!
Abe is getting pretty fed up with all of the blood draws lately to check counts. He still has a hard time with this and he fights it every time. I don't blame him - I wouldn't like it either. Each time they draw blood they access his port with a needle through his skin. We do put emla cream on his port before we go to clinic to numb it but he says it hurts. I think it bothers him when they put pressure on it. I hope this gets easier for him. It's so hard to have to hold him down every time. He does get over it fast though, usually by the time we leave he's smiling and telling stories to the nurses. They always give him a band-aid for his collection ( he won't let them put the band-aid on his skin, he puts it on his box full of snakes and lizards :o) and he always gets truck stickers too.
Our doctor decided that Abe won't have to make up the last dose of Methotrexate after all. We were kind of glad to hear that because it takes him so long to recover from that med. I just wish they would have decided that a couple of weeks ago, then we wouldn't have had all of the extra blood draws to check counts. We could've had two weeks POKE FREE! Anyway, the good news is Abe can start his long-term Maintenance when his ANC is up!!
He has been feeling good the last couple of weeks. He's been eating pretty well, too. Still just has a few things that taste good to him. His favorites are purple yogurt(it has to be PURPLE), string cheese, broccoli and noodles. He really loves hershey's kisses and is always digging in the cupboards for the hidden stash! It's hard to say no to him because he calls them "chocolate sweethearts". They make for good bribes!
Hope everyone is having a great summer. Thanks for checking on our little Abe!
The Fagerstrom's
Tuesday, July 27, 2004 2:03 PM CDT
Hi everyone - it's been a couple of weeks since I've updated, sorry! Abe had treatment in the cities on July 19th. They were able to give him one of the IV chemo meds. he needed, but his ANC wasn't high enough to give to second one (Methotrexate - his ANC has to be above 1000 to get this one). It seems like it always takes him a little longer to recover from the Methotrexate, he usually only gets it every other time because of low counts. He needs to make up this dose since it's the last one of this phase (Interim Maintenance) of treatment. They had us check counts here in Bemidji last Friday to see if his ANC was up yet but it wasn't, it had gone down. I took him in again this morning to check and am waiting to hear results from our nurse in Minneapolis. We'll be glad to be done with the IV Methotrexate for awhile - it's some nasty stuff.
Once Abe finishes this phase of treatment and his counts get back up he can start the long-term Maintenance phase. This is the one he'll be on for the remainder of his treatment if everything goes as planned. They gave us a tentative end date for treatment which will be sometime in January of 2007. It sounds like such a long time from now, but hopefully this phase won't be as hard on his little body. We're just thankful that he's responding to the treatment, that's the most important thing.
Abe's hair is starting to grow back, it looks so cute! He even got a haircut a couple of weeks ago. I took Isaac and Ben in for their cuts and when they were done he jumped up there and said it was his turn. I felt so bad that I hadn't made an appointment for him. But the girl who cuts our hair was so nice and she trimmed the back of his hair with the clippers. He was so proud of himself and likes to show everyone his new haircut :o)
Al and I took the kids to pick strawberries this morning at Mistic's Berry Farm. They had such a good time, we got to ride on a wagon pulled by a tractor. Now I have to get busy and make some pies and jam tonight. I forgot how much work strawberries involve! The kids love to eat them though, so it's well worth the effort.
Isaac is spending the week with Grandma Mary up in International Falls. This is a first for him and he was so excited to go. We're really missing him, but I know he's having a great time there with his cousins and Grandma.
If Abe's counts are up today I'll take him to Minneapolis tomorrow for treatment. If his ANC isn't high enough I'm not sure what will come next, I'll update again when we find out. Take Care and thanks for thinking of us!
Kelly, Al, Isaac, Abe and Ben
Saturday, July 10, 2004 4:02 PM CDT
Abe had treatment in the cities yesterday. Everything went well, his counts were good this time so they were able to give him all three meds. he needed. He had chemo in his spine and two kinds IV through his port. He did a great job, even though he doesn't like the visits when he has to have a spinal. They put him under for this but the whole process is kind of scary for him. He got to see one of his favorite nurses - she is great with him. He's gotten to know her pretty well through all of this.
Abe has a cold again and has been coughing quite a bit. So we're back on the breathing treatments again at least three times a day :( He had a fever last weekend that gave us a little scare, but luckily it went back down and we didn't have to bring him in to the hospital. We found out yesterday that he also has an ear infection. So he'll take an antibiotic for this twice a day, along with his daily antibiotic that helps protect him from pneumonia. Abe's not very happy about having to add extra meds to our list, but he's been really good about swallowing them.
Auntie Marci went with us this time, it was great to have some company on our trip. We got to stay at the Ronald McDonald House and got in on the Thursday night bingo game. Abe was pretty excited, we had some lucky cards and got two bingos and even won the grand prize for blackout! They give away such fun prizes there for the kids.
Abe has physical therapy this week in Bemidji. He's doing pretty well with his walking, but we're still seeing some effects from the chemo. He'll have treatment again in 10 days down in the cities.
Thanks for keeping Abe in your thoughts.
The Fagerstrom's
Thursday, July 1, 2004 9:36 PM CDT
Today is Ben's birthday, can't believe he is 2 years old already! He had a good time opening his presents and blowing out the candles on his cake.
Abe had treatment yesterday in the cities. They were able to give him one of the IV chemo meds., his ANC wasn't high enough for the second one. All of his other counts were good though, and hopefully his ANC will be back up to 1000 by next week. He did a great job again with his treatment, he is such a brave little boy. We brought Isaac with this time and Abe wanted to show him how everything works at the clinic. Our doctor said it was OK to stop the breathing treatments that we have been doing twice a day. Abe was happy about that, he's getting pretty tired of them. We'll have to start them again if he is coughing or gets a cold.
Abe has been feeling OK this week, he's been pretty tired out though. He's been kind of irritable lately, I think the Vincristine is causing him some pain. He only has two doses of it left - we'll be glad when he's done with it for awhile. He didn't have P/T this week, but will go in again early next week. We've noticed some change in his walking - we've been doing his excersizes at home every day. Hopefully when he's done with the Vincristine this will improve.
We stayed at the RMH this time. The kids had a good time - the first person we saw when we got there was Ronald McDonald. The kids were surprised to see him, Abe is still talking about it. He thought Ronald was only a statue. We'll go down again on July 8th for more treatment. Hope everyone has a great 4th of July weekend!
The Fagerstrom's
Friday, June 25, 2004 1:19 PM CDT
Abe had his treatment down in the cities on Monday morning. They were able to give him both of the IV chemo meds. since his counts were good. He did such a great job this time and was a big helper for his nurse. He's getting used to the clinic visits there - they try to make things fun for the kids which really helps.
Abe is starting to feel the side effects of this phase of chemo this week. He's been pretty tired out and hasn't been his usual happy self. The Vincristine he's getting makes his throat sore and can also cause jaw pain and arm/leg pain. The other med. causes nausea - I could go on and on, but hopefully he'll feel better in the next few days. He still wants to play outside and ride his bike every day. He got a whoopie cushion this week and thinks it's the funniest thing in the world! He has big plans for all of the people he's going to trick - so he says WATCH OUT:)
He had P/T yesterday and did well with that. He really likes it there and his therapist is so good with him. But he had such a good time that I had a hard time getting him to leave when his session was over. She also gave us excercises to work on at home every day. He won't need to go to occupational therapy yet, they're going to test him again in about a month to check his progress.
Abe will have his next chemo on Wed. the 30th, so he and Isaac and I will leave for Minneapolis on Tuesday. We plan to go to the Relay For Life in Bemidji tonight - hope it doesn't rain. We're still waiting for summer weather!
