Maintenance, finally

Up until now, Luis has undergone numerous hospital visits, pokes, and chemo treatments. Over the last few hospital visits, Luis has been very brave when he gets his poke in the arm. He doesn't even cry anymore. He consciously tells me that he is going to be brave and he holds still. Yesterday, we went for a hospital visit to check Luis' blood counts and found that his immunity was pretty good.

Mommy with her little men leaving a check-up

After 8 ½ months of treatment, we are finally at the start of the desired treatment phase of "Maintenance"! It seemed so far away when Luis was first diagnosed in May 2012, but now we're here.

First day of the maintenance phase

Luis and Ollie

It sounds like Luis' health should be relatively okay during maintenance, and that's what matters most. There could still be periods of weak immunity, but overall, he is expected to do well and he can spend more time in the general public. In fact, the doctor even encourages Luis to go to school for his mental and social well-being. But if I may whine for a moment, from mommy's perspective, the maintenance phase still sounds like a lot of work. The phase will last approx. 1.7 years. Here is the new treatment regiment that will repeat until approximately September 2014:

• Chemo through port once per month at hospital (2 months in London; 1 month in Windsor; repeat);
• Chemo pills every week;
• Steroids 5 days per month; and
• Oral chemo at home every day on an empty stomach.

So there is still lots of chemo, albeit low dose, and lots of medicine to juggle, but in the end, Luis' life will be getting back to normal. Yay!

--Mommy