2001: June½
May½March ½ January
2000: October½September½August½July½June½May½April½February½January
1999: December½November½October
| December 14, 1999:
We've had a great two weeks. Nathaniel's been at home for the most part,
and it's been wonderful. He's been active and playful and vocal, and we think we've
managed to rest up a little in anticipation for the next few weeks. As has been par for the course, our little victories continue to be tempered by small setbacks. While he did not experience the fevers that our doctors thought would put him back in the hospital, his respiratory infection has persisted, despite Grandpa Parry's homemade split pea soup. His immune system has not bounced back as quickly as we had hoped, either. His ANC (Absolute Neutrophil Count), which is an indicator of his immune system's function, remains about 100. Anything less than 500 is really, really low. We're worried about this because he is due to have his central IV placed tomorrow. The last time this surgery was done, you may recall, it got infected upon its placement and had to be pulled out after two days (they're supposed to last for months). If all goes well on Wednesday with the surgery, we may be able to celebrate a little early Christmas this weekend. The doctors assume that Nathaniel will have two days every month when he can actually be around other healthy people. Those two days will be Saturday and Sunday, we pray. Nate needs to get to know his cousins and aunts and uncles better. After that, its back in the hospital on Monday for another week of chemotherapy. We will likely be in the hospital for Christmas, but we'll leave a note on the door for Santa so he knows where to find Nate. He has been a good boy, afterall. Finally, we want wish you all a Merry Christmas and thank you all again for your thoughts, prayers, food and marathons. They are all helping, we have no doubt. John Stroud, an associate at Greg's work, ran the Sacramento international marathon this past weekend as a fundraiser for Nate. It was his first marathon and he made it in an outstanding 3 hours and 27 minutes. He attributes part of his perseverance to the image he carried of Nate running beside him. Someday..... December 26, 1999: We received a great present on Christmas: we had our son home that morning. He opened a few presents and sat at the Christmas dinner table with family. What a day. The past two weeks have been full and hectic: Nate had his central line placed, this time without the infection. Our early Christmas celebration that we were to have with our family was postponed due to illness, but we did manage to have Grandpa and Aunt Lisa and Uncle Chris up for Christmas day. Since Nathaniel's ANC stayed very low (around 30!) during the past two weeks, our plans changed daily. The third round of chemo came and went without too much difficulty, except for the nausea and vomiting. But, overall, we had a great Christmas, and we're looking forward to an even better new year. |
A walk down to the park on Christmas day.
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