Thanks for checking in.
Abe and family
Thursday, June 17, 2004 7:58 PM CDT
Hi everyone! Abe's having a pretty good week so far. We went to the park today to play with some friends. The kids had a great time, Isaac really misses seeing his school friends every day.
Abe started his physical therapy yesterday at Peak Performance. He did a great job and didn't want to leave when his session was over. His favorites were the ball pit and a bike he got to ride outside. They want to work on his leg strength and keeping his ankles flexible. One of the chemo drugs (Vincristine) can cause problems with tightness of muscles in his legs and can affect the way he walks. He'll be taking this med. for two months, so they'll keep an eye on his progress and adjust the dose if needed. We'll go to physical and occupational therapy each once a week.
Abe and Ben still have colds, it's really hanging in there. Abe seems to be doing well with it though and hasn't had any fever so far. His appetite has been OK, yogurt and string cheese taste good to him right now. Haven't noticed too many side effects yet with this phase of treatment. He had lost what was left of his hair a couple of months ago with the intense chemo. It's started to grow back in now and he is so proud! He says it's the same color as daddy's.
I'll take him down to the cities on Sunday. He has a clinic appointment at Children's for more chemo on Monday. The clinic visits usually only take 1-2 hours, and he doesn't mind these as much as the spinal taps. He'll get the same two meds. IV through his port.
Thanks for checking in - Abe likes to help me check the website every day.
Kelly, Al, Isaac, Abe and Ben
Thursday, June 10, 2004 8:38 AM CDT
Abe's counts were good on Monday, his ANC was over 2000 and everything else was up too. He and I went to the cities on Tuesday since his appointment was at 7:30 Wednesday morning at Children's. It was a quick trip - just overnight. We got to stay at Auntie Linda's house and see our cousin Jennifer,too. Abe always looks forward to this part of the trip, it helps to take his mind off of the doctor part.
His treatment went well. He had chemo in his spine and two meds. IV through his port. They put him under to give the spinal, this is always harder for him. This procedure makes the whole thing take a little longer - we are usually there for about 4 hours. He had a hard time at first, but he did such a great job. We got to see one of his favorite nurses and Abe was even telling knock-knock jokes.
Abe has a cold right now, but seems to be fighting it off pretty well. Hasn't had any fever or wheezing yet. We are still doing breathing treatments at least twice a day, this seems to help. We don't have any new meds. at home during this phase, just the daily antibiotic. He will go in every 10 days for the two IV chemo meds. and have a spinal once a month. He will be starting with physical therapy again next week here in Bemidji. He's looking forward to that, they have some really fun stuff at the pediatric P/T here. Isaac has been having fun at his golf lessons this week and got to go fishing with Al last weekend. Ben and Abe have been helping me plant flowers - they spend a lot of the day trying to water them for me!
Hope everyone is having a great summer. Thanks for your support.
Love, Abe and family
Thursday, June 3, 2004 8:27 AM CDT
We had Abe's counts checked here at the clinic yesterday. His ANC wasn't high enough yet to start his next chemo. They'll check counts again on Monday morning and he'll start his treatment on Wednesday if his ANC is up to 1000. Our nurse said that it's normal for his counts to take a couple of weeks to recover after the chemo he just finished. All of his other blood counts looked OK, his hemoglobin and his platelets were both up which is good. It'll be nice to have some extra days at home this week while we wait for his numbers to go up.
Abe has been feeling pretty good, just a little more tired out. He usually takes a long nap every day. But he still has lots of energy to play outside and ride his bike. He has discovered water balloons this week and likes to stand on the deck and throw them at Isaac. Good thing they both think it's fun! Ben and Isaac both have colds right now, hopefully Abe won't catch it.
Thanks for keeping Abe in your thoughts.
The Fagerstrom's
Wednesday, May 26, 2004 11:10 AM CDT
Abe is having a good week. He has more energy than last week and his appetite has been better, too. It has been great to be at home - the kids love it!
We had Abe's counts checked here at the oncology clinic last Friday. The nurses are so great with Abe, he's getting used to going there so it's not quite as traumatic. He still fights it, but not like he did at first. We're glad they are able to access his port and check counts here during the times when he's on a break from chemo in the cities. It saves us a lot of driving. His counts looked good, except his hemoglobin was low. He won't need a transfusion unless it goes down more. Hopefully it will have gone up when they check next week. His ANC was at 570, which is good considering the intense chemo he just finished. They'll check his counts again on June 2nd in Bemidji - if his ANC is up to 1000 he'll start his next phase of chemo on June 4th. It's been nice to have a little break from all of the meds. Right now he just has the daily antibiotic (this is one he'll have to take the whole three years of treatment) and breathing treatments twice a day.
Hope everyone has a nice Memorial Day - we're looking forward to seeing family this weekend. Isaac has only two days left of school and can hardly wait for summer. His class is going bowling today and to the State Park for a picnic tomorrow. Ben has really started talking a lot and is busy following his big brothers around.
Thanks for checking in! The Fagerstrom's
Monday, May 17, 2004 4:56 PM CDT
We're all back in Bemidji! Abe was so excited to come home - he was really homesick last week. Even though we did some fun things in the cities, there is nothing better than being in your own house. Abe had his clinic appointment at Children's on Friday, he had more IV chemo and they left his port accessed again so we could give him the four days of IV med. at home. He is also taking some oral chemo at home for the rest of the week. He's getting tired of taking all of the meds., but is still doing a great job.
His appetite has been much better the last couple of days. He ate a whole peanut butter sandwich and a hot dog last night! The last couple of weeks he has only eaten a bite here and there except maybe a few good days. So it's nice to see him eating a few things. His favorites are still black olives, apples and sticky rice :)
Abe seems to be feeling OK this week. He's been pretty grumpy today so I think maybe he's feeling the effects of the chemo. He's usually such a happy little guy. We've been trying to get outside as much as possible, keeping him active is supposed to help with the side effects. He REALLY loves his new bike. He spends a lot of his time trying to keep it away from Ben! Isaac had a fun weekend, he got to go to a birthday party on Saturday and have a sleepover at his cousin's house.
We'll have his counts checked here in Bemidji on Friday to see where he's at. We hope to be able to be at home for a couple of weeks now - his next chemo in Minneapolis will start after his ANC is back up to 1000. It's pretty low right now, which is what the chemo is supposed to do. He is at a higher risk for infection now, so hopefully we can keep him healthy and won't have to go to the cities until he's ready to start the next phase.
Thanks to everyone who helped us out the last couple of weeks - we appreciate it!! I've added some new pictures to the photo album - now I just need to figure out how to make them a little smaller!
Kelly, Al, Isaac, Abe and Ben
Sunday, May 9, 2004 10:29 PM CDT
Happy Mothers' Day to all the moms who read this!! We had a good day here at the RMH. Al and the boys made me breakfast this morning, it was so nice - kind of felt like a Sunday morning at home. They also served a brunch here at the RMH and gave each mom a bracelet with their kids' names on them. We took the kids to the park and out for a DQ this afternoon. It was really warm here today, in the 80's. The weather got pretty nasty here tonight - everyone in the house had to eat their dinner in the basement because of tornado warnings. So we had a busy day.
Sorry I haven't been able to update sooner, have been having some problems connecting on the internet on the computers here. Looks like they've got it figured out now. Abe is doing well. His counts had gone up last Tuesday when they checked. They think that the antibiotic we give him 2 days a week may have been keeping his counts down, some kids' bone marrow is more sensitive to it. So they switched to a different antibiotic that he'll have to have every day from now on. Hopefully this will make a difference in his counts. They also said he might have been fighting off some type of virus. Anyway, we're glad his counts were up and they started his chemo on Friday.
