Lucas received two more drugs today as part of his chemo treatment and his body seems to be tolerating it well. However, his cute personality is something of the past. The treatment causes him to be extremely tired and fussy. The lab work tells us he's fine, but his eyes tell a much different story. Although he is taking morphine for the pain caused by the tumor, he is still quite fussy. I noticed today as I was stroking his head that his hair was getting greasy and sweaty and he was a little bit stinky from laying in bed for numerous days. One of the techs helped me give him a bath this afternoon but because of his central line we couldn't immerse him in water. So, we had to lay him in a tub basin and just try to sponge bathe him. He was so uncomfortable and I could tell he was in pain. He likes to turn his head to the left and curves his body to avoid discomfort from the cancer. We had to straighten him out to clean him good and he wasn't happy. By the time we were done he calmed down and fell asleep. He smelled so good!!! He also hasn't had an appetite since starting the chemo which I guess is normal. It's so crazy to see my little piggy not wanting anything to eat. I'm lucky to get him to drink a few oz a day. They are pumping him full of vitamins and fluids so that's good. My mom did our laundry today and I was thinking about how I miss our normal life and that I wish I could just go back to the way things were. My day would sound like this, "Hey boys, do you want to go to the park or the dinasour museum today? Hmmmmm, what should I make for dinner tonight? Let's see....should we watch Hereos tonight or the Office?" Seiously? These were the most stressfull things in my life? I guess Aaron and I were just to comfortable and we needed this trial to mix things up a bit. It isn't always fair, but it's necessary in order to learn and become stronger. I'm grateful for all of the blessings that have come from this challenge in our life. We are all capable of so much more than we can even comprehend. Once it is happening to you, you find this inner strength that gets you through each day. It also helps to have so much support. Our friends, family, and in some cases complete strangers have helped us in so many ways. There are no words to describe our gratitude for everything. It really eases the stress and worry we would be feeling otherwise. I truly believe that Heavenly Father uses us to answer each others prayers. We have had some really neat experiences going through this that I am so grateful for. Thank you all for caring about our family and helping us get through this difficult time. I'm a big believer that what goes around comes around and I pray that all of you receive multiple blessings for your charitable acts of kindness and love.

Second day of chemo...

Last night was a pretty rough night. Why can't hospital beds be a little more comfortable considering how long we are there? Lucas was up a lot and the nurses figured out that morphine is the best pain med for his little body. He was a little fussy today and it's so hard to know if it's from pain, hunger, nausea, or if he's just tired and fighting it. All of the nurses just love him. He's only 7 months old and already a flirt. He seems to find comfort in his 3 B's. Binky, Bear, and Baby Einstein DVD's. In fact he has started a new habit of throwing his bear over his face when the doctors or nurses come in. Maybe he thinks if he can't see them, they aren't there? I don't know but it cracks us up. His aunt Marnie was kind enough to stay the night with him tonight so that Aaron and I could come home and spend some time with Kaden and Jonas. They have been shipped around from house to house and Jonas asked me the other day if I could babysit him at our house. It about broke my heart. It's so hard to find a balance when all I can think about is the well being of our baby. Kaden is having the time of his life though. It's a party everyday! Aaron just spoke to Marnie and she said Lucas is doing well. Whew....I guess we can get some good sleep tonight. I just wanted to shout out to all of those who have helped us with meals, taking the boys, messages of love, etc. And especially to all of those who have prayed for our family. Everyone tells us how strong we are and that we are handling this so well. The only reason we aren't a total mess is because we feel strengthened by all of your support and prayers. We love all of you and wouldn't be able to do this without you. It's going to be a long road but I know that we will learn so much from this trial. So much good has already come from it. We are strong and have faith that no matter what happens, everything is going to be O.K.

Shannon

Starting the Blog

Hello friends and family. Shannon and I figured that starting a blog would be the easiest way to keep everyone up to date on our family and especially Lucas.

On the 11th of June, 2009 we were informed by the Neurology team, at Primary Children's hospital, that our son, Lucas, six months old, had a tumor in his spine pressing on his spinal cord and branching out of the vertebrae along the brachia in shoulder. The next day he underwent surgery to relieve the pressure on his spinal cord but due to the nature of the tumor they were unable to extract all of it. The type of cancer they have diagnosed him with is a malignant, aggressive cancer, known as ATRT. It is one of the more rare cancers and it is usually found in the brain. Because of the location of the tumor and the pressure it was putting on his spinal cord he does not have use of his right arm. The doctors have told us that there is a possibility that he may regain use of his arm but so far there has been no progress. The prognosis for this type of cancer is not good, but we know that our son is in God's hands and if it is His will He can do miracles. Our faith, friends, and family have got us through the tough times.

Today, Saturday the 27th, Lucas was admitted to the hospital at 8:00 am. He was in a short surgery to place a "Central Line," which is a tube that goes to his heart, to allow them to administer medicine, take blood samples, and administer the Chemotherapy. The Oncologists have talked to us a little about what the Chemotherapy consists of and some of the side-effects common to the treatment. I don't believe they have actually started to administer the Meds yet, but it should start some time today. He will do 5 cycles of Chemo, each spanning 21 days and then he will begin radiation. Lucas has quite a road ahead of him to recovery and we appreciate all the prayers and acts of service on our behalf. We will try to keep the blog updated every couple of days to keep everyone informed.

-Aaron