Day 208: Great News All Around

It’s been a little bit since our last update and we’ve got a bit to unpack. Let’s dive in!

Following Cristian’s last chemo treatment he had developed mouth sores which were causing him pain while swallowing. These hung around for about a week but have subsided. Cristian is now back to eating and drinking like normal, glad that’s over!

Last week we had a surprise visit from Mimi who came in for my birthday. Both Cristian and Leena had such a wonderful time with Mimi. They enjoyed jumping on the air mattress, swimming in the pool for the first time this year, and even setting up a new (to us) playground for the kids in the backyard.

This morning we went to the doctor to receive the last dose of chemo (and 3 days stay) as part of this phase. As with every time Cristian is set to receive chemo, they did blood tests to make sure his body was strong enough to handle the chemo. However, similar to last week, Cristian’s body is not ready for more chemo so he gets another week to rest. This also means we get another week with the entire family today.

While at doctors this week they changed some of the meds that Cristian has been taking on a weekly basis. Previously Cristian was taking 4 doses of an antibiotic to help protect him from pneumonia. This drug has a known side effect of lowering the immune system in some children. After reviewing Cristian’s blood work trends, they have determined that he is in that small group. Moving forward, Cristian will not be taking medicine every weekend, instead he will receive a monthly infusion of an alternative medicine that does not have the immune side effect. This means less meds, which is always great to hear!

We also got some amazing news about our future treatment phases from the doctor. Because Cristian had a bad reaction to some of the chemo in the past, they are going to completely drop the last phase of chemo! This means there is only 1 phase left (not counting maintenance which will last 18 months) after we complete the last treatment in the current phase.

Praise the lord for all the great things he is doing in our family. We know he is the one in control and he deserves all the credit. We will to pray for continued blessings and safety for our family.