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Monday, June 16, 2008 9:44 AM CDT

WOW, a long time since I’ve updated Joey’s site. We have been very busy with a normal life. Joey follows up with his oncologist 2 times a year and he is doing great! Labs look great, no S/S of anything! Joey has also finished his early intervention speech therapy. Now days Joey enjoys pre-school, soccer and just having fun with his sisters, brother and friends.
We will continue to update as we can. Continue to pray for all the children and their families who are fighting cancer and other pediatric diseases.

Wednesday, November 8, 2006 8:38 AM CST

Hi everyone,

Time between updates has been getting longer and longer; we are all doing well. Joey’s last check-up with the oncologist was fine. He now does not have to go for another 6 months. I have been bringing Joey to a Speech pathologist to be tested, and it seems like he will be having help with his speech 2 times a week. I should find out more by the end of the month when I have a meeting with the speech pathologist and the school district.

The kids had a great Halloween and are looking forward to a great Thanksgiving and a great Christmas.

I still debate on deleting this site as Joey is moving on and doing well, but once in a while I get an email from a parent asking for info. Because they are in the same situation I was a few years ago. Because of that I stay on here; I know I welcomed all the help and support I could get.

Till next time, take care and pray for all the kids fighting for their lives.

Tuesday, June 13, 2006 9:00 PM CDT

Wow, I can’t believe how long it has been since I have last updated. I had actually been thinking about taking down Joey’s site; his visit to the Oncologist in April was great, no problems, and we have been moving forward with our lives. I had been waiting for school to end and then get myself to copy the entries and put into a book for Joey for later years. But I had since gotten a letter from a mom whose son was Dx with Neuroblastoma as Joey was; she had written me with questions and concerns. I was glad I had the site still up for her to get in touch with me and help answer some questions for her. So for now I am leaving the site here and will try to update more often.

Joey is doing great! He is your average 3 year old looking for trouble teasing his sisters and having tons of fun. Donna is looking forward to the school year ending but I know she will look forward to it starting again in September she just loves to learn. Jessica is doing great as well, she is a little nervous because I told her she will be taking swimming lessons this year.
It has been quiet here since Joey’s big brother moved out with friends, “we miss you Paulie”!
Please keep all children fighting for their lives in your prayers and their families.

Monday, January 23, 2006 1:09 PM CST

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to let everyone know I received a call from Joey’s Oncologist today, his Bone and CT scan came back fine. He does not have to go back to see him until April. Joey is doing very well; he enjoys going to play group with his sister and he loves his Spiderman.

Everything else is pretty quite here; school starts this week for me.

Thank you for always keeping Joey in your prayers.

Tuesday, January 10, 2006 10:04 AM CST

Hi everyone,

Joseph had his oncology appointment yesterday. His blood counts were great! He is now scheduled for a bone scan and CT scan on January 20. After the test we don’t have to go back to the oncologist until April!

Joey is enjoying himself; he loves all his Birthday gifts and is learning how to share with his sisters…yikes…

I will post the results of Joey’s tests when I get them. Until then please keep Joey and all the other kids in your prayers.
Thanks for stopping by…

Wednesday, December 14, 2005 11:40 AM CST

Hi everyone,
Just a quick update, Joey is doing well, as is his sisters and big brother Paul. Joey is enjoying the snow we have gotten and he was so happy to sit on Santa’s lap and tell him he has been a good boy and wants a Spiderman toy. Joey is also looking forward to his Birthday in January. He wants Spiderman Balloons!
His next Oncology appointment is January 9th.
Please pray for our friends the Petz family. Their son Benny has relapsed with Neuroblastoma.
http://www.caringbridge.org/az/bennylove/

Thanks for stopping by to check up on Joey.
Happy Holidays to all!!

Wednesday, October 5, 2005 12:34 AM CDT

Hi everyone,

Everyone is doing well here. Joey saw his Oncologist this past Monday. All is well.
His next visit is not until after the holidays! We will miss seeing everyone at
Dr. Weinblatt’s for the holidays but not having to go back until January means
Joey is doing great! He is growing so fast and his speech is slowing coming along. He has picked out his Halloween costume; he will be Spiderman! This is his favorite character lately. Donna will be sleeping beauty and Jessica will be Cinderella. All three have been playing dress-up almost every night, they enjoy it so much! Donna is doing great in school. She really loves 1st grade and her teacher. I will take pictures of the kids in costume and post them after Halloween. Sorry so long between updates, but school has me so busy as well as work.
Thanks for stopping by and keeping Joey in your prayers.

Wednesday, August 17, 2005 10:50 PM CDT

Hi everyone,

We had a great vacation at Lake George! The lake was just beautiful. The kids had a blast on the boat ride and loved all the attractions.

Joey had his check up today at his pediatrician’s office. He did very well. He sat so still and quiet for his eye test and for his hearing test, both of which came back fine. His Dr. said to push the State to re-evaluate his speech, although she feels it is slightly improving, and if they still feel he is with-in limits she will give me names of private speech therapists.

Everything else is going great and we are having a great summer. Donna is getting nervous about going back to school. She realizes she will not have Mrs. A this year and that she will now be in 1st grade. Jessica is already starting, “I want to go with Donna to school” chant. Poor girl, she misses the cut off and now has to wait 2 years before she can start kindergarten.

We will keep updates coming on Joey’s oncology visits, which is not until October as well as his pediatrician visits.

Thanks for stopping by and for keep Joey in your prayers.

Monday, July 11, 2005 9:59 PM CDT

Hi everyone,

Joey had his visit with the oncologist today. His blood counts were great! We don't have to go back until October! Very nice! Joey will have to see his pediatrician though this summer for his shots.
The oncologist also wants me to take him to have his hearing checked. He feels it is fine but it hasn't been checked since last year better safe than sorry.
Everything else is going well. We are enjoying the summer and looking forward to our vacation getaway to Lake George in August.
Please continue to pray for Joey and for all the sick children and their families.
Thanks for stopping by.

Saturday, July 2, 2005 3:32 PM CDT

Hi everyone a quick update,
I just heard from the Dr’s office last night. Joey’s scans were clean! He said Joey has extensive scar tissue on his liver but the blood work done shows that his liver is working fine. He also told me that over a long period of time the scars will fade.

Everyone else is great and we are looking forward to our Lake George Vacation in August. Have a happy and safe 4th of July.

Please continue to pray for all the sick children and please say a prayer for the Connelly Family, their little boy Ryan who passed away on Friday July 1st.
http://www2.caringbridge.org/mi/ryanc/

Tuesday, June 14, 2005 8:29 PM CDT

Hi everyone,

Joey had his visit with his oncologist yesterday. They couldn’t get over how big he has grown since they saw him 2 months ago. He is now 28 lbs. This visit was more than just a finger stick; they wanted to get several tests checked, so this meant several tubes and a needle in the arm. Now Joey always sat for the finger stick it never even fazed him, but getting blood drawn from a 2 ½ year old was not easy. After several tries everyone decided to give Joey a break and I took him out for lunch. When we returned they were able to get it in, but not without Joey giving a fight. As much as I hate to say it I do miss the port on these lab days. Just put on the Emla(sp?) cream and Joey never gave a second thought to what they did.
Joey will have his Bone scan and CT scan done on June 27th. He will be sedated for both procedures as he would not be able to stay still for them
The results from the blood work look great and his counts are normal. I will keep everyone posted on Joey’s scans and the results.
Please pray for Joey to have clean scans. Please say a pray for our friend Ryan and his family. Ryan also has Neuroblastoma and right now he is not feeling very well.
http://www2.caringbridge.org/mi/ryanc/
Thanks for stopping by and for continuing to pray for Joey’s good health.

Tuesday, May 31, 2005 5:54 PM CDT

Hi everyone,

Sorry for the long delay in updates...I was busy studying for my school finals.
Joey woke up last night crying so hard...he said his ear hurt, so today we went to see his pediatrician, sure enough another ear infection. This is like his 5th one this year alone. He goes back in 10 days for a recheck, I am going to have to find out if that’s a normal amount of ear infections, I don't remember the girls or Paulie having so many ear infections.
Other than that everything is fine. Joey sees his Oncologist June 13th and I think they will be setting him up for scans in July.
Donna is getting excited that she will have a summer break soon, but she was not to happy to learn that she will not have the same teacher when she returns in the fall. She loves her Kindergarten teacher and will really miss her.
I received an email the other day from Caring bridge, they are updating the websites. I don't know for sure what changes will be done to Joey's page, I know that the new pages from here on will not have the capability to use "html". For now I think Joey's page will not be affected and I will still be able to have the links to his other site and his quilts.
Thank you for always including Joey and our friends in your prayers.

Monday, April 25, 2005 10:52 AM CDT

Hi everyone,
Just a quick update, Joey had counts and urine markers checked last week. Everything was great. One of his Doctors said they are just amazed at how well Joey is doing. He is really doing well now with his speech; it’s amazing how much he has improved in just one month! Joey also saw his regular Dr and is almost caught up with his immunizations.
Everyone else is doing great, and my new job at the hospital is going well.
Please keep Joey and all the kids battling Neuroblastoma and other pediatric diseases in your prayers.

Friday, March 18, 2005 10:23 PM CST

Hi everyone,
Sorry for the long delay in updating.
Joey had his speech evaluation last week and it seems the speech therapist feels Joey has a minor delay in speech but he is still with in the range for his age. As they put it he does not need intervention at this time. They feel he will soon catch up with his age group but they can re-evaluate him at 3 years of age to make sure he is doing okay.

Joey’s next Oncology appointment is April 11. He will have blood counts and urine markers checked. He had an appointment last week with his Pediatrician for a recheck on his ears. (He had a double ear infection) His ears were okay so he was able to get 2 shots. 2 more weeks and he will get 2 more and he will be up to date on his immunizations.

