Good Counts and Old Pics

I took Cash to Children's today for a chemo push and to find out if his counts have risen.  If his counts remained low, we would have to continue the antibiotics until they were above critical level.  Thankfully, his counts were great today, in fact his white blood cells and ANC's were way up!  So my nursing duties have been lessened for a while...We are hoping this next week is quiet and if his counts stay up we'll start the 3rd round of chemo next Saturday.

The help we've received over the past few weeks has been incredible.  Today, David A (Andre's Carpet Cleaning) came and cleaned our carpets and couch and they look amazing.  Many others have stopped by to clean the house, take care of Cash when Wendi and I are working, and much much more.  We would not be able to do this without the wonderful help we've received and we are very appreciative!

Wendi and I were digging through pictures of Cash (many courtesy thesnapsisters) from the early days and Randy forwarded me a pic from Crescent Bar - here are a few from when Cash was younger.  You'll notice many include big brother Jack either hugging or kissing Cash - they are so great together and we couldn't imagine our lives without either of these boys that God has blessed us with.

We feel tremendously blessed "...And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." (Romans 8:28).  Thank you for your continued prayers and support!

Home Again

Well after starting out at 7:00 a.m. on Monday morning, hoping for an early day at the hospital, we finally came home at around 6:00 p.m. this evening.  It was approximately the same length of stay as our chemo visits (3 days, 2 nights) but everything is ok.  Cash's cultures didn't reveal an infection and he didn't have a fever the past two days.

They weren't, however, going to let us go home because his ANC's were still at zero and until they reach 200, he needs to be on IV antibiotics, which meant we'd have to stay probably until Saturday or Sunday...Thankfully, we negotiated a deal so-to-speak - if I received IV training and could get the supplies this afternoon, we could go home, which is precisely what happened.

Here's a picture of our new supplies, including a pump which is exactly like the ones they use in the hospital:

Every 8 hours we have to give him antibiotics with the pump, over the course of 30 minutes (until his counts rise above 200).  I didn't care about having the training or extra supplies, we were just ready to get out of there as always.  Here's Cash riding in a wagon with his supplies on the way out of the hospital:

Once we got home he perked up and was crawling around, playing as usual.  We're looking forward and hoping he stays healthy until next chemo (April 2), in the meantime we have many appointments (every 2 days) for the next while to ensure his counts are rising, enough to start chemo.

Glad to be home and thankful for your continued prayers and support!!!

No Fever Today

Cash had a great day today and didn't sprout a fever and blood cultures are negative so we hope to go home tomorrow, satisfying the 48 hour obligation to stay at Children's. The third round of chemo is just around the corner, barring any health setbacks we'll start on April 2.

Unlike Cash at the moment, I need to cut my hair again - Jeremy told mr Gunnar (3) said he was going to keep his hair short like Cash's until he 'gets better' - me too Gunnar!


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Location:41st Ave NE,Seattle,United States

Back 2 the Hotel

Well today started at 7:15 with check-in for Cash's BEAR Test. All went well and at 11:00 I picked him up from post-op and we checked into the Hemonc clinic bc we were told he needed platelets and blood (levels were low and his ANC's were zero, which means he has no ability to fight infections). Right after he finished the platelet transfusion, he got a high fever (>103) and they immediately started fluids and antibiotics.

They believe he's fighting an infection and it's standard operating procedure to admit him for at least 48 hours. He's doing well right now and we hope his levels bump so he can ward off what is trying to get in. At the moment I'm at the hospital with him and Wendi has Jack Jr...it's an unexpected visit but fairly common for kids with cancer under this type of chemotherapy.

No laptop this stay so I'm trying to blog on my iPhone...sorry if there are typos. Pray that he recovers quickly and we can go home in a few days...so much for work tomorrow (sorry Zion...:().

Thank you for your support and prayers!

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Location:Children's Hospital

Cuts for Cash

My brother and two of his little ones stayed at our house this weekend...yesterday I hinted that it would be great if we all cut our hair to look like Cash.  Well this morning we started cutting...It took a bit of persuading for Jack Jr. but he gave in and here's the results:

We think we all look pretty good and Gunnar thinks his hair feels very strange...These haircuts are for you Cash!

One More Way to Help

We have been home since Monday and it's been a good week.  Today Cash spent a little time in the beautiful sunshine to absorb some much-needed Vitamin D.  This next Monday Cash has to be put under for an extensive hearing test, called the BEAR Test.  They need to establish a baseline on his hearing because one of the chemo's can affect hearing so they will keep a close eye on that.  In addition, they are trying to determine if the tumor may be affecting his hearing as well.  So for the fourth time he'll have anesthesia, but thankfully this time there's no 'surgery'...phew.

Many have asked if there was a way they could help financially with the medical bills, potential travel expenses, etc.  Jodi, Marti, Stephanie, and Laura have been working hard to set up a way if anyone wants to give.  They created a website called Caring for Cash and it can be found at http://caringforcash.bbnow.org.  I want you to know that God has blessed us tremendously with our medical insurance and to date our expenses have been very minimal.  If anyone wants to give, please know that the monies would only be used for medical expenses relating to this Cash's treatment and  money left over would given to the Seattle Children's Hospital Uninsured Fund and/or other families that have kids with cancer.  We in no way would benefit personally from anyone's generous gifts.

It is our continued prayer that God heals Cash and I am convinced that He (God) will get the glory through this.  We have been tremendously uplifted through this difficult process and I know many times since February 8, He has carried us - we could not do this without our trust and faith in God.

Have a blessed weekend everyone and thank you for your support!

Third Time's A Charm (Hopefully)

Well this time Cash's NG tube lasted one whole day, as opposed to the two hours his first one lasted.  It partially came out when Cash threw up this morning and Wendi actually put it back in (woohoo great job honey!).  But the second time he threw up it was too far out for her to put it back in...So I took him back to Children's this afternoon and they actually put a different tube in - it's a little thicker and is supposed to stay in a bit better so we're hoping the third time's a charm for this tube.

When we got home there was a package waiting that contained stroppe waffles and books for the kids.  Here is Cash already loving his new Dora book and a stroppe waffle (Thanks Alice for the wonderful, homemade stroppe waffles - they are very good!!!):

Thank you as always for your support and prayers and have a blessed rest-of-the-week!!!