What a difference a day makes..

The chemo has really knocked Cody for a loop. His little body is now drained of energy and he just doesn't have that awesome smile and laugh right now. This stay has been much different in that Cody has seemed to change. I'm not sure if it is all because of a certain medication or that he is maturing. His anger issues have not showed once since we have been here. On the other hand he is much more emotional. He cried for hours after Diane and Justin left yesterday. Part of that may have been from his stomach discomfort. They had to give him meds last night to help with the pain. He was finally able to go to sleep around 1:30. He is such a trooper. His hair is starting to fall out again. I may bring in the clippers to cut it off. It gets all over his pillow and in his mouth and eyes.

Today we move... The hospital is renovating sections of this floor so we will move to another section today. We are lucky in that the room we have been in is a little larger than most and it is nice for the longer stay. We are not sure what type of room we will be getting later today.

Well, it's over!!!
As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, AOL is making it's final flight from VA to NY tomorrow. Over the years they have been so good to patients and their families while helping us get to NY for treatments. Corporate Angel is currently looking for another company to fill that void. Diane and I will now turn to Angel Wings. They fly little personal planes up there. From what I understand they are not for everyone though. The ride is much different on such a small plane. If possible Cody and I will be using them next month when we go up for his scans and bone marrow. Diane will be taking him up a week or so later to begin his 3f8 treatments. My guess is that she will try something else. She doesn't even like to fly on the big planes.

Stem cell rescue Friday...
Cody will be getting a stem cell rescue Friday. The doctors and nurses are all ready to go. They have had his stem cells frozen ever since his transplant years ago. This will help his system recover quicker and get his bone marrow back to where it should be.

The next step...
The 3f8 treatment that he will be getting is the antibody treatment that I have referred to before on my blog. It is made of mouse antibodies that are created to attack the neuroblastoma cells. There is a humanized form of these antibodies that they are developing but they are not ready yet. 3f8 has many advantages over chemo. The patients don't lose their hair, they don't get sick for days and it doesn't beat their body down like chemo. But,,,, 3f8 is very painful. So painful in fact that there are not many meds that can control the pain. Other parents from our BOP say that you feel helpless during that treatment. You want to help your child get through it but you can only be there to comfort them. On the bright side, the pain only lasts for 30 minutes or so and when it is done the kid has the rest of the day to do what they want. On the other hand, the kids must do it for 5 days and it must be done once a month. Although 3f8 has it's own set of challenges it is by far a better option than chemo. Here is a link that Dottie provided that explains 3f8 much better.

It use to bother me to ask for donations. Asking for money is just hard for me. I am proud that way I guess. But, when it comes to this I ask that you give what you can. If you know someone that usually gives to a charity please suggest that they give to BOP. You can point them to the link on my page. Help is needed!!!!!

Please keep praying for Cody and my family. My other two young ones are showing signs of stress. Justin is having stomach issues and Daniela is starting to act out in ways that are common the stress that is placed on siblings. It's a long hard road...

Heading into day 2 of 4...

Last night Cody completed his last of the 2 day heavy chemo treatments. That's not to say that the next 2 won't be hard but they take much less time to administer and do not require that he pee every 30 minutes. He remains in very good spirits and is still sleeping as I type @ 10 am. He gets up to go pee and then goes back to sleep. His blood counts are dropping like a rock and he will most definitely require a blood transfusion tomorrow. I pray that he isn't hit too hard by this cycle but we are expecting a rough time for him.

The next couple weeks are going to be very hard for Diane and I trying to find something for Justin to do. Daniela has her week lined up with cheerleader camp and with her friend Rachel in the afternoon. We really don't have anything for Justin to do the next few weeks. Diane is taking him to work with her today and I think the plan is to bring him in with her tonight. We are scrambling to find something for him to do.

Gas prices are not coming down fast enough for our liking. I drive an Expedition and Diane has an old Taurus wagon. With the next few weeks of driving into and out of DC on the schedule we are going to have many regular visits to the gas station. We would love to get a smaller car for commuting but with medical bills and gas it won't be happening anytime soon. We have wanted to get her a mini van for years but that is just not very high on our priority list right now.

School right around the corner. The kids will start school after Labor Day which is a month away. With Cody's treatments I'm sure the month of August is going to fly bye.. I pray that Cody will be able to get back into school relatively fast. We have not even broached that subject with the doctor yet.

Please pray that things keep going smooth this week for Cody....

Thanks for stopping in..

Chemo started...

Well I took Cody in yesterday morning and he got started on his treatment. When the kids and I left to come home from the hospital Cody was in great spirits. I'm sure things could very well go down hill in the next few days. As I sated on Friday he will be getting a stem cell rescue this coming Friday. His system is having a very hard time coming back from this chemo. I pray to God that this is the last chemo he has to ever get. But, unfortunately that is not very realistic. History shows that this cancer does not give up or let go. Cody is in for a battle that very few people will ever know. God Bless you Cody!!!!

I was able to get a run in this morning. I have to mow the lawn and get a hair cut today also before heading back in.

Thanks for stopping by!!!

Sorry for the late post...

We went out to the golf driving range and let the kids hit balls. We also rode the golf carts out in the field behind the range. They had a great time.

Cody had his blood checked today. I was worse than Monday. So the plan is, we go in tomorrow to start chemo. He will have 4 days of chemo and then on Friday he will go to the PICU and get a stem cell rescue. It was my understanding that they couldn't do them because they were not certified. Well now my understanding is that they don't need that certification because it's not a transplant. I'm not sure what all the fuss is about. Cody had his stem cell transplant at Georgetown. So whatever.. We just want to get started.

At lunch today I dropped by my daughter Corie's house and met my grandson for the first time. He is so cute. He has an extremely long torso. I think he is going to be a big fella. Here are a couple of pictures. Mackenzie, me and Devin..

Not much to update..

Tomorrow the kids get back home. I sure do miss them. I'm kinda sorry that Cody did not start his chemo on Monday. We are going to have a good juggling act trying to find places for the kids to go if Cody goes in tomorrow.

Cody and I went to see the movie Hell Boy today. It was a pretty good movie and Cody seemed to really enjoy it. We are just going to be chilling for the rest of the day. Both of the dogs must have got into something last night. I cleaned up dog crap when I got up and again when we got home from the movie. I really don't need this extra stress....

I will let you all know if things get started tomorrow.