Joey has been enjoying the snow we had and helped make a snowman with his sisters and Daddy. But I am sure he will be happier when the weather warms up more so he can spend his days outside playing on the swings!

We will keep you posted on his Dr Visits. Thanks for the prayers!

Please say a prayer for our friend Ryan, he is currently staying at the Ronald McDonald House in NYC near Sloan Kettering while he receives treatment.
http://www2.caringbridge.org/mi/ryanc/

Thanks!

Monday, February 14, 2005 8:17 PM CST

Hi everyone,
Wow, sorry for the delay in updating! School has been so crazy for me I feel like I don’t have any extra time right now. Joey is doing great! He saw his oncologist last week and blood counts and urine markers were normal. Because Joey is doing well his Dr’s feel we can now go every other month for counts, Yippee!! Joey will still have his next scans in six months, things are moving along great.
While at the Oncologists office I spoke with them about Joey’s speech, they feel that his speech is not abnormal just on the low side of normal. So we spoke with his regular pediatrician and we set up an appointment for Joey to be evaluated for speech and or hearing disabilities. From what I gather this is a common thing after chemotherapy in young children and they can “catch up” with these disabilities. I know Joey is only 2, but I would rather work on this now than to wait for school, were he would be an open target for other kids to pick on him.
Please say a prayer for our friend Ryan, he is not feeling well right now, and say a prayer for his parents to have strength to see him through this. http://www2.caringbridge.org/mi/ryanc

We will continue to keep you updated on Joey and his progress, please continue with the prayers for him. Thanks!

Wednesday, January 12, 2005 9:10 AM CST

Hi everyone,

We received great news last night. Joey’s scans and tests were clear! He is still Cancer free!
We are celebrating that and the fact that January 29 will be one year off Chemo for Joey. While speaking with Dr Weinblatt he said after Joey’s next visit he will most likely be moved to blood and urine checks every other month.

Joey did okay with the scans. He was not very happy with getting an IV line put in his arm. This was the first time some of the nurses heard Joey cry it was so sad for them and us. Then they had to bandage it up good because he tried to pull it off. It was not easy to keep a 2 year old who hasn’t eaten with an IV in his arm happy, but we managed with the help from a “Wiggles” video. Joey was so happy when the nurse took off his IV he was laughing!

Joey is back to his playful self and happy as ever. We will continue to keep posts and updates.

Please continue to keep Joey and the other children in your prayers, Thanks!

Friday, January 7, 2005 12:28 AM CST

Hi Everyone,

Joey had his check up today with his Oncologist. His counts were great, and he was cleared for Monday’s sedation for his scans. We will meet the Nurses at 8 am on Monday so they can insert an IV line, (his port was removed October 13) this is not going to be easy for them to put a line in. We are hoping to have the results back by the middle of next week. We will post the results as soon as we hear. Please pray for good clean scans!

Again thanks for all the birthday wishes for Joey!

Please continue to pray for Joey and all the other children and adults who are fighting for their lives.

Monday, January 3, 2005 12:16 AM CST

Hi Everyone,
Sorry for the delay in updating, we started out the holiday season rather sad here; we lost our family dog Princess. She passed away on December 23. She is missed by us all, even Joey knows she is gone…he just continues to call her name.(picture added to photo page)

Joey’s Birthday was really special this year. We were able to celebrate it with everyone. Joey really got into opening his gifts but didn’t mind the help from his sisters. He is learning to use two fingers to show his age, but hasn’t got it down pat yet; we are still working on it.

Joey is still fighting his cold, but his ear infection seems to have cleared up. Joey will go in to see his Oncologist on Friday January 7, to get clearance for his scans which are scheduled for Monday January 10. If he is still congested the tests will be postponed.

Please continue to pray for Joey and all the other children fighting Childhood Diseases.

Wednesday, December 22, 2004 12:21 AM CST

Hi everyone,
Just wanted to give a quick update, Joey is doing well. He has had blood counts done that came out great and is now scheduled for his scans to be done on Jan. 10th. We are a little nervous about the upcoming scans but are confident that all will be well.

We hope that everyone has a great holiday and gets to ENJOY themselves.

Please continue to pray for Joey and all the other children that are fighting for their lives as well as the families that have lost their child to Cancer and other childhood diseases. Thank you.

Wednesday, December 1, 2004 9:53 PM CST

Hi everyone,
Joey had his Oncology visit today. His blood counts and urine markers were fine. We discussed the next step for Joey, which will be his scans. He will have a bone scan, CT scan and I think a sonogram as well on January 10, 2005. They are now trying to get everything together in one day right after each other. Being that Joey no longer has his med-port in him he will be getting an IV. This will I am sure be a little bit stressful for him and us because he has not had an IV put in his arm since he was first Dx. Joey was also cleared to receive his live vaccines at this time.
Everything else is going well here. Joey’s sister Donna is loving kindergarten, and he just gets so excited to see her get off the bus everyday! Joey’s other sister and partner in crime, Jessica, will be turning 3 on Sunday, December 5. Happy Birthday Jessie!!
We had a great Thanksgiving Holiday, so much to be thankful for.
Please continue to keep Joseph in your prayers as well as all the other kids fighting for their life. Especially our good friend Benny, who is battling Neuroblastoma and having a Bone marrow transplant right now and not feeling very well. And sweet little Ryan, who just relapsed with Neuroblastoma.
Benny- http://www2.caringbridge.org/az/bennylove/index.htm
ryan-
http://www2.caringbridge.org/mi/ryanc/

Sunday, November 7, 2004 9:17 PM CST

Hi Everyone,
Joey had a great visit at his Oncologist. His counts were great as well as his urine test. His next visit will not be until December 1st. Joey will visit his regular Dr this month for a check up and for some more vaccine updates. Joey's next set of scans should be in January.

In the mean time Joey is enjoying himself; he had a blast trick-o-treating. He didn't want to put any of the candy in his bag; he just wanted to carry it in his hand. After three houses though he soon learned to use the pumpkin bag.

Please keep Joey and all the kids fighting this and other childhood diseases in your prayers. Thank you...

Thursday, October 21, 2004 12:06 AM CDT

Hi everyone. Joey had his follow up visit with the surgeon this week; he said it all looked great! We just need to massage it with some cream to help fade the scar line some. Joey also had his Flu shot, he was not very happy with it neither was his sister Jessie who got one too. Donna will go next week, I just haven’t told her yet. I will save that for the last minute.

Everything else is going well, Donna is loving school! School is going well for me also, just lots of reading to do!

Joey will visit his Oncologist next week for counts and his urine check. Until then please keep Joey and all the other children battling this disease and others in your prayers.

Thursday, October 14, 2004 12:08 AM CDT

Hi everyone. Just wanted to give a quick update, Joey had his surgery yesterday. Everything went very well. It lasted just over 1 hour and he woke up shortly after looking to pull off all the wires. Soon enough we were on our way home. He did very well at night also, not even needing any pain meds.

Joey’s next visit with his Pediatrician is next week; he will be getting the Flu shot. Then he goes to the surgeon for a re check. He will see his oncologist on October 28, and have counts done as well as urine checked.

This month seems to be going by so quickly! We will be celebrating the birthday of Joey’s big brother, Paul. He will be 20!! Boy, where does the time go??? Happy Birthday Paul!! We Love You!

We are also hoping to go Pumpkin picking this week-end. I hope it’s nice out for us.
Please continue to keep Joey in your prayers as well as all the other children who are fighting this and other horrible diseases.

Thursday, September 30, 2004 12:21 AM CDT

Hello everyone. Sorry so long for the update. We have been so busy here with Donna starting kindergarten, (which she loves!) and me in school. But I think we finally came up with a routine that seems to be working.

Joey had his oncology visit today. His counts were great as well as his urine. We are just waiting for a call from the surgeon for a date of the port removal, which will be sometime in October. His next oncology visit will be on Oct. 28th and his next set of tests will be in January.

We will keep everyone posted on his upcoming surgery, and other events, but we are expecting a quiet fall and holiday season.

Joseph will be getting his first haircut Friday. This will be a big event for him as well as us. We are so excited! Who would have thought that a haircut could be such a big deal? It just shows how far Joey has come in his little life. We will post pictures as soon as possible.

Please continue to keep Joseph in your prayers as well as all the children fighting this horrible disease.

UPDATE: Joey's port removal will be October 13th at 8:00 am.

Wednesday, September 1, 2004 1:44 PM CDT

Hi everyone,
Just a quick update, Joey had his Oncology visit today to have his counts rechecked. Everything is great! His counts are back up!

Joey has an appointment on Friday with his Pediatrician for a check up and some shots. He is still not receiving live vaccines as of yet. Joey's sister Donna will also be seeing the Dr for a checkup and shots.

Donna starts school this year. We are all very excited for her and Joey and Jessica will miss her so much while she is at kindergarten.

Joey's next oncology visit is September 30th. He will have a check up and urine and blood tests as well as his port flushed. We will also be talking with the surgeon about having his port removed very soon!

Hope everyone had a great summer! We will update soon.
Thank you for all the prayers and please continue to keep Joey in your prayers as well as all the children out there fighting Neuroblastoma and other pediatric cancers.

Thursday, August 26, 2004 12:45 AM CDT

Hi everyone,
Joey had his Oncology visit today. He was happy to see everyone and they were sure happy to see him. They couldn’t believe how big he has gotten. He said hello to everyone and even blew kisses. A few people even got a kiss and a hug.

Joey had his urine checked and his blood counts checked. Please say a prayer, his white count came back low. Dr, Fligman said not to worry as this could be nothing. To be on the safe side Joey will be going back next week on Wednesday to recheck his counts. We are going to follow the doctor’s advice and not worry at this point and just wait for the follow up.

We will keep you posted on the results of his counts next week.
Please keep Joey and all our friends in your prayers.