He had chemo in his spine on Friday, and also two different kinds IV through his port. They left his port accessed so that we could give him one of the chemo drugs here at the RMH IV for four days. This is a first for us, but we're getting the hang of it. (I think Al is a better nurse than I am!) Abe does really well with this, but he'll be glad when we can take the needle out of his port tomorrow. It can't get wet and he has to be kind of careful with it in. He also has some oral chemo to take for two weeks, so the meds. have been a lot of work for him. We do it about four times a day. He has been great with all of this and still has lots of time to play and have fun. We took the kids to Como Park Zoo on one of Abe's days off last week. They had a good time looking at all of the animals and going on some rides. We hope to do more of that this summer when have to be down here.
Abe hasn't had too many side effects yet from the meds. but we know they will come soon. This is the intense part of his treatment and his counts will bottom out in the next week or two. Al is going to go back to Bemidji tomorrow with Isaac and Ben. It's been nice to have the whole family down here. He'll come back at the end of the week and I'll go home. Abe needs to be down here until early next week sometime. He has a clinic appt. on Friday for some more chemo and then will stay accessed so that we can do another four days IV chemo here at the RMH.
We're looking forward to being back home in about a week. Abe can't wait to be in his own house! Thanks for keeping him in your thoughts.
Kelly, Al, Isaac, Abe and Ben
Monday, May 3, 2004 9:08 PM CDT
We had Abe's counts checked on Friday, they still weren't high enough to start his chemo. His ANC was down to 21 again. We came down to Minneapolis yesterday because they wanted to do a bone marrow biopsy early this morning. They called this afternoon with the results and said everything looked fine. This is such a relief to us - we have been really worried about the low counts and what might be causing them to stay down for so long. We still don't know what the cause is, but are happy that the number of leukemia cells in his bone marrow hasn't increased. They did a few more blood tests this morning to try and find out what's going on, it's possible he might have some kind of a virus. We will go to the clinic here tomorrow to have his counts checked and hopefully we'll know more then.
We stayed at Auntie Linda's house last night, Isaac and Abe really had fun there. Ben is at home in Bemidji with Grandma Rose for a few days, we're not sure yet how long we'll be in Minneapolis. We sure miss him!! The boys brought their new bikes with, they just couldn't leave them at home. Abe likes to show the nurses a picture of him riding his new blue bike, it has the loudest horn and he is so proud! After we were done at the hospital today we found a nice park by Linda's house so the kids could play and ride bike. Tonight we're staying at the Ronald McDonald House, Isaac already found his buddy Tobey. We'll try and update in a couple days when we know more.
I hope to put some new pictures on this week. Thanks for checking Abe's site.
Abe and family
Monday, April 26, 2004 12:59 AM CDT
Just wanted to add a quick update today - we had Abe's counts checked on Friday and they were still not high enough to start the next phase of chemo. His ANC was a little lower than it had been the week before. It needs to be up to 1000 to start, it was somewhere between 300 and 400. We're not sure what's causing it to stay so low, all of his other counts looked pretty good. We'll go in on Friday and have them checked again here in Bemidji. If his ANC is up to where it needs to be, he'll start his next treatment on Monday the 3rd. The doctor said if it is still low when we check on Friday they will do another bone marrow test to see what's going on. So either way we will be going down to the cities on Sunday the 2nd. Hopefully his counts will be up, he's about two weeks behind on his chemo now.
Abe has been feeling good the last couple of weeks. He is sitting with me right now and asked me to type HELLO TO ALL OF THE PEOPLE:) He loves to see his picture on the screen. He has been busy learning new knock-knock jokes this week, Isaac bought him a Scooby Doo joke book.
He has been doing a great job with his oral meds. He is so proud of himself! We've been having a hard time getting him to eat anything the past week. He only has a few things that he'll eat. He tries to eat all kinds of different foods that I make for him but takes one bite and says it tastes "horrible". Hopefully food will start tasting better to him soon.
Thanks for keeping Abe in your thoughts. I'll update later this week after we have his counts checked.
The Fagerstrom's
Wednesday, April 21, 2004 6:25 PM CDT
We had Abe's counts checked again last Friday, they still weren't high enough to start his next phase of chemo. His ANC was up to 480, which was better than the last time. It's just taking his body a little longer to recover, they said this is fine as long as they keep going up each time. All of his other counts looked fine which was a relief. We were a little worried that he might have some kind of an infection. We'll take him in again on Friday to check counts and hopefully his ANC will be up to 1000. The nurses here at the clinic have been so good with him and are able to access his port so they don't have to use his arm anymore for blood draws. He doesn't always cooperate with them though, it's still hard for him. Especially since he's gotten so used to the oncology clinic at Children's. We'll be glad when we don't have to get counts checked so often.
Abe has been doing pretty well this week. His cough is gone and his mood has been much better. I think the effects of the steroids are getting out of his system. His face and stomach are still pretty puffy, this takes a little longer to go away. It's been nice to be home the last couple of weeks. We try and keep him home except for the weekly appointments at the clinic here. He's getting a little bored with not being able to go anywhere or have kids over to play. We have been playing outside quite a bit ~ except for the days Abe is too tired out. Isaac and Ben keep him pretty busy, I think Ben would live outside if we would let him! Isaac is excited for a field trip and carnival at school on Friday.
Abe will start his next chemo on Monday the 26th if things look OK on Friday. Once we start this phase we'll have to be in Minneapolis for about two weeks. Please keep him in your thoughts, the next month will be kind of rough.
Thanks for checking Abe's site and for your support.
Kelly, Al, Isaac, Abe and Ben
Monday, April 12, 2004 11:29 AM CDT
Hope everyone had a Happy Easter! We had a good day, we spent most of the day at our house. I also got to visit with my family at my sister's for awhile. The boys were so excited for the Easter Bunny to come ~ Isaac got up at 4:30 a.m. and was ready to hunt for eggs. I did convince him to go back to sleep for a little bit, but our day started very early!
We had Abe's counts checked on Friday to see if he would start treatment today but they were way too low. His ANC had gone down to 36. They said it was probably still that low because he is fighting another cold right now, and from the strong chemo he had a couple weeks ago. We didn't expect his ANC to be at 1000 yet, but they said by the end of this week it should be up some. We'll go in again this Friday and have more bloodwork done at the hospital in Bemidji. He'll start his next chemo on the 20th if his counts are up to where they need to be. We were a little relieved that he didn't have to start the next phase today. He is still pretty run down from the last part of his treatment. Hopefully he can just rest up this week and be at home. His temperature has gone up a few times, but luckily not too high and it's been going back down on its own. We just have to watch him more closely now and make sure he wears his mask when we go anywhere. We don't go out much with him unless we have to.
We finished the last dose of steroids about a week ago, so hopefully they will be out of his system soon. They say it could take a couple of weeks at least. The last few weeks have been pretty tough for Abe, the more intense chemo plus the steroids at home have been hard on his little body. Even through all of this he still has such a great attitude. He loves to play outside when it is warm enough and he rides his trike to the bus stop to meet Isaac almost every day after school.
Thanks for keeping us in your thoughts.
Abe and family
Tuesday, March 30, 2004 9:33 PM CST
Abe had his treatment yesterday, they gave him the same two chemo drugs IV through his port like last week. He and Al came home this afternoon. Things went OK for him, Al said it was quite a struggle for them to access his port this time. The steroids he's taking really change his personality and he doesn't like being accessed to begin with. Hopefully this will get easier for him (and his nurse!) His last day of the steroids this time around is on Sunday. It'll take a few weeks after that for the effects to get out of his system.
