"Future Scientists?"

Hello everyone,

Dane continues to feel very well given all the drugs that he is receiving this phase and after an uneventful weekend health wise, we started week two today of the second round of the IC phase. Before arriving at the hospital we discussed his coping strategy for the IV and he pulled it off like a real pro. He had his sister to help him out, a few distraction toys and the camera to document the process of him getting an IV to provide a blood sample. After the IV was complete, we all went for a trip to the Hematology lab to see how his blood is analyzed and the results provided to the doctor within minutes. I documented the process in photos and have attached a couple for folks to see how calm he was and how keenly interested they both were in the lab - hence today's title "Future Scientists?" This IV will stay in for the rest of the week and we have to visit the clinic tomorrow through Friday for him to receive one of the chemo drugs. As was to be expected, some of his blood counts dropped quite a bit from last Tuesday to today (hemoglobin and platelets), however his neutrophils remained constant from last week. That was good news and the doctor gave us the "green light" to enjoy some activities (movies, golf dome, etc.) during spring break to ease the monotony of four visits to the clinic.

I had a "baby check-up" yesterday and all is fine, with the slight exception that I'm measuring small for my dates. This will come as no surprise to most people who have seen me recently, so just to make sure the baby is as big as they think she is, my OB is doing another fetal assessment this Saturday. We are not really worried about it and given the strength of her many kicks, punches and rolls, I think she is gaining weight just fine. I'm in week 33 now and with the start of April tomorrow, it does actually feel like there might be an end in sight. Ashley and Dane are really focused on her arrival and asking lots of baby questions - it's a very nice distraction from Dane's treatment.

As promised last week, I've also posted a couple of pictures of Dane posing with his San Jose hockey garb that he received from the tournament a couple of weeks ago. We think he looks great these days and are loving the return to his regular and adorable cheeks.

Take care everyone - Janie and Dirk