Someone had sent this to me in an e-mail and I wanted to share it with you:
WHY US

Most women become a mother by accident, some by choice, a few by habit.
Did you ever wonder how mother of children with cancer are chosen?
Somehow, I visualize God hovering over the earth selecting his instruments for propagtion with great care and deliberation. As He observes, He instructs his angels to make notes in a giant ledger...
"Armstrong, Beth, son, patron saint Matthew"
"Forest,Marjorie, daugher, patron saint Cecilia"
"Rutledge, Carrie,twins, patron saint Gerard. He's used to profanity"
Finally, he passes a name to an angel and says, "Give her a child with cancer."
The angel is curious. "Why this one God? Shes's so happy."
"Exactly, similed God. "Could I give a child with cancer a mother who does not know laughter? That would be cruel."
"But does she have patience?" asks the angel.
"I don't want her to have too much patience or she will drown in a sea of self pity and despair. Once the shock and resentment wears off, she will handle it."
"I watched her today," said God. "She has that feeling of self-independence that is so rare and necessary in a mother. You see, the child I'm going give to her has its own world. She has to make it live in her world and that's not going to be easy."
"But Lord, I don't think she even believes in you," said the angel.
"No matter. I can fix that. This one is perfect, she has just enough selfishness."
The angel gasps, "Selfishness? Is that a virtue?"
God nods. "If she can't seperate herself from the child occasionally, she'll never survive.
Yes, here is a woman I will bless with a child less than perfect. She doesn't realize it yet, but she is to be envied. She will never take anything her child does for granted. She will never consider a step ordinary."
"I will permit her to see clearly the things I see...ignorance, cruelty, prejudice...and allow her to rise above them."
"And what about her patron saint?" asks the angel, his pen poised in mid-air.
God smiles and says "A mirror will suffice."

Saturday, August 14, 2004 8:05 AM CDT

Hi everyone,
Everything is going well with Joey and the family. We just returned home from a much needed vacation. We all had a great time. We went to Sesame Place.
I wanted to post a picture of Joey for everyone to see his hair. A lot of people have asked if his hair came back. I always seem to have him with a hat on. So I added a new one, as you can see it all came back and looks great!
Joey's next visit is on August 25, and he will have blood counts done and his urine checked. We still do not know when the port will be removed, I guess there is no rush as it doesn't bother him and he has had no problems with any infections.
Joey has a regular visit with his Doctor next week. He will get one vaccine, but no live virus yet.
Please continue to keep Joey and all his friends in your prayers.

Monday, July 26, 2004 10:30 AM CDT

Hi everyone,
We jus wanted to let everyone know the great news. Dr. Weinblatt called us Sunday afternoon. He left us a great message. Joey’s CT scan and Bone scan came back clean!!
This is what we have been waiting to hear, No more cancer!
Joey will continue with monthly blood counts and future scans to be sure he remains cancer free, but we are positive in thinking that he will remain cancer free.
Thank you to everyone for the prayers and for all the support. Please continue to pray for Joey and his friends still fighting for there life.
I wanted to ask one more favor of everyone, there is a web site that is full of information for parents of children with cancer. They have afforded me with some great books and information on Joey’s type of cancer and treatments.
They are now asking for help in getting a pediatric cancer awareness postage stamp. There is one for breast and prostate cancer, diabetes, organ donation and hospice. We need everyone to send a letter to Citizens Stamp Advisory Committee, and tell them you want the next stamp to be for childhood cancer. There is a link I will post below, that will give you a template letter. All you have to do is print in up and mail it in. This will only cost you the price a stamp.
Thanks for all your help and support.

http://www.kidscancerstamp.org/sampleletter.htm

I will continue to updates Joey’s site with his monthly visits and as long as he still has visitors. Have a great summer; I know we will enjoy it all the more.

Friday, July 23, 2004 9:22 PM CDT

Hi everyone,
Joey had his CT scan and Bone scan done today. All went well with the sedation and he is back home relaxing and taking it easy. He is so funny when he comes out of sedation, he was trying to sit up right away and he couldn’t. He then looked around and saw everyone and started saying bye bye, I guess he felt he had done enough for the day.
As always Maria from Nuclear and everyone else took great care of Joey during the scans.
We should have the results from Dr. Weinblatt by next week sometime; we have to wait for the radiologist to send over his report on the scans. I am going to try the office Monday afternoon to see if any results came in early (wishing I know) and I also have to make Joey’s next appointment, which I believe is in 30 days.
I will keep everyone posted on the results of the scans and we hope everyone is enjoying the summer.
Please continue the prayers for Joey and all our friends that need a prayer.

Friday, July 23, 2004 9:22 PM CDT

Hi everyone,
Joey had his CT scan and Bone scan done today. All went well with the sedation and he is back home relaxing and taking it easy. He is so funny when he comes out of sedation, he was trying to sit up right away and he couldn’t. He then looked around and saw everyone and started saying bye bye, I guess he felt he had done enough for the day.
As always Maria from Nuclear and everyone else took great care of Joey during the scans.
We should have the results from Dr. Weinblatt by next week sometime; we have to wait for the radiologist to send over his report on the scans. I am going to try the office Monday afternoon to see if any results came in early (wishing I know) and I also have to make Joey’s next appointment, which I believe is in 30 days.
I will keep everyone posted on the results of the scans and we hope everyone is enjoying the summer.
Please continue the prayers for Joey and all our friends that need a prayer.

Thursday, July 22, 2004 7:07 AM CDT

Hi everyone,
Joey is feeling better. His fever is gone and he is back to his normal happy self.
Joey will have his scans done Friday 7/23. Please say a prayer that all goes well with the results. We are hoping that things go well and they will look to remove his port in the near future. Please continue to keep Joey and all our friends in your prayers.

PS new pictures added to photo page.

Sunday, July 18, 2004 11:16 AM CDT

Hi everyone,
Just a quick update...
Joey has been running a fever since Thursday morning. He has been to his pediatrician who feels this is just a regular childhood virus. There seems to be a very nasty one running around here from what she tells me. To be on the safe side on Friday Joey's Oncologist, Dr. Weinblatt had us come in for some blood cultures to be run. The main reason for the cultures is because Joey still has his med-port and they have to rule out any kind of infection in the line. They also hooked Joey up to an IV for some fluids and for some antibiotics. Joey is still running a low fever, but from what I hear this takes several days to get over. Dr. Weinblatt said Dr. Fligman was on-call this weekend and would call if anything showed up in the cultures. Now it seems as if Joey's sister has come down with the virus and is running a temperature also.
We also were given the dates for Joey's scans. They will be done on Friday July 23, if he is well enough for sedation. Please pray that all goes well with them.
Thanks to everyone for the continued support.
Please continue to pray for our friends the Mease Family. They lost thier little girl Michaela this past week.
http://www.caringbridge.org/pa/michaelaann/

Wednesday, July 14, 2004 12:54 AM CDT

Hi Everyone,
Joey did very well on his Oncologist visit. His counts were good as well as his urine levels. I should be getting the information on Joey’s next set of scans any day now.
When talking with the Dr., He explained more in detail that they will not use another sonogram at this time but instead go back to using a CT scan along with the bone scan. The sonogram is showing scar tissue on the liver and they cannot see what they need to see as well as they should. The CT scan will give them a better picture of what they want to see. It just means more sedation for Joey.
Everyone was so happy to see Joey as always, but we did not get to see Dr. Fligman. He just adores Joey as well as Joey does him. I love to see how happy they both get when they see each other. It’s so sweet.
In the meantime we are keeping busy, we went to the LI Game Farm, and Joey loved to feed the animals and even tried to eat the baby animal food. Yuck!! He laughed so hard when the animals were licking his little fingers while taking the food and thought it was hilarious to feed a bottle to the baby animals. Also we had Donna’s Dance Recital. This was her first one. She did so great! And all the girls in her class looked great!
We are trying to enjoy the nice summer weather and have lots of fun.
Please continue to say a prayer for Joey. And send a special prayer for our friend Michaela; she is home now on Hospice care and resting comfortably.
http://www.caringbridge.org/pa/michaelaann/
Also say a prayer for our friend Ryan, he is in the Hospital now for his Stem Cell Retrieval.
http://www.caringbridge.org/mi/ryanc/
And all our friends we have met along our journey.
7/15/04 update
Michaela passed away this morning, please keep her family in your prayers

Monday, June 21, 2004 11:28 PM CDT

Hi everyone,
Sorry for the late post. We have been taking avantage of the nice weather.
Joey had his oncologist visit on Wednesday. He did very well. Blood counts were good and urine was fine. His next visit will be July 14. Right now they are trying to set up Joey's next set of scans. They are trying to coordinate all the departments so he can have one day of sedation for all the tests. Anyone who has done this before with young kids needing sedation understands its not always so easy. It looks like it will be at the end of July or beginning of August.
I hope to have some new photo's added very soon.
Until then keep Joey and all of our friends in your prayers.
Please include our friend Michaela in your prayers. Who is having a lot of pain.
http://www.caringbridge.org/pa/michaelaann/
And say a prayer for our friend Mason we just found out he has relapsed.
http://www.caringbridge.org/asia/masondbrown/index.htm

Saturday, June 12, 2004 9:54 PM CDT

Hi everyone,
Joey is doing well, despite the fact he has the Coxsakie Virus. His sister Jessica and he came down with this during the week. Needless to say we will be laying low as to not infect any other kids. I took the kids in to see the Dr. on Thursday to make sure the rash they had was infact the virus and sure enough it was. While we were there the Dr. did Joey's blood counts. His white count came up a little low. She called over to his oncologist. After speaking with him he felt it was still within a okay range and no reason to worry at this point. Joey will be going to see his Oncologist on Wednesday. We will keep everyone informed on how things go. Until then Joey continues to smile and enjoy himself.
Thank you for the prayers for Joey and our family and for all our friends.