His counts are very low right now, his ANC was 90. He needs to wear a mask when he's out now since the risk of infection is really high. His counts will be low now for the next several weeks, they're supposed to be that way during this part of his treatment. This means the chemo is working and he is responding well. Even though it is hard to see him go through all of this, we know it's the only way to get him better. He won't have any chemo for two weeks, they need to give his body a chance to recover a little before they start with more treatment. It'll be nice for him to be at home for a longer stretch - he is getting tired of the trips back and forth, it's a long ride for him. We'll get his counts checked in Bemidji on April 9th to see when he'll start back up again. His ANC needs to be up to 1000.
Abe's cough is better so they cut down the breathing treatments to twice a day. He's been doing a great job taking his oral meds. at home - especially when daddy gives him quarters! The kids are looking forward to Easter and we're hoping to be here at home that weekend. Thanks again for keeping Abe in your thoughts and prayers, we appreciate it.
Kelly, Al, Isaac, Abe and Ben
Thursday, March 25, 2004 1:39 PM CST
Abe's treatment went well on Monday morning. He had two chemo drugs through his port. They could do this right at the oncology clinic at Children's since he didn't have to have any in his spine this week. He was feeling pretty good after his chemo and really wanted to come home so he and Al came back to Bemidji Monday night. Isaac, Ben and I came home on Sunday.
Abe has still been coughing and wheezing quite a bit. His doctor was a little concerned about this so he put him on another antibiotic for the week. He's hoping to prevent pneumonia by doing this since Abe's counts will be real low for several weeks now. We're hoping this will work and that his cough doesn't get worse, we also need to check his temperature more often to make sure he doesn't run a fever. Still doing the breathing treatments every four hours, he's getting used to those.
We're starting to see a few more side effects from the meds. He is usually pretty happy and playful, but has been more irritable this week. He seems to be more uncomfortable and tired out. The steroids are causing some mood swings again. He gets pretty grumpy at his brothers especially, we're trying to help them understand that he can't help it but it's hard for them. Luckily it isn't all day long, usually comes and goes and doesn't last too long. The steroids also make him restless at night and very hungry. It's great that his appetite is back for awhile, but it's hard to keep up to him sometimes!
Abe is so glad to be home after spending over a week in Minneapolis. He got really homesick this time, the days get long there. He kept reminding us that we don't live there. We tried to keep him busy, the weather was nice so we played outside a lot and went for walks. The kids played bingo at the R/McD house on Thursday night, Isaac won a prize for each of them. He really had a good time and got to do some fun things with Al over the weekend.
Abe will have his next treatment on Monday the 29th, so we'll go down on Sunday and hopefully be back home sometime that week. Thanks for your support and for checking Abe's website. I'll be putting some new pictures on here sometime this week as soon as I can figure out how to scan them!
Thanks, The Fagerstrom's
Wednesday, March 17, 2004 10:57 PM CST
Happy St. Patrick's Day! Abe started his next phase of treatment on Monday morning, his counts were finally high enough to go ahead with things. He had chemo in his spine and also had two other drugs IV through his port. One of the chemo drugs is new to him and is stronger than what he's had in the past. So we're watching out for some different side effects and also giving him a med. called Zophran for nausea. It seems to help, he hasn't had any vomitting the last few days. We started the steroids again yesterday too, this is a twice a day oral dose at home. We need to give another med. with it (Zantac) because steroids can affect his stomach.
Abe has had a cough for a few weeks and was wheezing quite a bit when they listened on Monday. They weren't sure about putting him under because of this, but after giving him a breathing treatment they decided it would be alright. Things went well for him, they give the medicine to sedate him through his port so he isn't awake for any of the spinal procedure. He still has a hard time when they access his port and also when they take the needle out when he's done. Abe says that's the yucky part. He does such a great job considering all he has to go through.
We have made a little progress on taking oral meds., sometimes he says he wants to do it the "easy way" and he'll take it without spitting it out. And other times, like today, it is a real struggle for him and we have to hold him down to get it in. Hope he keeps trying to do it the easy way because he'll have a lot of meds. to take at home in the next two months. I just need to make sure the prize box is full of things he likes!
They have increased his breathing treatments to every four hours because of his cough and wheezing. Hope he gets over this soon so that we don't have to do these so often. The albuterol makes him kind of jittery and the treatment runs almost 30 minutes.
Tomorrow morning Abe will have a shot (Pegaspargase) in each leg, they will do this at the clinic here at Children's. His next chemo treatment will be on Monday so he will need to be here in Minneapolis until sometime next week. Hopefully he will be doing well and will be able to go home after his treatment. Abe and I have been down here since Saturday. He likes staying at the R/McD house, but every day he says he wishes he could be at his own house. Al came tonight with Isaac and Ben, we were so excited to see them! Abe gave some great big hugs when they got here. We've gotten to see Auntie Linda the last few days, Abe loves to spend time with her. She always makes our time down here more fun - we're lucky to have her so close by.
Thanks for taking the time to check on Abe's progress, we really appreciate it. I'll try and update again after the weekend. Keep Abe in your thoughts.
Kelly, Al, Isaac, Abe and Ben
Monday, March 8, 2004 10:45 PM CST
Al and Abe went down to Minneapolis this morning, he was scheduled to start his next phase of treatment tomorrow morning. They checked his blood counts at the clinic there today and his absolute neutrophil count was not high enough to go ahead with treatment yet. His ANC needs to be at least 1000 to continue, they said that his cold is probably the reason his counts aren't back up to where they need to be. We will have his counts checked again on Friday to see if they have gone up enough to start the next part of his treatment, which is called delayed intensification. Hopefully he will be ready and we will be able to start on Monday the 15th.
Abe's cold seems to be getting better and he has been feeling pretty good this week. We've had a two week break from chemo and it has been nice to just be at home. We know in the next two months we will be making many trips back and forth to treatment and also staying at the Ronald McDonald house quite a bit too. Hopefully we can keep things as normal as we can for Isaac and Ben, with one of us being at home as much as possible. They are adjusting well to all of the changes.
The kids got a chance to play with their cousins Kenzie and Tanner over the weekend (one of their favorite things to do!) We also got to watch Tanner play hockey at his tournament on Saturday. Abe had a great time, he hasn't gotten out much this winter. He has been busy learning more knock-knock jokes to tell to his nurses. He loves to make people laugh and is very good at it!
Thanks again for taking the time to read our updates. Please keep Abe in your prayers as he starts this difficult part of his treatment.
Kelly, Al, Isaac, Abe and Ben
Thursday, February 26, 2004 1:46 PM CST
Abe had his treatment on Monday and everything went well. His blood counts were right where they should be now. His ear infection is gone so now we're back to just the two day a week antibiotic that helps to protect him from pneumonia and other bacterial infections. He did such a great job at the clinic, there are lots of cool toys to play with while we wait. It is still very hard for him when they access his port, but it is usually a quick process. He was dancing for his nurse and telling her stories, and they even put some snakes and lizards in the doctor's hair without him knowing! Abe thought that was pretty funny.
Last week was kind of rough at our house - all three of the boys had the stomach flu each on different days. Luckily they were all over it after about a day of vomitting each. This week Abe and Ben have yucky colds/coughs. Abe's lungs sounded good when the doctor listened on Monday. We're hoping he can get over this on his own. Hopefully soon it will be warm enough so we can open the windows and get all of the germs out of here! There is so much going around this time of year.
