Caden Update from Schelly

"Things are going pretty well. Caden is inpatient and well into round 5. Yahooo!!!! We are almost done. It seems like it has been an eternity, but only about two months to go. I thought we would be home sooner, but I was wrong. He had his first week of chemo last sat, sun and mon. He started his second week today. He gets chemo every 12 hours for Sat and Sun. On Monday he will get one last shot of chemo into his thigh muscle. Then he is done with chemo. Hopefully forever. As much as I would like to believe that...the Dr's have warned me that he will get another type of cancer later in life. It's not a matter of 'if' it is a matter of 'when'. So lets hope for age 95 and toe cancer (if there is such a thing, lol, who needs their toes at 95 anyway!!!!). Seriously though...he is doing well now. The docs have also warned that this last round takes the longest for the marrow to recover and he will get some sort of infection at some point because he will have absolutely no immune system for several weeks. He will have to stay inpatient the entire time. I am praying for a miracle. I know they exist because I gave birth to two! Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers! For all of my friends in Alaska...man...I wish I was there enjoying the sunshine with you. Soon. We will see you all soon. "

The update from my sister sounds pretty positive so far, which is a really good thing. I would hate to see him lose his gorgeous little smile. Poor baby!

The Videos

Here I am trying AGAIN to upload videos to this BLOG. I swear that I am not technologically challenged but I don't see how these short little videos can possibly be so difficult to download. They are all just a few short minutes but I am having a rough time with them. I still can't figure out how to place the real-time clock either. I am still waiting for JennyP to read this and tell me. We did a whole lot of nothing today and the weather was a bit chilly. There is really great news on the Caden front though...if you can say that chemo is good news. Well, honestly the end result will be and he will go home fully healed and live a wonderfully normal life driving his mother crazy just like every other child. Anyway, my sister sent an email saying that his blood counts are up enough that they can begin the fifth round. This is good news. I send out updates regularly and must say thank you to all of my friends and family who pray or send well wishes to them. My sister's update is below:

"As much as Caden has enjoyed his time out....we are starting round 5 tomorrow!!!!! I know, silly to be excited about that, but it holds more meaning then you'd think. It means that his counts have come up enough that they do not think the leukemia is back and he does not need to have the bone marrow aspiration today. It also means that the sooner we start this round the sooner we will be HOME!!! I am hoping to catch some of the Alaskan summer but it is looking unlikely. The weather here is actually not as nice right now as home. Go figure. C'est la vie. I am hoping for an uneventful 5th round and a speedy recovery. In a perfect world right?? Except our world is so far from perfect. I am actually grateful for that. How boring life would be if all were perfect. I am also grateful for all of my family, friends, and everyone accross the globe praying for us. Strange how we have become part of the lives of people all over the world. Thank you."

Thanks again to all of you who take the time to think of my family when you are busy with your own lives. It means more than you may ever know. Since I can't seem to get the videos to upload, I am attaching some recent pictures of Caden and Cameron. As I noted in my last email, they make me happy and sad at the same time. It is so sad for me to think that soon this poor little boy will be sick to his stomach and weak again from the treatment he needs to get rid of this aweful cancer. It makes me happy to see his big smile though and I find solace in the fact that children are often stronger than adults and the bounce back better than most. There is a large blessing in that fact.