Friday, May 28, 2004 2:50 PM CDT

Hi everyone,
Well, I spoke with Joey’s Oncologist. I was hoping to post a message that said Joey was NED, but we cannot say that for sure at this time. His test results show spots on his liver and in his bones. The feeling is that it is scar tissue from the chemotherapy. Joey will undergo the same tests in one month so they can compare the two tests. Joey’s blood work and urine check came up with in a good range. This is great news. The Dr’s are optimistic about Joey’s condition, but we still must be cautious and continue to follow-up with monthly visits.
Until then know that Joey is playing and having fun and enjoying the nice warm weather.
Please continue to keep Joey and all of our friends that are battling Neuroblastoma as well as other childhood cancers and diseases in your prayers. We will keep everyone updated on Joey’s progress.


June 5th,
Please keep the Kelley Family in your prayers as their sweet little boy Brice Passed away 5/31/04.
http://brice-kelley.paigefile.com/

Tuesday, May 25, 2004 8:56 PM CDT

Hi everyone,
Joey had his Bone scan and an abdominal sonogram done yesterday. We should have the results back before the weekend. We are keeping positive thoughts that all went well. Joey did so well with not being able to drink or eat since the night before. He first had the sonogram then the bone scan, which took several hours. When he woke up he was so thirsty and he ate so much supper, we thought he was going to burst. He then relaxed the rest of the night. Today he was back to his energetic self.
Joey’s next visit is with his regular pediatric Doctor. He will be seeing her tomorrow. Joey will begin to get his immunization shots again. The only ones he will not be getting right away are the live ones.
We will keep everyone updated on the test results and his doctor visits.
Keep us in your prayers and continue to say a prayer for our friend Brice.

Wednesday, May 19, 2004 2:56 PM CDT

Hi everyone,
Joey had his check up today with the Oncologist. He did very well. His counts were good and everyone was so happy to see him. It took him a little bit but soon enough he was relaxed and walking all over the office smiling and playing with everyone.
Joey will have a bone scan and sonogram done on Monday May 24. He will be sedated for the bone scan but not the sonogram. If all goes well with the results (as we are expecting them to be), Joey will soon see the surgeon to have his port removed. Yeah!
When you say a prayer for Joey, please say an extra prayer for our friend Brice. He is not doing well right now, and as his dad put it, "Pray for a miracle for Brice". He is just a sweet little boy who like Joey is battling Neuroblastoma.
If you want to stop by and leave a message for his family, his link is on Joey's Friend’s and Family page.
We will keep everyone posted on Joey's tests.
Until then keep Joey in your prayers.

Thursday, April 22, 2004 8:20 AM CDT

Hi everyone,
Joey did great at his check up yesterday. His counts were great. His next set of tests will be at the end of May or beginning of June. If everything from those tests is clear then he will be scheduled to have his port removed sometime in July. Joey will be starting to receive some of his vaccinations again as he has not had any since he was 5 months old.

Joey had a great time at the Easter Egg Hunt! In addition, he had a great time on Easter Sunday at his grandpa's house. Right now, he is just enjoying the good weather and happy that he can go outside, he loves to dig in the dirt with his garden tools.

We will keep everyone posted in the upcoming months with Joey's tests.

Until then take care and continue to keep Joey in your prayers.

Sunday, April 4, 2004 4:22 PM CDT

Hi everyone,

Joey is doing well. His cold is gone and he is ready to go out and conquer the world. Today he went on his first carousel ride, and enjoyed it. He also went to see the Easter bunny. At first, he was okay about sitting there but soon realized a furry animal was holding him and wanted down. Joey will be going to participate in his first Easter Egg Hunt this Saturday, being held by our neighbors Paul and Laura. I do not think he understands this but I know his sisters are very excited!

Joey will go back to his oncologist in 2 weeks for blood counts and to have his port flushed. We should have some more information on his next scans. In addition, somewhere in between he will have a visit with his pediatrician for a well visit.

We will keep everyone updated and please continue to keep Joey in your prayers.

Also wanted to note: we have added 2 new pictures on the photo page.

Sunday, April 4, 2004 4:13 PM CDT

Hi everyone,

Joey is doing well. His cold is gone and he is ready to go out and conquer the world. Today he went on his first carousel ride, and enjoyed it. He also went to see the Easter bunny. At first, he was okay about sitting there but soon realized a furry animal was holding him and wanted down. Joey will be going to participate in his first Easter Egg Hunt this Saturday, being held by our neighbors Paul and Laura. I do not think he understands this but I know his sisters are very excited!

Joey will go back to his oncologist in 2 weeks for blood counts and to have his port flushed. We should have some more information on his next scans. In addition, somewhere in between he will have a visit with his pediatrician for a well visit.

We will keep everyone updated and please continue to keep Joey in your prayers.

Monday, March 22, 2004 9:32 PM CST

Hi everyone,
Joey had his Dr. visit today. It was cute to see him looking around and seeing all the faces, looking puzzled but then soon he realized who everyone was. He was happy to see them.

He had his counts taken which were good, and his urine checked we should find out the results in a day or so. He also had his port flushed. This is done so it is not clogged or infected because it is not being used at this point.
Joey's next visit is in mid April and we should know then when his next scans would be scheduled.

As for now, Joey is enjoying himself playing and having fun! He recently discovered he has hair now, and he rubs his head and laughs, it is so cute.
Thanks for checking in and for the prayers we will keep you posted as things move along.

Monday, March 15, 2004 9:16 PM CST

Hi everyone,

Joey is doing fine now, and his bruise on his face is all gone. He is running around playing and has a great time. He had a check up last week and his face is doing great. They had to give him another round of antibiotics for his ear though. It seems he still has the infection.

Well it seems Joey has learned to climb up on the coffee table as well as the rocking chair, kitchen chairs and anything else he can get up on before he is caught. I hope this stage goes quickly...I am running out of band-aids.

Joey will see Dr. Weinblatt on Friday for his counts. I should have more information about when his test will be repeated.

Until then keep Joey in your prayers...

Saturday, March 6, 2004 8:48 PM CST

Hi everyone,
Joey had yet another trip to the hospital today, this one for an unrelated accident. While climbing on his toy car, Joey fell off and hit his face right into another toy. Well after sometime, his face really swelled up and became a dark blue color. Worried that his counts could be low, especially his platelets I called his regular pediatrician. She told us to bring him right over. Well one look at Joey's face and she sent us to the ER. He needed to have a CT scan done on his face and ear. His blood counts were fine so at least we did not have to worry about that. Well after several hours of trying to get Joey to sleep for the scan, it proved to be un-doable, so he was going to have to be sedated. They gave him a liquid and he fought it for a long time, but finally he fell asleep. They took the scan and with in the hour we got the results all okay. After about an hour, we were able to wake up the little sleepy head and head home. I am glad to report that Joey is doing well now and still climbing on all of his toys.
He will still have a follow up visit with his regular pediatric Dr. to check his ear infection on Tuesday and he will see Dr Weinblatt on March 19 for his counts. We will keep everyone posted on how it all goes.
Until then please continue to pray for Joey and for his cousin Jen, who is feeling sick right now. Always know "WE LOVE YOU JEN"

Wednesday, March 3, 2004 1:16 PM CST

Hi everyone,
Well we have the results of the tests. They are good but not as great as we had hoped for. His Biopsy came back clear as well as the urine and CT scan. The hearing test was fine The bone scan showed a "hot spot" on his hip, but as the Doctor informed me all growth areas show up on bone scans as "hot spots", so they compare each side of the body and Joey's hip's seemed not to match. He told me not to worry, as this could be effects as to the way he was lying during the scan and being as everything was clear including the urine he feels that all is okay. However, to be sure, the Bone scan will be repeating in a few months to make sure there are no Neuroblastoma cells. Joey's next visit is March 19. He will have his blood counts checked and will have his port flushed so it does not clog up. We will discuss then when he will be scheduled for his next scan.
Until then Joey is enjoying the nice weather and exploring the outside, something he has not done yet. We bought him a baby swing for the swing set and he does not seem to like it too much. However, he loves playing in the playhouse.
We will keep everyone posted on Joey's progress. Keep the prayers coming.

Friday, February 27, 2004 11:21 PM CST

Hi everyone,
Joseph had his Bone marrow biopsy/aspiration done today. We went into the DR's not knowing if he was going to have it done as he had been to his regular pediatrics office for the fevers he had been getting and it was discovered he had an ear infection. He was given antibiotics and when we went into the Cancer Center for Kids today, he was feeling great. They said his ear was almost cleared up and his lungs were clear. So the test went on as planned.

Joey did very well with everything. He is feeling a little saw but not really showing much discomfort from the whole thing.

The only results we have gotten are the CT scan, which came out clear! YEAH!! The rest of the results we will get on or about Wednesday afternoon.

Assuming all is well with the tests Joey's next visit will be on March 19 for a CBC and a flush of his port.

We will keep everyone posted on the results and Joey's progress.

Please continue the prayers.

Thank You.

Wednesday, February 25, 2004 12:08 AM CST

Hi everyone,
Joey had his Bone scan, CT scan and hearing test done yesterday. We are hoping to have the results in the next few days, probably on Friday we will hear, as Joey will have a Bone marrow Biopsy/aspiration done on Friday.
Joey had to be sedated for 5 hours yesterday, during all the tests. He did very well with all of this, but now seems to have a little runny nose. He woke last night with a 102 fever, which after speaking with the DR told us to give him Tylenol, as his counts were good. To be on the safe side, Joey will go see DR Ryzova tomorrow afternoon to make sure all is going well and that he will be able to have sedation on Friday.
Please keep Joey in your prayers in hopes that all goes well with the results from his tests.