Abe's next phase of treatment will start on March 9th. The next two months will be more difficult for him. This treatment will be more intense and we will be spending more time in Minneapolis. This will mean he'll be back on the steroids for awhile along with some other chemo drugs he hasn't had yet.
He has been doing pretty well with the side effects, has only vomitted a few times and his appetite has been OK. He is such a tough little guy and doesn't really complain about anything. He is happy just to be at home and play with his brothers.
We'll try and update more often as Abe starts his new treatment. Keep Abe in your thoughts.
Kelly, Al, Isaac, Abe and Ben
Monday, February 16, 2004 10:40 AM CST
Al and Grandma Rose took Abe to the cities last Thursday for his treatment. His appointment was at 7:30 Friday morning. Things went well with his treatment, his ANC was high enough so they could give him all of the meds. he was supposed to have. He got two different kinds IV through his port and one in his spine so they put him under. They adjusted the dose of methotrexate this time. They want the counts to go down like they are supposed to, but then recover by the next appointment in ten days. He hasn't had too many side effects this time other than decreased appetite.
Abe has an ear infection right now, so they added another antibiotic that he will take for ten days. Hopefully this will take care of it so we can go back to just the two day a week antibiotic. Oral medicines are still very hard for Abe, we struggle every time. A bone marrow test was also done on Friday to make sure he is responding to the chemo - the results were good. The percentage of blast cells was still low, which was what we wanted to hear.
Abe had a good time at the R/McD house, they played bingo on Thursday night. He and Grandma each won a prize and he was pretty excited about that! It's always fun to be there on bingo night - they have great prizes for the kids. His next treatment is a week from today.
Isaac had strep throat last week so he had to miss a few days of school :( But he made it back in time for the Valentine's party so he was happy about that! No one else in the family got strep, and Abe was already on antibiotics for the ear infection so they didn't even test him for it. My mom came and stayed with us last week, it was so nice to have her here.
We would like to thank everyone who worked so hard in putting the benefit together. And thanks to those who attended or have sent us cards. We are so grateful for the support we have received from the whole community. This is such a difficult time in our lives, it really helps us to know that we are not alone in this.
Thanks again, Kelly, Al, Isaac, Abe and Ben
Thursday, February 5, 2004 2:24 PM CST
Abe is doing well - Al and I took him to Minneapolis on Sunday. On Monday morning he had part of his treatment, but his ANC was still too low to give him the second medicine he was supposed to have. It had gone up some since last time, but needs to be at least 1000 to get the methotrexate. Right now it's at 600, so hopefully it will have gone up by next Thursday. The doctor said that this happens and all kids respond differently to chemo, and that they may adjust the dose of this med. next time he gets it. If his ANC isn't where it should be by his next appointment they will do a bone marrow test to see what is going on. He will also get chemo in his spine next week, they will put him under for the procedure.
Abe did such a great job with his treatment. He has a wonderful nurse and he is getting used to whole process of going to the oncology clinic at Children's. He still has a hard time when they access his port, hopefully in time this won't be so scary for him. His nurse is very fast at accessing him, and we put cream on ahead of time to numb his skin so he can't feel the needle going in. He still brings his snakes and frogs to every appointment to scare the doctor!
Abe likes staying at the Ronald McDonald House - his favorite thing to do there is play pool with daddy. He also has fun playing with his little friend BryAnna. We ended up staying an extra night this time because of the big snow storm in the cities so we got back to Bemidji on Tuesday afternoon.
Abe seems to be feeling good, and has been eating pretty well. He still only has a few favorites that taste good to him, but at least he is eating. Isaac is busy with school and playing with friends, and Ben just loves to follow his brothers around :) We're looking forward to the benefit on Sunday and hope to bring Abe for a little bit too if he is feeling well. Thanks again for all of the support, we appreciate it.
Kelly, Al, Isaac, Abe and Ben
Monday, January 26, 2004 12:43 AM CST
Al and Abe went back down to the cities on Thursday for his treatment, he gets two different medicines through his port every ten days - Vincristine and Methotrexate. They weren't able to give him the second one because his ANC was too low. (absolute neutrophil count) When this count is low he is more at risk to get an infection so he needs to wear a mask when he is out of the house. They said this is normal for this point in Abe's treatment, he will get both meds. in one week when we take him down for his next chemo.
Abe seems to be feeling pretty good, his appetite is better than it was last week. He had gained a little bit of weight last time. We're happy that he wants to eat without having to give him the appetite stimulant. He has been more tired out this week and usually takes a long nap during the day. He has been busy playing with Isaac and Ben, doing magic tricks for us and telling knock knock jokes:) It's great to have his funny little personality back.
His walking is really coming along, he's getting pretty fast! We're hoping he can start back with his physical therapy here in Bemidji soon. He's only been once since we've been back because his counts are low and we're trying not to take him out unless we have to.
Thanks for checking in on us - we look forward to reading the guestbook every day. Hope everyone is staying warm!!
Abe and family
Tuesday, January 20, 2004 12:28 AM CST
Abe had physical therapy here in Bemidji on Friday, he really liked it. They have a nice pediatric facility here and he will go about once a week. They have also given us some things to work on with him at home. He is doing a great job walking, but not back to normal yet. His ankles are still pretty stiff, especially his left one - and his little legs get tired out easily. He really gets around though and wants to do EVERYTHING by himself!
Abe still doesn't have much of an appetite. It's gotten a little better the last few days and the med. that was perscribed for this helps some too. He has a few foods that taste good to him, so we make sure we have them on hand. (mozzerella cheese and black olives)
On Thursday Al will take him down to Minneapolis for his treatment and they will come back home sometime on Friday. Hopefully it will go well like last time. Abe asks a lot of questions about going to the doctor. We always try to let him know what's going to happen ahead of time. It seems to help him when he knows what to expect. When they got back home last week I asked him how it went and he said, "It wasn't so bad at the doctor." He is handling all of this very well and we are so proud of him.
Last Saturday we went up to Littlefork for a spaghetti dinner they had at the Lutheran church for Abe. It was nice to be back in my hometown and to see so many people there supporting us. We want to thank everyone who worked so hard to plan the dinner and also everyone who attended or sent cards for us. We really appreciate it!
We're hoping the weather warms up soon so that the kids can play outside. Abe loves to play in the snow and begs to go out every day but it's been too cold. Please keep him in your prayers. Thanks - Kelly, Al, Isaac, Abe and Ben
Thursday, January 15, 2004 12:36 AM CST
Things are going well for Abe, he has been walking! He's not back to normal speed yet, but he sure is trying. His legs still get pretty tired out so he does crawl sometimes, too. It is so great to see him walking around the house - he is so proud of himself!
He and Al went back to Minneapolis on Sunday so that he could have his treatment on Monday morning. Everything went well with that, he will have his chemo treatment every ten days now. They said he will probably have more nausea this month, but we can give him something called Zophran to help with this. He doesn't feel like eating much and had lost a little bit of weight since early December so we will start giving him an appetite stimulant at home. Hopefully he can start eating better soon. He will start physical therapy here in Bemidji tomorrow so that he can get some of the strength back in his legs. We're hoping he likes this as much as his "swimming lessons" in Minneapolis.
