2001: June½
May½March ½ January
2000: October½September½August½July½June½May½April½February½January
1999: December½November½October
| February 10, 2000:
Nathaniel's fourth round of chemo (last month) went very well, so well that
we sometimes worry that the chemo may not be doing enough damage. We still are
receiving a different prognosis from every physician that we speak with, some saying that
it is 90% certain that his cancer will come back, some saying that it is only 50-60%.
These odds are relevant only for one reason: we have to decide if Nate is to have a
transplant in the coming month or two. If we believe the doctors who tell us that
the cancer is almost certainly coming back, then we should do the transplant immediately,
when he is healthy and his odds of survival are much better. If we believe the
doctors (including our own) who believe that the odds are 50/50 that the chemo has knocked
out the cancer, then we should not do the transplant, and pray that he never needs one...
Some choice. But, our boy is doing great (see pictures). Other than spiking a fever on Daddy's birthday so that they could spend the day in the hospital together, he has been energetic and happy and playful. Every once in a while we have a moment when we, at least consciously, forget how ill he is, and we feel like a regular family. Those are great moments. Nate starts his final round of chemo on Monday, which should put him back home on February 20, the day before his first birthday. What a present! From there on, its decision time, and a time for continued prayer. February 28, 2000: Happy birthday Nate! Nathaniel celebrated his first birthday by finishing up his final round of chemotherapy! He even got to try wearing a little of his cake, which, from the look of him, was the best thing that he ever experienced. Nate made some good friends at the hospital and left his mark (in more ways than one)! Now he's done, we pray. After he recovers from this round, he will be monitored often over the course of the next several years, and then not so often for the rest of his life. Hopefully, that will be the only contact that he has with a hospital for a long, long time. Right now he is starting to recover from the chemo, we think. He is still receiving blood transfusions, but his appetite is slowly coming back, he isn't quite as pale and his energy is on the rise. We're so proud of him, he has handled these past five months with such a good nature, and we're looking forward to all the craziness of a normal childhood. He eagerly awaits the opportunity to play with his cousins after 6 months of solitude. Dad is off to Duke University in the next week to discuss the option of doing a umbilical cord blood transplant, in the event that he needs it. |
|
Nathaniel is
caught red-handed for the umpteenth time, emptying all of the bibs and towels out of the
drawer.