Monday, February 23, 2004 12:18 AM CST

Hi everyone,
Well Joey did well on his Dr Visit, he showed no signs of a cold and his blood counts were great. Joey will have the tests done tomorrow in the AM. They are also scheduling him for a bone marrow aspiration and biopsy for this Friday, February 27. Joey had this done back in November, and the results showed his bone marrow to be clear with no trace of Neuroblastoma. The Dr.'s feel it is best to make sure he is still clear so he will have the procedure done again. It will be an outpatient procedure done at the Dr.'s office, and Joey will be under anesthesia.
We will keep everyone posted on the results of the tests. The Dr. said he should have all the results on Joey’s testing by this weekend.
Thank you for the prayers.

Tuesday, February 10, 2004 11:52 AM CST

Hi everyone,

Joey is doing well, despite a cold he is having fun walking everywhere in the house. He loves to get on the steps and climb, we had to put up the baby gates to keep him away.

Everything for his tests/scans is scheduled for the 24 of Feb. He will have a clearance check up on the 23, so we hope this cold goes away soon, if he still has it they will not sedate him and the tests will have to be re-scheduled.

Thank you for all the prayers for Joey and us, keep them coming!

Wednesday, February 4, 2004 11:42 AM CST

Hi Everyone,
Joey's counts were good this week! He also had a cardiac scan done and his heart is fine. The next step for Joey is, a bone scan, CT scan and hearing test. Joey will go into the Doctor's on February 23, to be cleared for sedation the following day. The scans they will be doing require Joey not to move, so he will be sedated. We are expecting clean scans.

Joey's Dinner/ Dance Benefit went very well! It was a big success! Everyone had a great time and many great prizes were one. Thanks to everyone for making it a success. We will post the pictures in the next few days.

Please continue to keep Joey in your prayers.

Thursday, January 29, 2004 7:29 AM CST

Hi everyone,
Well Joey has finished his protocol! He has had his last round of chemo! It was a rough one, Tuesday night Joey had a hard time getting to sleep, and he just could not get a comfortable position. Last night home in his own bed he slept great. Joey is eating well and drinking juice, but refuses to take milk. As long as he drinks, he will be okay. Joey will begin his daily injections of GCSF today at home, and continue this until Tuesday when we go to the DR's for his blood counts. We will keep a close watch on Joey for fevers over the next two weeks.

The next step for Joey is to have tests done to check that all the cancer cells are gone. He will have all his testing done on February 24. He will do this as an outpatient at Winthrop Hospital; he will be sedated for the Bone Scan and CT scan.

Please continue to pray for Joey, and pray his scans come out clean.

Monday, January 26, 2004 10:56 PM CST

Hi everyone,
Joey is scheduled for his eighth round of chemotherapy tomorrow. He will have his blood counts checked in the AM at the doctor's office, and if all his counts are good we will go over to Winthrop Hospital and they will start his chemo there. This will be an overnight stay, as Joey will require hydration.

Well, it is, official Joey is walking! He is taking more than one or two steps! If you want to get some funny photo's come up to the pediatric ward and see me trying to assist Joey down the hallway's along with his IV pole. There will be no stopping him now, and trying to keep him in his room is not going to be easy. I hope Krista and Annemarie, the Child Life Specialists, have some fun toys to keep him busy! I am glad we can come home on Wednesday afternoon.

I also wanted to mention that Joey will not be able to attend the Dinner/Dance Fundraiser, as his blood counts will be dropping again from the chemo, and we do not want him to catch anything that could put him back in the hospital. His body has a hard time fighting infection off when his white counts drop very low.
As always, thank you for the thoughts and prayers and keep them coming!

Tuesday, January 20, 2004 12:52 AM CST

Joey had his counts checked today. To our surprise, his white cell count is a little low. Dr. Weinblatt feels though that it should start to increase now, and Joey does not need to start the GCSF shots again. We will have to watch him closely and check him for signs of a fever. Joey never gives us any indication that he is not feeling well or running a temperature so we have to go by touch and take his temperature every so often, if he feels a little warm.
Joey will start his eighth round of chemotherapy next Tuesday. He will do this as an inpatient. This could be Joey's last stay at the pediatric ward at Winthrop. Yeah! We love the staff and everyone is great to us, but we would rather be home.
Everything is set for the Fundraiser for Joey. Thank you to everyone for the support you are showing our family.

Tuesday, January 13, 2004 9:49 AM CST

Hi Everyone,
Joey had his counts checked this morning, and all was good. We will continue to give him his GCSF shot through Wednesday. His next visit will be in one week to check his counts again and then we will schedule his eighth round of chemotherapy for the week of January 26.

Joey is doing very well this round, no fevers and he is eating very well almost his normal amount. He is just playing having a ball, doing his regular baby stuff. Joey is holding onto furniture walking along, but is not ready yet to step out on his own. He tries, which is obvious with the bruises he has on his head, but he is not yet ready.

Everything is going well with the Dinner/Dance Fund Raiser. Thank you to everyone for buying tickets to the fundraiser it should be a great time. Thank you to Karen for getting it all together. Again, Home Depot 1205, Thank you for the 50/50 you did at the Christmas Party for Joey, we really appreciate it. We also want to say Thank you to Kathleen Jacobs, Arlene Jackson, and Margaret Gann-Jackson for all the fund raising they have been doing for Joey and for the employees at Allstate Insurance a well as the employees at SCCC, Thank you for the donations to Joey's fund.

We will keep everyone posted on Joey's progress. Thank you for the prayers. Keep them coming.

Friday, January 9, 2004 7:25 AM CST

Hi Everyone,
Joey finished his seventh round of chemo yesterday. He did very well, no bad side effects. He is acting just like any other one year old, looking for something to get into. Joey has slowed down a little on his eating habits again this round, but he is eating something’s and he continues to drink his milk, so we are not worried about that too much.

Today we will start giving Joey his daily injections of GCSF. We will continue this until Tuesday at which point Joey will see his Doctor again and have his blood counts checked. We will just keep an eye on Joey's temperature, which can rise due to low counts.

We will keep everyone posted, we are expecting this round to go smoothly then in three weeks, he can start his final round. As always thank you for the prayers, they continue to help Joey get well.

Sunday, January 4, 2004 8:30 PM CST

Hi Everyone,
Joey had a great Birthday. Thank you for all the birthday wishes and for the electronic cards. Joey really loved the animation and music.

We finally have the information posted regarding the benefit Dinner/Dance for Joey. Just click on the link for information.

We also added a few new sites on the friends and family page and will be adding a few more in the future. The more we surf the more families and kind people we meet. One such organization has contacted us and will be making Joey a "Homemade Quilt". Volunteers make the quilt and will send it to Joey. We are so excited and cannot wait to see it. Joey is one of several ill children featured on their site. The link is on our Friends and Family page.

Joey will begin round seven of his Chemotherapy on Tuesday January 6. It will be as an outpatient at the Cancer Center for Kids, and will run over three days.

I will keep everyone updated on Joey's progress with this round. We are hoping that this round does not find him as sick as the last one.
Keep the prayers going we know they are helping Joey.

Monday, December 29, 2003 9:09 AM CST

Hi Everyone,
We had a great Christmas! The kids were so excited to wake up on Christmas morning to see Santa came and brought them many gifts. Joey had so much fun playing with all the wrapping paper, it looked like he was lost is a sea of paper.
Joey has been feeling great, his counts are good and he will start his next round of chemotherapy on January 6. We will be able to do this as an outpatient at The Cancer Center for Kids. This means even though we have to drive each day in traffic, we will be able to come home to our family and our own beds at night. This out-weighs the driving in traffic.
This week we get a break, no Doctor visits for Joey. Instead, we will be celebrating his first birthday on Friday. It is so hard to believe that he is one. It just went by so fast. He is now standing on his own, but still not taking steps, which is okay with us, as it will be hard for him to do these last two rounds of chemotherapy while he is trying to walk. It will be an adventure to say the least.
Please check back in the next few days, on the family and friends page, it will have the information about the Benefit for Joey.
Until then have a great New Year's Eve and New Year. Thank you for the prayers, they really help!

Wednesday, December 24, 2003 7:14 AM CST

Hi Everyone,
Joey had his counts checked on Tuesday. They were okay. His platelets were a little low but higher than last week, so that is good news. This means that Joey can go visiting for the holidays as long as nobody is sick.
Joey begins his next round of chemothrapy on January 6th, this will be round number seven.
We hope everyone has a great Holiday and enjoys' themself.
Thank you for the Prayers.

Thursday, December 18, 2003 10:13 PM CST

Hi everyone,
Just wanted to give a quick update on JoeyÂ’s progress. Joey had his counts done on Tuesday, and they were low, but expected to pick up by Friday, so we had a scheduled appointment for then to have his counts re-checked. By Wednesday morning, Joey was running a fever. With his counts low he had to go right to his DoctorÂ’s office. It turned out it was a good thing we had gone in. JoeyÂ’s white cell count had dropped to almost zero and his red blood count was very low and required him to be transfused. His platelets were low; the lowest I think they have ever been, but still just above were they need to be to avoid a transfusion of platelets.
After Joey had blood drawn for his counts and for blood cultures, to see if he had and bacterial infections causing the fever, he was given anti-biotic through his IV line as well as hydration. He was going to have to be admitted because his counts were so low a chance could not be taken on him getting any sicker.
Joey, along with Patty stayed over night at Winthrop Hospital. He was given a transfusion, as well as two different anti-biotic to help fight any infections in his body. After a night of Tylenol and cool compresses on his head, (he liked wearing the wet rag on his head, he thought it was funny) the fever finally broke and stayed down. When Dr. Weinblatt came to see Joey in the morning, Joey was back to his happy self, playing with anyone who came in the room, and yelling(in a very high pitch screech) at the people he saw outside his room. We were not aloud to walk around this visit to say hello to everyone because Joey can catch anything and not be able to fight it off with no white cells. JoeyÂ’s counts were done again and it showed them to be low but on the rise. The doctors checked the cultures on his blood and so far, they showed no bacterial infection. With all of this information, it was in JoeyÂ’s best interest to send him home on anti-biotic so he did not catch anything from anyone else in the hospital. We were happy to come home and just in time for dinner!
Joey will go back to the DoctorÂ’s on Tuesday and will have his counts re-checked. Until then he will be staying home away from everyone, and we will watch him to see that he does not get any more fevers.
We will keep you posted on Joey and continue with those prayers! Joey needs them!