Abe is so happy to be at home and doesn't seem to mind when we have to take him back to the cities. He talks about the Ronald McDonald House a lot and really likes staying there. Isaac is glad to be back at school and is doing well. Grandma Mary has been staying with us this week, it has been so nice to have her here. The kids don't want her to leave this weekend. Al went back to work this week and we are slowly trying to get back to normal as best we can. We appreciate all of your support - THANK YOU! Keep Abe in your thoughts, Kelly, Al, Isaac, Abe and Ben
Wednesday, January 7, 2004 11:49 PM CST
Our week at home went well, Abe seems to be feeling pretty good. He is also more active when he is at home, lots of stairs to crawl up and down. He is trying very hard to keep up to his brothers. It is so great to see him moving around. He isn't walking yet, but he is trying to take some steps and climbing up on things, too.
We took Abe back to Minneapolis on Sunday, Isaac and Ben stayed home in Bemidji with Grandma Rose. On Monday Abe had his spinal chemo at the hospital. Everything went well, he is such a brave little boy and hardly cried at all this time. He was even trying to scare the nurses with his frogs and snakes! The next phase of his treatment will start on Monday, he will be getting chemo every ten days for the next two months. He will get two chemo drugs IV form through his port. He has had both of these drugs already so we know what kind of side effects to expect. After Monday we won't have to give him the oral chemo at home for the next two months. We will still give him an antibiotic two times a week. It will be nice to have a break from the daily oral meds- Abe really doesn't like that part and he lets us know often!
On Tuesday we packed up all of our stuff and moved out of the Ronald McDonald House. It will be great for the kids to try and get back to our normal routine. Hopefully things will go well and we can stay at home as much as possible throughout the next months. All of Abe's treatment will be in Minneapolis at Children's Hospital, so we will drive back and forth quite a bit and still be able to stay at the Ronald McDonald House when we need to.
Isaac started back at school here in Bemidji today, he was so excited to see all of his friends and his teacher. It was fun to see all of those smiling faces in his class! Ben is adjusting well to being at home, he keeps us all busy especially his older brothers. Keep Abe in your prayers- we're hoping he can stay healthy with all of the stuff that is going around this time of year.
Thanks, The Fagerstrom's
Tuesday, December 30, 2003 11:08 PM CST
Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas. Ours was nice, we spent Christmas at the Ronald McDonald House. They served a great dinner on Xmas eve and then Santa delivered presents to all of the families. It was a fun night, the kids had a good time opening all of their gifts. On Christmas day they were so happy just to hang out in their pajamas and play with all of their new things.
On Friday morning Abe was supposed to have his weekly chemo in his spine, but they could hear some wheezing when they checked his lungs so they didn't want to put him under. They took a chest xray and everything looked OK with that. They also gave us the OK to bring him home to Bemidji for a few days! We got home Friday night and had a chance to spend some time with family over the weekend, it was great. Abe was so excited to be in his own house, he wanted to check out his room and read all of his favorite books. Isaac and Ben were glad to be home,too. The kids played with all of their cousins this weekend. Taia, Kira, Uncle Kevin and Aunt Ginny were at Grandma Rose and Grandpa Jerry's house. And Uncle Brian and two Aunt Missys were there, too. We also got to see cousins Kenzie and Tanner and Auntie Marci. It was so nice to visit with everyone.
They had rescheduled Abe's chemo for Monday morning, so Al took him back to Minneapolis on Sunday. Isaac, Ben and I stayed here in Bemidji-Ike is on break from school and we thought they needed some time at home. This also gave me a chance to get some things done around the house. They were able to give Abe his chemo yesterday. They did the procedure in the operating room this time to watch him more closely because of his wheezing. Things went well for him, and we're hoping that the asthma-like symptoms will go away so this won't be a worry when they put him under. Other than that, he is doing well. We still give him oral chemo every day at home, and two breathing treatments. The oral meds are a challenge, he still fights it every time. He is a fiesty little guy!
Al brought him back home today, kind of on a trial basis. We are going to see how it goes for him being at home this week. Hopefully he will continue to do well so that we can think about moving back! We are still just taking it one day at a time. We will be going back to the cities on Sunday, Abe will have his spinal chemo again on Monday morning. We will also find out that day the treatment plan for the next three years. We appreciate all of the support, keep Abe in your thoughts and prayers. Happy New Year! Kelly, Al, Isaac, Abe and Ben
Wednesday, December 24, 2003 4:18 PM CST
Merry Christmas! Hope everyone has a nice holiday season. Abe, Isaac and Ben are anxiously waiting for Santa to come tonight. Abe opened a present already this morning while I wasn't looking - he just couldn't wait:) Of course we let the other boys open one, too! It's so great to see him acting more like himself. His mood has been great this past week, lots of smiles and laughs. He has also been trying to stand quite a bit, even trying to walk a little along the couch. We're so glad he wants to move around some, having his brothers to play with really helps.
His oral medications have still been a struggle, but its getting better. At least he is not spitting them out anymore. He is such a little trooper. His hair has thinned out quite a bit, especially being in the pool three times a week for physical therapy.
It's been a pretty quiet day here, but tonight should be fun for the kids. Santa will come after dinner and deliver presents to all of the families. They have had a lot of things going on for Christmas this week. We're going down to the kitchen now to bake some cookies for Santa. Happy Holidays! Love, Kelly, Al, Isaac, Abe and Ben
Saturday, December 20, 2003 11:14 AM CST
Abe is 3 years old today! He is having a great day so far, he woke up with a big smile on his face this morning. He opened a few presents already and is excited for the day. His brother Isaac turned 7 yesterday and his cousin Tanner's birthday is today, too. So we will be having a party for all three of them this afternoon at the R/McD house. We're all looking forward to a fun weekend.
Abe has been doing pretty well with the new oral chemo every day. There will be one day a week when he gets a dose and a half, and he did have some vomitting with that. The doctor told us to let them know if this continues and maybe they can adjust the dose. Other than that, he seems to be doing OK with it. Al took him in yesterday for his weekly chemo in his spine. His hemoglobin was low again so they gave him a transfusion while they were there. He does well with that, hasn't had any reactions to it so far. We got the results from last Friday's bone marrow test, there were less than 1 last cells which is great - we are so thankful for that. The doctor said the treatment is going well and his numbers are where they should be right now.
Abe had three days of physical therapy in the pool this week. He looks forward to his "swimming lessons" and is doing great work there. We had the kids down in the gym last night and Abe was standing while he held on to something! He stood there for quite a while, he was so proud of himself and smiling the whole time. It was great to see him standing, he hasn't done this for a couple of months. We've been busy getting ready for birthdays and Christmas, and are looking forward to seeing family and friends. We will be here for the holidays. Keep thinking of our little Abe, we really appreciate all of the support. Love, Kelly, Al, Isaac, Abe and Ben
Monday, December 15, 2003 9:18 PM CST
Abe had a good day today. His mood has improved since he has been off the steroids, and each day his face is a little less puffy. He was more active today than he has been in a long time, it's great to see him want to play with his brothers and his toys. Al took him to his second day of physical therapy in the pool today. He did really well- Al is so good with him, he got him to walk on his own in the water without holding on to anything. He was kicking his legs,too. The physical therapist was very impressed with his progress from last Thursday. Al said he had a smile on his face almost the whole hour they were there! I am so glad that he is enjoying this, he calls it his swimming lessons. He also wanted to ride his trike today-he peddled down to the game room twice to play pool with daddy. He likes to ride it on the elevator. His legs got pretty tired by the time he was on his way back to our room, but we're so happy he is able to ride it. He hasn't walked or stood on his own yet out of the pool, but our hope is that he will be strong enough to do this soon.
He started a new oral chemo drug which we give him every day, this will continue for the next four weeks. He will also get chemo in his spine every Friday for the next month, he is always asleep when they do this. The chemo still makes him tired out, we haven't seen too many side effects with the new drug yet (it's called 6-MP). He does complain that his stomach hurts sometimes and both of the chemo drugs he is taking now will cause more hair loss. We are still waiting for the results of Friday's bone marrow test, we hope to hear tomorrow.
