August 25, 2010
Last clinic visit: 8/20/2010 Counts: ANC below 1,000 but ok to resume chemo at home and start school
One year ago today, Oliver was diagnosed with ALL. It is so hard to believe how drastically our lives have changed in that year. In the last year, Oliver has undergone surgeries, several very harsh treatments, been hospitalized at various times, lost and regrown his hair, swollen up like a balloon from steroids to extremely tiny and fragile and has fought very hard for his life. Larry and I are both now well versed in various prescription drugs, side effects, etc - we have had to learn so much. The cancer did not take over our lives, but we have certainly had to make a lot of changes. And the fight is not over, Oliver still has a little less than three years of treatment left, although we hope that the worst is over.
Oliver started kindergarten this week and we are so happy that he can actually feel like a "normal" kid. So many things we take for granted on a daily basis until faced with something like this. Life truly is a gift. Childhood is a gift. Oliver has remained consistently strong and happy throughout it all. Thank you to everyone for your support over the last year. We appreciate it and know we couldn't have gotten through this without it.
Posted by Ann Shortes
August 16, 2010
Today Oliver received methotrexate via spinal tap, vincristine chemo via his port and his first IV IG transfusion. He was premedicated with hydrocortisone (as is standard procedure as he had allergic reaction to his first transfusion of blood product). All went well, no reactions and he recovered quickly from the spinal. Unfortunately, Oliver's ANC counts dropped to 320 rendering him severly neutropenic and on isolation restriction, so no tae kwon do this week :) We also will again hold a... Continue reading...
Posted by Ann Shortes
August 2, 2010
Today Oliver's ANC was 1060 slightly up from last week but not high enough to resume full strength chemo pills. He will stay on 50% methotrexate and mercapturine until his ANC gets above 1500. Results also came back from his enzyme study, no abnormalities to report but we did learn the cause of his low ANC counts was due to low IGG levels. He will need to start receiving monthly IV transfusions of IGG. These transfusions take 4-5 hours and are very similar to a blood or platelet transfus... Continue reading...
Posted by Ann Shortes
July 19, 2010
Yesterday was Oliver's 5th birthday. We were so happy and thankful to celebrate another year of his life. He has been through so much this last year and is truly a remarkable boy. His latest obsession is with Mario games on the wii and of course he still enjoys his cars, play doh, etc. Today, he received vincristine via his port. We forgot to put numbing cream on his port today and he had to get it accessed with freeze spray, which is considerably more painful and Oliver was so strong, n... Continue reading...
Posted by Ann Shortes
June 28, 2010
Oliver's WBC counts have been down the last couple of weeks leaving him on neutropenic isolation. They just went back up today and so he will resume his home chemo (pills) at reduced dosages with some modifications which hopefully will resolve the issue. The doctors also ordered an enzyme study last week. Results will be back in a couple of weeks to show if there are any issues with his body breaking down the methotrexate. We will keep everyone posted and are very happy his ANC went back ... Continue reading...
Posted by Ann Shortes
May 24, 2010
Oliver received methotrexate via spinal tap today and vincristine through his port. His ANC was 640 and hgb 10.8 which are both fine. We would like the ANC to be a little higher, but it was high enough for chemo today and is expected to fluctuate over the next few months as Oliver's body gets used to the maintenance chemotherapy. He was very brave and cooperative during his port access and spinal tap today and is resting soundly right now. His energy and character continue to amaze us. T... Continue reading...
Posted by Ann Shortes
May 15, 2010
I just realized it has been almost a month since the last update. Sorry for the delay. Thankfully, not much to report this past month. Oliver's ANC counts have been up and down, but as of last Monday, his ANC was at 840. He is still neutropenic, but not isolated (below 500 is severely neutropenic). We go back to clinic May 24 for spinal and VCR chemo. It is hard to believe three months have passed since the last spinal. Oliver remains happy and energetic. He started a taekwondo class ... Continue reading...
Posted by Ann Shortes
April 19, 2010
Last Monday Oliver's ANC dropped to 40 rendering him severely neutropenic or basically with no immunity or ability to fight any kind of infection. Because of the low ANC, we had to hold all chemotherepy pills at home and recheck in a week. Today, the ANC went up to 480, which is in the right direction, but still not high enough to resume chemo pills for this week. Next Monday we will check again, and if the counts go up, Oliver will receive vincristine via his port and resume chemo at home... Continue reading...
Posted by Ann Shortes
March 30, 2010
It is hard to believe it has been almost a month since the last update! We did have a clinic visit two weeks ago just for a count check and results were great. Yesterday Oliver received VCR via his port and surprisingly his blood, platelet and ANC counts declined slightly. No transfusion or isolation required and the doctor expects the counts to fluctuate over the next couple of months as his body is still recovering from delayed intensification. Oliver was so brave at his clinic visit - ... Continue reading...
Posted by Ann Shortes
March 2, 2010
Oliver's counts have improved significantly and yesterday Oliver received his first chemo treatment at the clinic under maintenance!! He is still neutropenic but his ANC went up from last week just enough to perform the spinal. Oliver demonstrated tremendous bravery and did not cry or scream at all when accessing his port. We are so proud of our little boy.
We are told maintenance is far less intense and we can start regaining a sense of normalcy to our lives. The clinic visits will be ... Continue reading...
Posted by Ann Shortes
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About Me
I am mother to Oliver and Elise (just born Feb 9). Married to Larry, the most awesome and supportive husband whose input is also in all of the blogs. We are overwhelmed by all of the support of our friends, family and community. Larry, Oliver and I moved to Houston from Florida in July 2008 and feel that God lead us here partly for Oliver's treatment. At the time we moved, we had no idea this would happen, but we are fortunate to live in Houston where Oliver has access to some of the best medical facilities in the world. Please, please keep him in your prayers, and thank you for your support.
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