Friday, December 12, 2003 9:28 PM CST

Hi everyone,
Joey is starting to feel better. The food he is eating is staying down. He also is starting drinking his formula again. He had not wanted it since Tuesday night. It does seem though that Joey has developed a cold, actually all the kids have colds. Joey is taking medication for his cold and he continues to get his daily injections of GCSF, we were able to stop the medication for the nausea though. Joey is still very tired, he plays for a little bit then he has to stop to take a nap. We will continue to watch for a fever. Joey returns to the doctor’s office on Tuesday for blood counts. We will keep you posted.

Friday, December 12, 2003 9:16 PM CST

Hi Everyone,
Joey is starting to feel better. The food he is eating is staying down. He also starting drinking his formula again. He hadn't wanted it since Tuesday night. It does seem though that Joey has developed a cold, acually all the kids have colds. Joey is taking medication for his cold and he continues to get his daily injections of GCSF, we were able to stop the medication for the nausea though. Joey is still very tired, he plays for a little bit then he has to stop to take a nap. We will continue to watch for a fever. Joey returns to the doctors offuce on Tuesday for blood counts. We will keep you posted.

Wednesday, December 10, 2003 9:49 PM CST

Hi everyone,
Joey just finished his sixth round of chemotherapy. He is not doing very well with it. This round seems to have hit him hard! Last night in the hospital, he could not sleep; he was extremely fussy, which is so not him. His stomach must have been bothering him, because after he got his anti-nausea medication he seemed to relax a little. He is not eating very much at this point, and what he is eating is coming up. In addition, Joey will not drink his formula; he will however drink water and a little juice. One of the side effects of chemotherapy is that the palate will get a metallic taste to it and might make him not want to eat. We are hoping that this goes away in the next few days. Another side effect Joey is showing is he is tired all the time. He will play for a few minutes then has to rest. It is so hard to see him trying to push himself to continue to play. Last night he kept trying to sit up and then stand in the hospital crib, but because he was tired and has no strength, he was falling. Finally, I took him out of the crib and had to strap him in the carriage to sleep so he would not hurt himself. Right now, he is still on anti-nausea medication and started his daily injections of GCSF. The anti-nausea medication will continue as needed and the GCSF will continue until at least Tuesday. We will keep you posted on Joey's condition and watch that he gets no fevers which could indicate a low count or/and infection. Keep the prayers coming.
PS-He is still smiling for everyone!

Friday, December 5, 2003 3:15 PM CST

Hi Everyone,
Well it seems as if Joeys Diarrhea has finally cleared up. You could never tell he was feeling ill as he was acting his normal happy self. Therefore, as long as his counts are good on Tuesday morning he will begin his sixth round of chemotherapy at Winthrop Hospital on Tuesday afternoon. He will be an inpatient so he can be hydrated do to the drugs he will be getting this round.
With all the snow we are getting today, we are glad to be home and not having to run around for Doctor Visits and such. We are just staying in and are going to celebrate Joey’s sister, Jessica’s, birthday. She is two today! We are hoping that the weather will clear up by Sunday, as we are having a family party that day for her.
I am still awaiting the flyers regarding the Dinner/Dance fundraiser for Joey. I was hoping to have the information posted within the coming week.
As always, thank you for the prayers for Joey and keep them coming. We will keep you posted on his chemo next week and we hope that we will have pictures to post of Jessica’s party.

Tuesday, December 2, 2003 12:16 AM CST

Hi everyone,
Joey did very well with his counts today. The only problem he is having right now is a bout of diarrhea. He has had this for two days. The Doctor said to keep him off his formula and if it is still present tomorrow he will go back and they will do some tests. It could be his teething, which is causing this. It is hard to tell with a baby.
Joey begins round number 6 of his chemotherapy next week. It will be an inpatient stay starting on Tuesday. He will need to have extra fluids and will be well hydrated.
Joey is now pulling himself up on everything he can. I was hoping his wanting to walk was not going to happen until after he finished all of his treatments but it does not look that way. Oh, well it will be very interesting to have him trying to walk around the Doctor’s office and the hospital halls with an IV pole. Just stay out of his way.
We are still waiting for the flyers to come in on Joey’s Dinner/Dance fundraiser. The only info I have at this time is that it will be on Sunday Feb. 1, 2004. From 4 pm to 8 pm, All are welcome. The hall is in Babylon. In addition, their will be some great prizes being raffled off. As soon as I get the information, I will have a posting on Joey's sight.
Thanks for your prayers, they are definitely working.

Sunday, November 30, 2003 9:33 AM CST

Hi everyone,
Hope you had a great Thanksgiving as we did. Joey did well for the holiday and we all enjoyed our day.
Joey continues to do well. He has had no fevers with this round of Chemo, and we are hoping that when he gets his counts done again on Tuesday that it will show them increasing. We were able to stop his injections for now so I am sure he is happy about that.
Joey is continuing to act like a 10 1/2 month old, as he is now able to pull himself up and stand in his crib, he is so proud of this that he yells as loud as he can to get you in to see him doing this.
Well that is all for now we will update after Tuesday's Doctor Visit.
Maybe we will have an update about the dinner/dance fundraiser.
Take care, and thanks for the prayers.

Wednesday, November 26, 2003 1:18 PM CST

Hi everyone,
Joey went for his counts today. They were okay, the RBC was a little low, but not low enough that he needed a transfusion. The low counts would contribute to his pale coloring. We will continue to watch him for signs of fevers, and listlessness. Also for bruising, this could indicate a low platelet count. That one should not be easy, as Joey has begun to pull or begun trying to pull himself up onto everything, he is all over the place and looking for trouble. Therefore, a bruise here and there is common. We will just note if it seems excessive.
Joey's bone scan came back clean again, which is a great thing! It means no evidence of cancer cells in the bones. Joey's next visit to the Doctors office is Tuesday, and he will have his counts checked again.
Patty's sister is putting together a Fund Raiser for Joey; it will be a Dinner Dance with raffles. Details are still to come but everyone will be welcome. It is going to be February 1. However, we will post more information as we get it.
We would like to thank everyone for their support and prayers, Keep them coming.
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone from the Burawa Family

Friday, November 21, 2003 1:39 PM CST

Hi everyone,
Well Joseph did well with his chemotherapy today, no sickness. Joey's tests are all back except for one, the bone scan. However, all other tests are good. They show that the chemotherapy is working great. Any Neuroblastoma that might be left is microscopic, because of this he will still need to continue his protocol, which consists of three more rounds of chemotherapy and the tests repeated at the end. We are so happy that everything to date is working well for Joseph. We will begin his shot tomorrow of GCSF and his next appointment will be on Wednesday to have his blood counts checked. We will keep you posted on the results of the bone scan test and his counts next week. Have a great weekend we are sure going to try to have a good one. Thank you for your support and prayers.

Thursday, November 20, 2003 6:57 PM CST

Hi Everyone,
Well, we are glad to be home. Joey really enjoys visiting with all the staff at Winthrop Hospital but he prefers to sleep in his own bed. His first two days of chemotherapy went well, no sickness. He will go in tomorrow for his third day for this round.
The results for his CT scan came back good; they showed that the liver is shrinking nicely, almost to a normal size. The rest of the results we are hoping to have tomorrow when we go in.
Joey continues to be happy and is enjoying himself. He is showing signs of being tired due to the chemotherapy, and went to sleep early tonight.
We will let you know how tomorrow’s treatment goes and the results of the tests when we get them.
As always, thank you for keeping Joey in your prayers.

Tuesday, November 18, 2003 7:24 AM CST

Hi everyone,
Joey did well on his tests. They took several hours, but Joey was sedated so he didn’t even know. He woke up from his sedation happy as ever. We didn’t even mind the drive in rush hour traffic.
We still at this time do not know the results of the tests. We are hoping that we will know when we go in on Wednesday, when Joey starts his next round of chemotherapy.
For this round Joey will have to do one over night in the hospital because of the drug he will be receiving. Then he will come home on Thursday night after receiving his second drug and we will drive back in for his third day on Friday. We don’t mind driving because we get to sleep in our own bed at night.
We will keep everyone updated as to the results of the tests when we get them. Thanks for the prayers, Keep them coming that his tests will come back clear.