Isaac, Ben and I went to Bemidji on Sat. for Ike's birthday party. Isaac had a great time and got to see a lot of his friends that he has been missing so much. It was a fun day, I got a chance to visit with a lot of my friends and family, too. We really needed a day at home. It was hard for the kids to leave when we had to head back to Mpls. yesterday, but they missed Abe and daddy too.
Abe has a cold again, but no signs of any wheezing or fever so far. Hopefully he can get over this on his own without having to be in the hospital. We are still giving him two breathing treatments every day with albuterol and pulmacourt. Please keep Abe in your prayers. Your support keeps us going- Thank you. Love, Kelly, Al, Isaac, Abe and Ben
Monday, December 8, 2003 9:30 PM CST
We've had a pretty quiet weekend here. Abe is doing well, he still has very little energy from the chemo. Hopefully the next couple of days he will be feeling a little better. Usually Wednesdays and Thursdays are pretty good days for him and then he will have chemo again on Friday. He will also have another bone marrow test this Friday, we are anxious to find out the results of this after being treated for a month. We will find out more towards the end of the week what Abe's treatment schedule will be like for the next month, and the next three years after that.
The steroids he has had to have every day this month have made him hungry. He is usually up every night from about 3-5:00am because he is so hungry. He has quite an appetite. The steroids have also made his face a little puffy and he's pretty iritable. This Friday will be the last day for the everyday dose of steroids for awhile. The doctors say that these side effects should go away a week or so after he is off from them. Am glad to be done with the steroids for awhile, it would be nice for him to be able to get some rest at night. And his mood should improve a lot too. He hasn't had any nausea yet from the chemo (Vincristine), but he has started to lose some hair. The oral meds we give him twice a day have still been a struggle for him, but it is slowly getting better.
Isaac and I went out tonight and picked up some supplies for his and Abe's upcoming birthdays. It's nice for him to have a distraction, he is pretty excited and can't wait to be in Bemidji for a few days. Ben is doing well here, but he has fun no matter where he is! He is a very busy boy as most of you already know.
Will try to update this week as we find out more information about Abe's treatment plans. Thanks again for everything, we are lucky to have so many people we can count on for support. Kelly, Al, Isaac, Abe and Ben
Friday, December 5, 2003 8:40 PM CST
Abe had a pretty good week, his cough is better and hasn't had any high temperatures so far since we've been back at the R/McD house. Wednesday and Thursday he perked up quite a bit, we even saw some smiles and laughs. Yesterday he wanted to go for a ride in the stroller, so I took him for a walk around the block and we sat outside for awhile. They have some nice outside play equipment here and not much snow yet. He didn't want to get out of the stroller, but it was good that he wanted to be outside. He isn't walking yet, it's been over a month since he's done that and his ankles are weak so he's afraid to put a lot of weight on them. Hopefully with some physical therapy he will be able to try soon.
Al took him to his appointment at the clinic this morning for his weekly chemo. He also saw his doctor, they did some more bloodwork and things look fine with his blood counts. His hemoglobin was down just a little, but still OK. The chemo usually slows him down for 2 to 3 days, he gets pretty tired out. One of his counts called the ANC was up quite a bit which is great. Last week, when it was really low he had to wear a mask when he was outside of his room. The risk of infection is very high when his ANC is below 200. When it is high like it is now he is able to be out and around other people.
Isaac and I are going to bake some cookies tonight and go down to the game room. Thanks for checking in on us and keep Abe in your thoughts and prayers. Kelly, Al and family
Tuesday, December 2, 2003 4:41 PM CST
Abe is back with us at the Ronald McDonald house-they let him out of the hospital yesterday afternoon. He spent five days there because of his wheezing and high temp., and he's glad to be back with us here. We will continue with the medicines in the nebulizer two times a day from now on, this will hopefully prevent any future breathing problems with his colds. He has still been pretty tired out, and hasn't wanted to move around much. Al brought him a trike last night and we're hoping to get him on that as much as possible here. We will also start with some physical therapy again at the hospital soon. His appetite has still been good, he is on a peanutbutter sandwich kick now. One night in the hospital I made him three sandwiches and he was still hungry!
His mood seems to pick up a little when his brothers are around- every once in awhile he'll honk one of their noses. It's great to see his funny little personality coming through - he is so sweet. Isaac started school here today and really liked it. He still misses his class and teacher in Bemidji, but he knows he'll be going back when Abe is a little better. Thanks again for all of the support we have received, it makes each day a little easier to get through. I print out the guestbook messages and keep them in a book along with all of the cards we have gotten. It will be something to keep and look back on when we are through all of this. I added a picture of Ben in the photo album if you want to take a look. Had to try and keep him still long enough to take it! Keep Abe in your thoughts and prayers. Love, Kelly, Al, Isaac, Abe and Ben
Friday, November 28, 2003 9:43 PM CST
hi everyone,today was a better day then 27 nov. abe is still in hospital. he had another chemo today as well as a bone marrow,all went well. his prelimenary bone marrow came back at 4%. which means that there is only 4% cancer cells in his marrow, we were extremley happy to herethis as it means he will not have to have another done next week! still having neb treatments every 4 hours but that is the only med that actually provides some relief. everything else has been difficult for him to understand but he is always ready to fight it off. it gives us hope seeing him get ornory. this is the most difficult thing we have ever delt with but all of your support keeps us going, it is extemely appreciated.uncle brian came to town today and is helping out with ike and ben(if you could call having a fart contest help) but as you all know i will win that contest. tomorrow brings another chest xray hopefully it will help find out what is causing his weezing.sorry i can't write more but my 2 finger typing is rusty.thanyou again for the support and remember, we will win this battle.
Thursday, November 27, 2003 2:16 PM CST
Happy Thanksgiving! We're having a pretty quiet day here, just me, Isaac and Ben. Al took Abe to the hospital last night, he hasn't been feeling well the last couple of days. He has a bad cough and was wheezing last night, his temp. was also a little high so the doctor wanted us to bring him in. They needed to give him some more breathing treatments with the albuterol last night and this seems to help him. They did another chest X-ray and his lungs looked OK, no pneumonia or anything like that so that was good. They did start him on some antibiotics right away, and then did some bloodwork to find out what type of an infection it might be. He also had a blood transfusion early this morning, Al said that went fine. That will hopefully make him feel a little better, he had been so tired out with his low hemoglobin. He will probably need more transfusions as time goes on, both blood and platelets. They had told us to be prepared for this. We're not sure yet how long he will be admitted, they have him in a respiratory isolation room for now. Al said he looks much better than he did yesterday. It's hard to be away from him, but I'm glad he will be well taken care of there and will hopefully be back here with us soon.
My aunt Linda came and got me, Isaac and Ben this morning and made us a brunch at her house. It was nice to have a change of scenery. They will also have a big Thanksgiving meal here tonight and she will come and eat with us. It's been so nice to have her so close, she has been a great help to us. We will see more family this weekend, Isaac and Ben are looking forward to that. Thanks for checking in on us and have a happy Thanksgiving!
Kelly, Al and family
Monday, November 24, 2003 10:44 PM CST
Today was kind of a tough day for Abe. He was up almost all night and was pretty tired out today. His cough has gotten worse and he's having some side effects from the chemo he had on Friday. One of the chemo drugs sometimes causes jaw/mouth pain which usually comes on about 2 days after it is given. This, along with his cough, has been hard for him today. We're hoping each day will get better for him this week, it's hard to see him so uncomfortable. We can give him Tylenol to ease it a little, hopefully this will help him sleep.
