Sweet for certain

MOMMY:

I enjoyed a lovely evening blowing bubbles with Luis after Julien went to sleep. It's great to have those moments. We discovered that if we blow them over the central air conditioning unit outside, the fan blows them up quickly to the roof of the house. It put a big smile on both of our faces. That's what it's all about.

Luis making his brother laugh

 Luis was being a silly dancer. The goofy faces were all for show! 

I recently learned about a cousin with her own serious health issue, leaking brain fluid. It's down-right scary to think about. Again, I'm reminded of how fragile life can be and how we need to stop in our tracks from time to time. We need to appreciate what we have and more importantly, who we have. I have had so much support since this ordeal began nearly 3 months ago. It's been unbelievable. As Dave Matthews once said, "Celebrate we will, for life is short but sweet for certain".

Luis' chemo

The past week and half was filled with daily doses of oral chemo given at home. We finally completed 7 shots over this period as well.  I am so relieved. By the last two shots, it was marginally easier to hold him still during the injection. I think it took the young nurse a few visits before she knew how to cope with Luis' extreme terror of the needle.

This 'consolidation phase' will be coming to an end soon. Just a couple more weeks before we start the next phase. The next phase, 'interim maintenance', sounds a little lighter compared with this phase. The visits seem spaced out more and there are fewer types of chemo drugs given. Thankfully, the real nasty drugs won't be for some time.

For now, I'm glad that Luis' side effects to the current drugs have been minimal. Occasional sore tummies and a few vomiting episodes. Oh yeah, and neutropenia, a compromised immune system. I'm always checking him over. Any new sores or rashes could be an indication of an infection. I call our Nurse Case Manager all the time with various questions. We're on a first name basis. I wonder if other moms are as paranoid as I am. Who could blame me.