Friday, November 14, 2003 10:48 PM CST

Hi everyone,
Just wanted to keep you posted on Joey’s tests and how he’s doing.
The procedure for the bone marrow went well. Joey is home and resting, he is a little saw and we give him Tylenol to keep him happy. He should be himself with in a day or so.
The next step is the rest of the tests. These will be done at Winthrop Hospital on Monday. We will be spending most of the day there. Then Joey will begin his next round of chemotherapy on Wednesday. This will be an overnight visit. Because of the drug he will be receiving he must be flushed overnight. He will get chemo on Thursday at the hospital also but then we will be able to come home Thursday night. We will then go back in to the Cancer Center for Kids on Friday for another day of chemotherapy. I know it’s a lot of driving, but it’s so much better for us to be in our own beds when we can and for Joey to see his brother and sisters.
As of right now we do not have any results on Joey’s test done today, but we should have some results by the middle of next week.
As always through all of this Joey continues to smile and be happy. You can’t help but smile when you see him. We will keep you posted on Joey’s progress. Keep the prayers coming. Thanks

Wednesday, November 12, 2003 10:41 PM CST

Hi Everyone,
Well we have the dates for the tests. This Friday Joey will have the bone marrow done in the Doctor's office under sedation. Then on Monday at Winthrop Hospital Joey will have the CT scan, Bone scan, and hearing test done. All under sedation. So we will be spending most of the day there as the tests take some time.
Joey had his counts done today, they were good. So as long as he is not sick all will go according to plan. His stuffy nose seems to be clearing up so that's good news.
We will find out on Monday when his next round of chemo will be. I think he starts again on Wednesday. We will keep everyone posted on hoe Joey does and the results of the tests. Keep the prayers coming. Thanks

Monday, November 10, 2003 10:28 PM CST

Hi everyone,
Well Joey did fine at his 10 month well baby check up. Dr. Ryzova and the staff were glad to see Joey. We haven’t been there in it seems like forever. Anyway no shots for now until after treatments are over. But he is growing fine. He does have a runny nose, but Dr Ryzova feels it may not be the cold his sisters had but running from his new teeth. It seems like over night Joey has gotten four new teeth on top. I was beginning to wonder when they were coming. He has 2 on the bottom for the longest time and then nothing. Now he has a mouth full. Well still no news on when all the tests will be done. We know that the bone scan will be done on Monday November 17th. I guess when we go in for Joey's counts this Wednesday we will know more. We will keep everyone posted on the tests. Also if you go to Joey's friends and family page you can hear Joey's new song, it was written just for him. We also added new family photo's.
Thanks for the prayers and thoughts.

Monday, November 10, 2003 10:28 PM CST

Hi everyone,
Well Joey did fine at his 10 month well baby check up. Dr. Ryzova and the staff were glad to see Joey. We haven’t been there in it seems like forever. Anyway no shots for now until after treatments are over. But he is growing fine. He does have a runny nose, but Dr Ryzova feels it may not be the cold his sisters had but running from his new teeth. It seems like over night Joey has gotten four new teeth on top. I was beginning to wonder when they were coming. He has 2 on the bottom for the longest time and then nothing. Now he has a mouth full. Well still no news on when all the tests will be done. We know that the bone scan will be done on Monday November 17th. I guess when we go in for Joey's counts this Wednesday we will know more. We will keep everyone posted on the tests. Thanks for the prayers and thoughts.

Thursday, November 6, 2003 10:20 PM CST

Hi everyone,
We are still not sure as to the exact dates for all the testing. We do know that the bone scan will be done on November 17. The other tests can be worked out to be done under the same anesthesia, but it might be too long for Joey to be under. We are waiting for the Doctor to make that decision. In the meantime, Joey is feeling good, he is not showing any signs of having the cold that his sisters have which is good because it really is so hard to keep them away from him, especially Jessie; she has to be next to him all the time. Joey will be going in to his regular pediatricians’ office for a check up on Monday, but no vaccinations until all chemotherapy is complete. Then on Wednesday Joey goes in for his counts to be taken. His chemotherapy will not start until all the tests are done.
Again we would like to thank the employees of Home Depot 1205 for the merit badge fund raiser. Thank you so much!! It really helps to know so many people support Joey and his family. As always thanks for the prayers and thoughts. We will keep you posted on the tests.

Tuesday, November 4, 2003 9:42 PM CST

Hi everyone,
Joey went for counts today. They were okay so he can stop getting his daily injections for now.
We are still unsure as to when Joey will have all his tests, to check his progress, done. They are trying to schedule some of them back to back, because with them he has to be sedated, and the less he has to go under the better. It looks like so far it will be this coming Monday Nov. 10th and the following Monday Nov. 17th. This will delay he next round of chemotherapy as all tests need to be done before Joey continues his treatments.
Right now we are trying to keep Joey away from his two sisters who seem to have gotten a cold. We do not want him to get sick as we don't want to further delay any of his treatments. We will keep you posted on how things progress.
As always thanks for the prayers and support!

Thursday, October 30, 2003 10:37 AM CST

We just returned home from Joey's doctor visit. His counts were okay. We will still have to continue his daily injections of GCSF. The Doctor said his counts could still drop because his last chemotherapy day was on Friday. They typically drop 7 to 10 days after treatment. So we will keep watch for fevers for the next few days. Joey will be having a lot of tests done next week. Joey is going to be scheduled for a hearing test; the drugs Joey gets can affect the hearing. Also A CT scan to look at the tumor that was remaining on his liver. AS well as a Bone scan to make sure that the cancer is not in his bones. Last time the test showed no evidence of this but it has to be checked to make sure nothing has spread. And the final test will be a spinal tap; I believe it will be in his hip. This will allow the Doctors to check his bone marrow, as the last time it had shown slight abnormalities. So to say the least we will be very busy next week. I think Joey has his regular check-up next week also. We will let you know how Joey does over the week end and how each test goes. Also I am sure we will be posting some Halloween Pictures of Joey and his sisters. I don't think that we will find his big brother in a costume though.
Thanks to everyone for their support and prayers!!!

Saturday, October 25, 2003 6:25 PM CDT

Hi Everyone,
Joey continues to do well. To see him you would not think this little guy with the big blue eyes just finished his fourth round of chemotherapy. We started his daily injections of GCSF. He did well with it. I guess he is getting use to it and doesn't let it bother him as much.
We wanted to take this opportunity to say Thank You, to several people. First to Andy Caliendo, for doing a Fund Raiser at Home Depot (Patchogue West). And then to Pattie's co-workers at Home Depot (Patchogue) for doing A bake sale as well as a Tag sale to help with Joey's medical bills. Enough cannot be said for all they have done for our family. Today at the tag sale Patty went down with Joey, and News 12 showed up. It is nice to see all the support that Joey is getting. He is a tough little guy. Joey will go for his next visit on Thursday for his blood counts. We will keep you updated on his progress. Thanks.

Friday, October 24, 2003 10:09 PM CDT

Hi all,
Sorry the update is so late, but by the time we got home I had to get ready for work. Anyway Joey finished his fourth round of chemotherapy today. He did great, no problems. He is eating great, and just playing and having fun.
We will begin his daily shots tomorrow (Saturday) to get his white cell count up. We will let everyone know when Joey goes in for his tests to see how his tumor is responding to the chemotherapy. We are due back on Thursday for his counts.
Maybe Joey will wear his Halloween costume to the Dr's to show everyone how cute he looks. Joey loves to go in and see everyone they all make such a fuss over him.
Paul has updated the site with some pictures of the Dr's, Nurses, and Staff from the Cancer Center for Kids. You can see that Joey feels very comfortable around them. Just click on the link for friends and family to see the new pictures.

Thursday, October 23, 2003 1:33 PM CDT

Joey finished today's Chemo quicker than yesterday, only one drug today. He is doing well so far, no sickness and he is eating. We will be going in for one more day of Chemo this week. Then on Saturday we will begin the GCSF shots to get his white cell count up. After Friday Joey has reached the half way point of his protocol, this means only four more rounds of chemo to go. We will be scheduled in the next few weeks for updated tests, to see how the chemotherapy is helping Joey. He will also be getting a hearing test to check for any damage that could have been done from the drugs. I will have more information I think in the next few days as to what tests he will be getting. Thanks for checking in.

Wednesday, October 22, 2003 9:42 PM CDT

Today Joey started his 4th round of Chemo. He is doing this as an out patient. So we can sleep at home at night. The days are long but it is good to be able to come home at night. He did very well today. We will go in again on Thursday and Friday morning for more Chemo. To date Joey continues to keep his weight on, he is slightly increasing but not loosing any. He continues to keep his happy disposition, and has no clue he is even sick.
Paul is in the process of adding the pictures I have mentioned earlier and putting on more information on this disease and other children affected by this and other childhood illness please feel free to take a look. Also stop by and read out guestbook see that’s been here and sign it yourself, it's nice to know that you’re looking to see how Joe's doing. Again thanks for the Prayers and thoughts.

Wednesday, October 15, 2003 2:01 PM CDT

We just returned home from the Doctors. Joey's counts were very good and he will start his next round of chemotherapy on Wednesday Oct. 22. He will go for three days and will be able to do this as an outpatient. I saved the best news for last...The doctor said he can feel that Joey's liver is shrinking, which is great and means the chemotherapy is working. We will keep you posted on his progress. Thanks for your support and prayers.

Saturday, October 11, 2003 11:36 AM CDT

Hi everyone,
Well Joey is back to his normal happy self today. It took a few days but he seems to be eating very well today and is not as fussy and sleepy as he had been the last two days. It's good to see him playing and having fun. We will continue with his daily injection. Joey goes in for blood counts on Wednesday. We will keep you posted.

Thursday, October 9, 2003 9:54 PM CDT

Hi all,
Well we have just returned home after a long day at the Doctor's office. Joey went in for his blood counts. And to our surprise his red blood cell count was low. Joey was playing and just being himself so we really had no clue that his count was low. He had to get a transfusion of red blood. This was done over several hours so they could monitor him to make sure he had no reactions. All went well with the transfusion. He was a little bit cranky tonight but ate some supper and is off sleeping now. Hopefully he will do well through the night. We will continue with his shots of GCSF until Monday and if all goes well we don't have to go to the Doctor's until Wednesday. So if Joey is feeling well this weekend, maybe we can go out and do some pumpkin picking. I know the girls are looking forward to it. Also Paul is working on getting another link to this page so we can add on some pictures of Joey, his family and friends. We hope to have that up and running in the near future. (Thank goodness someone knows how to run a computer in the family, it's like having my own 24/7 tech support at home) Thanks again for the prayers and support.

Tuesday, October 7, 2003 11:53 AM CDT

Joey continues to do well. He had a slight fever last night, but it finally broke before we had to take him in to the hospital. I am sure he was glad he got to stay home and sleep in his own crib. We will continue with the GCSF shots. Joey's next visit will be this Thursday. He will have his blood counts checked. As of right now Joey is back to his normal self being happy and playing.

