Tomorrow (Fri) we head back to Riley again for another bone marrow test
to see exactly where we are. If all continues to go well, this should
be the end of the first phase of Daniel's chemotherapy referred to as
"Induction Phase". They we will enter into the 2nd or "Consolidation"
phase. So far it's been described as "also intensive", but we have
almost no other info on what to expect. We THINK we heard that he'll go
off the steroids though, and that will be a WONDERFUL thing ... we
think. The side effects over the past 28 days have been horrendous.
The bloating, RAVENOUS appetite, and mood swings (though the latter have
been extremely rare & mild) have made our poor little guy
miserable. Andrea recently said that he looks like he's 7months
pregnant - looks more like 10months to me!! ;-)
As of today, I've finally had to step in and put some harsh (according
to Daniel) limits on the food intake. I've limited him to eating only
every 3hrs with nothing but liquids between, and those meals will be
small and low-calorie. Apparently neither Daniel nor Andrea are happy
with me (mostly because she has to be the one to enforce this while I'm
at work) - so I'm the bad guy right now. That's OK. Hopefully, we
heard right, and the steroids will be done, at least for awhile(??)
If nothing else, it's been an opportunity to have some real "on the
ground" conversations about things like self-control, discipline, and
hunger in general. Daniel will certainly have an empathy for a whole
new set of people in the world as we come through this and I don't want
to miss the opportunities to help him process that. Of course that
doesn't make it any easier to go through ... for any of us.
Please pray that the test results continue to come back as positive and
hopeful as they have been, and that this next phase will offer some
relief from the worst of the side-effects.
... Also for wisdom, and perseverance for both Andrea and I as we have
to force some unpleasant limits on a little guy we'd much rather be
spoiling right now for all he's going through. :(
- Tim -
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