Dane's Journey

Hello,

We thought we'd include this great shot of Dane taken this past summer on the dock at our cottage. It was one of many photos he and his sister posed for that beautiful summer day and it's an awesome picture of our "beach bum".

Today was a very eventful day. We had to be at HSC for 8:00 am for Dane's bone marrow, spinal tap and chemotherapy treatment. For the most part, it went very well. The exception was when it came time to poke him again for his IV. Although his arm vein had been frozen with special cream, being a sceptic, he didn't believe it would actually dull the pain. He worked himself into quite a frenzy before the needle went in and then when the actual IV was put in, he barely flinched. He commented a couple of times later on that "it hardly hurt with the special cream". We will be reminding him of this next week when it's time for his next IV. We are also taking a special person with us to that appointment, his big sister Ashley, to help him through. He is sedated for the bone marrow and spinal tap so he feels nothing. He didn't even complain at all later today about any pain in his back or hip. He receives the chemo treatment through his IV so all he feels for that is a cold sensation in his arm as the medicine is going in.

We were scheduled to return to Cancer Care tomorrow for another check-up, however given we've been at HSC three times this week and the fact he is doing so well, we were "excused" from our appointment. Barring him getting sick in the next few days, we don't go back to Cancer Care until next Tuesday. Dane is VERY happy to have the next four days "off" from his hospital schedule and is looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow!

We received very good news late in the day regarding the levels of his cancer cells in his bone marrow. When the first bone marrow test was conducted last Wednesday, he had more than 80% cancerous cells. After just one week of treatment the percentage had dropped to around 8% - a reduction of over 70%. According to the Cancer Care team, that is a great result for week one and they are very pleased with his progress. Dirk and I breathed a huge sigh of relief today that so far he is responding well to the treatment regimen. He will need another bone marrow test next Wednesday, as one must be done if there is over 5% cancerous cells still present. He will not need to undergo another spinal tap though until Day 28/29.

Dane's hemoglobin has dropped again and is hovering in the zone where he will likely need another transfusion next week. We'll be watching him very closely over the next few days as we can definitely see a decline in his energy level when it gets low. If that is required, it will be done on Tuesday at Cancer Care.

Dane also received very exciting news today that he has been granted a "wish" through the Children's Wish Foundation. He will not be able to travel for a number of months so the plan right now is to request a trip to see an NHL game somewhere warm in the US next fall/early winter. Now that the phone call came today, he believes his "wish" will actually come true, even if it's many months away. This news helps ease the kids' disappointment a bit that we had to cancel our trip to Disney World (we were to leave January 25 for Orlando).

The emotions in the house have levelled off between Dane and Ashley the past few days. His mood swings are a bit less at this point and Ashley is more accepting of our current situation. She turns 9 in a couple of weeks so we are planning a special celebration to lift her spirits. Dirk and I are hanging in there, although I hit a wall today and the fatigue has really kicked in. So far all is good with the baby and my OB is keeping a close eye on me.

We continue to eat VERY well thanks to everyone's generosity. Dane is ravenous about food in a way we have not ever seen before - it's actually quite humorous to see that hungry look in his eyes.

We look forward to your emails and blog comments - as I said yesterday, it brightens our days and lifts our spirits.

Thanks to everyone who is holding good thoughts for our special son.

Janie and Dirk