Sunday, October 5, 2003 3:46 PM CDT

Well we made it home!! Joey finished up his last dose of chemotherapy for this round. He did not have any bouts of nausea, and is able to eat close to what he had been eating prior to going in for this round. We will begin GCSF shots on Monday, at home. This will help to bring his white cell count up. Joey will go in for a new blood count check later in the week. And we will keep a watch out for fevers. But as of right now we are glad to be home and able to sleep in our own beds. Joey continues to be in happy spirits and smiles for everyone he sees.

Saturday, October 4, 2003 1:32 PM CDT

Joey's counts were good on Friday, and his 3rd round of chemotherapy went on as scheduled. He is doing well and not having any bad side effects as of now. He will get his last dose for this round on Sunday, and we hope to be hope by Sunday night if all goes well. We will update you when we get home. Thank You for all the Prayers!!

Monday, September 29, 2003 1:20 PM CDT

Hi everyone,
Joey is doing fine. He will go for new counts on Friday and if all is well we will go over to the hospital and start his next round of chemotherapy. He seems to be doing well, eating good and playing. A lot of people have asked me if he is in pain. Well I can't just ask him that but, I would say no. He doesn't cry other than if I am late getting him his food. When he receives his treatments they are given through his med port. The area is numbed for at least a half hour before with a crème. When they access his port he does not feel a thing. He is usually playing with a toy or drinking his bottle. As he receives his treatment he feels nothing, it is just like anyone having an IV in their arm, but his is in his upper right chest. He has never shown any signs of discomfort from having the port, and when I talked to Dr. Weinblatt about it he explained that it wouldn't hurt him when touched or pushed on, as he has kids who play football with a med port. So he can do everything any other 8 month old can do.

On another note, our friend Gavin will be going in for his surgery if all goes according to plan on Wednesday morning so please say a prayer for him and his family.

Thank you for all your prayers and support.

Friday, September 26, 2003 12:48 AM CDT

We just returned from The Cancer Center for Kids in Mineola, where Joey had his counts checked today. His white cell count was up which is good. Joey will have his next round of Chemotherapy next week for three days starting on Friday the 4th. This will be done as an inpatient at Winthrop Hospital. The reason for this is because one of the drugs he will be receiving has certain side effects that need Joey to have a flush of his system. So we will be in until Sunday. Joey is as usual being happy and playing. He loves to see everyone at the Dr's; he just loves all the fuss they make over him, from the minute we walk in to the time we walk out.

Tuesday, September 23, 2003 8:37 PM CDT

We finally came home today (Tuesday) this afternoon. Joey is doing well the fever is gone and his counts are up, almost near normal his Doctor said. What he did have was Neutropenia, low white cell count with a high fever. We are glad he had no further complications that can be associated with this. He was happy to get home. We will be going to The Cancer Center for kids on Friday of this week for a new blood count. If all is well Joey is scheduled to have his next round of chemotherapy next week around Wednesday. We will find out on Friday if we can do this as an out patient or if Joey must go in the hospital for this round. Paul has put some new pictures up of Joey. As you can see he is smiling like always. Thank you to everyone for your prayers.

Monday, September 22, 2003 3:30 PM CDT

Joey is still in the hospital. But his fever has not come back, so the anitbiotics are working. The Dr's are waiting for the final tests on the blood cultures which till this point have all been negative, which is good. Also Joey's white cell count has come up a bit, but needs to be a little higher for him to come home. The Dr feels he will be home on Tuesday or Wednesday. He will be on antibiotics and we will have a visiting nurse come to the house and show me what has to be done for that. Joey continues to smile and is playing happily.

Sunday, September 21, 2003 5:57 PM CDT

Joey is having a rough week end. On Saturday night he developed a fever. By the time we got in to Winthrop Hospital it was at 102.6. And his white blood count was extremely low. They had Joey admitted to give him antibiotics to help fight what is giving him the fever. They are running tests to see what is causing it. If his counts come up and his fever stays away we might be able to go home on Monday with Joey on antibiotics. We will let you know how things progress. And by the way he still is smiling.

Thursday, September 18, 2003 9:41 PM CDT

We went in to the Cancer Center for Kids (Joey's Doctors) for blood counts today. Joey's counts were not too bad, which means the GCSF medication to make his white cell count come up is working. His red blood cells and his platelets were also not very bad and he does not need any transfusions at this time. We will still be doing daily home injections of GCSF until Sunday night. And we will keep watch to see if he gets any fevers. Joey is still doing very well and he continues to be a happy baby. We will go back to the Cancer Center for Kids for another blood count on Tuesday. Joey and I had two visitors today at the Dr's office, Mike Stratford and his daughter Michelle. Michelle is four years old and is a cancer survivor. She was diagnosed at around the same age as Joey was when he was diagnosed. Although it was a different diagnosis it was good to see that children do survive and move on with their lives. Michelle is a cute little girl with a great personality. Thank you to Mike for taking the time to stop in and see us it really helps. We will keep you posted as things move forward and we are still working on the new pictures.

Monday, September 15, 2003 9:24 PM CDT

We had to take a ride today to The Cancer Center for Kids so Joey could get his GCFS shot. They did finally arrange for us to have a visiting nurse, now we have to wait for the medication to arrive. If it doesn't get here, we will have to go back to the center tomorrow for them to give Joey another shot, Joey doesn't mind going he loves all the nurses and Dr's and the fuss they make over him. Joey is doing very well after this round of Chemo. He has not gotten sick, he is eating a bit less and he is sleepy, but other than that he is doing well, still smiling. Oh, and yes, we are working on getting more pictures on the sight. Hopefully by next week. Thank you for visiting.

Saturday, September 13, 2003 7:46 PM CDT

Well, we finally got home tonight at 4pm. We spent two long days in the hospital. First thing on Friday we went to have Joey's blood counts checked. They were good enough for him to proceed with his next round of chemotherapy. So we went over to Winthrop Hospital, Joey was given 3 different drugs on Friday as well as steroids and anti- nausea medication. We were all set to leave on Saturday morning but were held up because we could not locate a visiting pediatric nurse in our area that was in our insurance plan. We will need her to come to the house to show us how to give Joey his daily injections of GCSF. (This is a drug to help boost his white blood counts) The nurses were greatat Winthrop, and showed Patty how to give him injections and had her give him his first one. They were able to give him a larger dose so we could come home today and not have to go back on Sunday for another shot. We will find out on Monday, if they were able to find a nurse in our area. Other wise we will have to go in daily as an out patient until we can give it on our own.

Joey is doing fine through all of this. He has not been sick and is eating rather well. He was sure happy to be home and see his family. After a few hours of playing with his sisters he fell right asleep.

We will keep you updated on Joey as things progress and Thank you again for all your support.

Monday, September 8, 2003 3:34 PM CDT

Joseph went for his blood counts test today as well as a check-up. Good news-His liver is showing signs of shrinkage. But, his blood counts were a little low and we will have to go back on Friday morning and have them re-checked. If Joey's blood counts are still low on Friday, his Chemotherapy, scheduled as an inpatient over night, will be postponed until they come back up. Joey is still laughing and playing as usual. Thank you to everyone for thinking of us and saying your prayers. We will keep you updated as things progress.

Friday, September 5, 2003 12:18 AM CDT

Joseph is doing well. He has not been sick since our last entry, which is a good thing. He still seems more tired than usual but we expect that. We still watch him for fevers. We will be going in to the Children's Cancer Center in Mineola, where Joseph receives most of his treatments, on Monday Sept. 8th for a new blood count. If all goes well with those tests Joey will be going in for his next chemotherapy treatment on Friday Sept. 12th. Joey as always is playing and just being a happy 8 month old. Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers. We know they are helping Joey to get well.

Sunday, August 31, 2003 9:39 PM CDT

We have been having a great week-end. Joey is doing fine. He is showing signs of being tired, and had a few bouts of nausea. But otherwise he is happy and playing with his sisters and brother. We are still keeping watch for fevers because of his low blood counts, but we have been very lucky so far. Thank you to everyone for your support.

Thursday, August 28, 2003 12:34 AM CDT

Hi everyone, we just got back from the doctors today, where they checked Joey's blood counts. They are a little low, but that is to be expected. The white blood cells are a little lower than the red cells and platelets, but still above 500. We will just watch Joey for a fever, but as of right now he is doing well and playing with his sisters and brother. We will keep you posted as things progress.

Friday, August 22, 2003 10:03 PM CDT

Hi Everyone, Joseph did very well today with his 3rd day of chemotherapy. He is showing no side effects except for not eating as much but that is to be expected. He also had his hearing test done results should be given to us next week. His hearing will be checked every so often as some of the drugs he is getting can cause a problem with hearing. Joey is still lauging and playing like his regular self. He will go in on Thursday to have his blood counts checked. We are hoping for a high #. Thanks for everyone's prayers and thoughts.

Thursday, August 21, 2003 8:28 PM CDT

Joseph had his second treatment today. He is a real tuff little guy. He is not showing any side affects. And is keeping with his happy personality. Tomorrow he will go for another round of chemotherapy, and a hearing test to make sure the treatment is not bothering his hearing. We will keep you posted on how Joey does.

Wednesday, August 20, 2003 8:18 PM CDT

Joseph went through his first round of chemotherapy today. He has done rather well, no side effects. Even though we were there all day Joseph was so good, he just played with his toys as if it was a regular day. We want to thank everyone for all of there thoughts and prayers for Joseph and the family. He will go back tomorrow and on Friday for more chemotherapy we will keep you updated as we go.

Friday, August 15, 2003 9:54 PM CDT

We just returned home tonight from Winthrop Hospital. Joseph underwent a minor surgery to have a port inserted under his skin. This will help him to receive his chemotherapy treatments and also help when he needs to have blood drawn. He is a little tired and sore, but he's resting now.
Joey's treatments are due to start next week.

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