Al took him to his appointment at the clinic today, and the doctor said his blood counts were about where they should be at this point in his treatment. They also did a chest XRay because of his cough, and this looked OK. Tomorrow we will start using a nebulizer to give him albuterol-this will help with his cough and wheezing. This is something that we're used to because we have one at home that we used when both he and Isaac were younger.
We didn't make it to physical therapy today because the appointment took longer than expected. Hopefully tomorrow Abe will be up for it, it would be great to see him moving around a little more. The steroids he is taking are still making him hungry-and he makes it very clear what it is that he wants! I have learned to make his favorites ahead of time and keep them in our fridge. This way I won't have to come down to the big kitchen late at night and cook pasta and broccoli!
It has been nice to have Isaac and Ben here too. Isaac has been playing with his friend Tobey- they have a favorite game room and that is usually where we find them. Haven't had a chance to play in the snow yet, but hope to get Ben out tomorrow and let him get rid of some of his energy! Keep thinking of Abe and hope that tomorrow is a better day for him. Thanks.
The Fagerstrom's
Sunday, November 23, 2003 10:30 AM CST
Things are going pretty well here at the RonMcD. house. Al went to Bemidji yesterday and picked up Isaac and Ben to bring them here. It is such a good feeling to all be together. Abe was waiting for his brothers all day yesterday and had a big smile when they walked in. He also got see his cousins Kenzie and Tanner-and Auntie Marci and Grandma Mary. It was a good day, they played quite a bit in the play room here and we got to eat supper together. Gram. Mary will stay here with us for awhile to help out with the boys. Isaac will start doing his schoolwork here this next week so that he can keep up with his class in Bemidji. He is in the first grade. They have a classroom right here in the building for siblings.
Abe has been feeling pretty good, he is sitting with me now-he wanted to see his face on the computer! He gets tired out pretty easily, but has adjusted well considering the situation. He is such a little trooper. On Monday we will see his doctor at the clinic. They will check to see how his blood counts are and that will tell us a lot about how he is feeling. Hopefully they will be where they should at this point. He has a yucky cough right now, but the doctor said his lungs sounded good. We just need to watch him closely for fever or any sign of infection.
Thanks again to everyone for being so supportive. It really helps us to know that we have such great family and friends pulling for us. Will try to update as much as we can-if you want to sign the guestbook you need to click on read journal history and then you will see how to get to the guestbook and 'view photos'. Some people have asked how to get there. I need to put a picture of little Ben on there too, he's feeling a little left out! Keep Abe in your thoughts and prayers. Kelly, Al and family
Friday, November 21, 2003 2:22 PM CST
We spent our first night together at the Ronald McDonald house last night-it went really well. Abe slept the whole night in his new bunk bed and seems to like it here. He has been able to eat and drink more here, too. What a nice place for families to stay! They have just about any thing you would need, and it feels more like we are a family again.
We had to be at the hospital this morning for Abe's chemo and another bone marrow test. He is asleep when they do the bone marrow test and the IT chemo(in his spine). This is all on an outpatient basis and hopefully he won't have to be admitted in the hospital any time soon. We have to be careful for infections, this would be a reason to have to stay in the hospital again. He will have another bone marrow test next Friday, but hopefully they won't have to do one every week. It depends on what the results are, and how well the chemo has been working.
Abe and Al are playing outside right now, he wanted to go on the slides. Still no walking, but he is moving around a little more each day. Next week he will have Mon., Tues. and Wed. physical therapy-and she will have him in the pool some. She thinks it may be easier for him to try walking in the water. We are hoping the weather holds up this weekend-we're expecting some company and can't wait to see them! Keep our little Abe in your thoughts and thanks again for all of the support. I look forward to reading the guestbook every day. Love, Abe and family
Thursday, November 20, 2003 1:04 PM CST
Abe is doing pretty well today. He has been eating a little more and has been talking about food a lot. He said he wants to eat some broccoli when we leave today. We are leaving the hospital today and will be going to the Ronald McDonald house to stay for awhile. Abe is happy to be getting out of here.
We will still be coming to the hospital quite a bit for chemo once a week, blood work, etc. He will also be getting physical therapy 2 to 3 times a week here. He still isn't walking, but things are getting better each day. Hopefully he will be walking soon.
We have had Grandpa Richard here yesterday and today, it's been great to see him. We will be seeing Isaac and Ben this weekend too and can't wait for that! Abe wanted me to say hi to Kenzie and Tanner and everyone at their house too-and thank them for the cool stuff. Can't wait to see them this weekend!
Please keep Abe in your thoughts and prayers, and thanks again to everyone for their support, it gets us through another day. Love, Abe and family
Wednesday, November 19, 2003 11:23 AM CST
We've had a couple of pretty good days this week. Abe has been wanting to play quite a bit, especially with all of the new things he's gotten the last few days. Friends and family have been very generous with the goodies for Abe and Isaac too!
Our main challenge with Abe's treatment right now is getting him to take the oral medications he needs to take twice a day. We've been working on that for a few days now. These are also the meds. we will be giving him all of this first month when we leave the hospital. One of the meds. is a type of steroid that fights cancer cells. The main side effect with this is mood swings-and we have definitely had our ups and downs. He is typically pretty happy and the mad times don't usually last too long. Hopefully Al and I can get him to take these without too much of a struggle. He will also have chemo once a week here and more bone marrow tests this month to see how the chemo is working.
We will be leaving the hospital tomorrow and staying at the Ronald McDonald house which isn't too far from the hospital. We are not sure how long we will be down here yet, we'll see how Abe is responding to the treatment first.
Isaac went back to Bemidji today for a couple of days, we are going to try and keep things a little normal for him. He does such a good job here too. We will also bring Ben here some too. Very soon I hope- it's hard for me to be away from him for too long! We have gotten to see my aunts Linda and Jodi this week too. It is so nice to have a few familiar faces here. They also brought us a wonderful home-cooked meal, and took me and Ike to run some errands.
Thanks to everyone for their support-we have received lots of calls, cards and messages and it does help. Please keep Abe in your thoughts and prayers. Thanks, Abe and family
Monday, November 17, 2003 1:17 PM CST
For those of you who don't already know, Abe has been diagnosed with Leukemia(Pre B ALL). We thought we would set up a website so that everyone can check up on how he is doing. We will try our best to keep updating as much as we can. This is all pretty new to us, and we are still adjusting to being here.
The doctors have told us that of all of the different types of Leukemia there are, this is the best kind to get. The survival rate is 90 r better, and it is a common type in boys Abe's age. Abe had his first chemo on Sunday. He had a surgery on Sunday morning to have a port put in his chest. This is a small dime-sized circle that will be under his skin throughout his treatment. They use this for access so that he doesn't have an IV in his arm, and he also won't have to be poked for meds. and blood draws anymore.
So far he is doing well with the treatments he has had. He is having very few side effects. He has been pretty happy yesterday and today. He wants to play and watch TV. There is a play room on his floor and we go there quite a bit. He has even been riding some of the trikes in there-he really likes that. Isaac is here with us and has been such a good helper. Abe likes having him around. We will find out later today what our treatment schedule will be like this month and will have more updates after that.
Isaac would like to type his own message too: hello to all of my friends in bemidji.
We have put some pictures on here too if you would like to look at them. The kids had a good time with the camera. Please keep Abe in your thoughts and prayers. Thanks, Kelly, Al, Isaac, Abe and Ben.
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