Saturday, May 31, 2008

Funny Stuff

So, at this very moment I am sitting next to Wade in the hospital room where he does his chemo. They have increased the time that he is here. They now give him a few drugs before he starts the actual chemo that is supposed to help with the side affects of chemo (nausea, dizziness, etc.). Then his ifosphomide is increased to an extra hour. His treatments now last about 5 - 6 hours as opposed to the 2 - 3 hours.

Now, to the funny stuff. They have prescribed a drug to Wade that helps with his nausea. It's this little tiny round pill called marinol. What is that you ask? Well, it is basically marijuana in a pill. It is the legalized marijuana that you always hear so much about. Well, he's got it and when he takes it you never know what to expect. Now he usually just lays in bed and sleeps. So when he started talking out of nowhere it caught me a little off guard. He first asked me if I remember when my friend Robbie told Wade that he better marry me. I didn't remember it and I asked him for details and unfortunately all I got was, "I don't know. She told me a couple of times." Then I ask him what made him think of this and his response was, "You wouldn't believe the things that are going through my head. I feel like I've been laying here an hour and it's only been 5 minutes." This conversation was soon interrupted when he sees a commercial and yells, "I want some of that". It was a dog food commercial. Though to his defense, it was one of those commercials where they really make the food look good enough for us to eat. But, he kept going on and on about how good it looked and how it looked like soup. Now he is exclaiming he wants some of that soup!

Okay, so maybe you had to be there. Actually listening to him get excited about the dog food/soup was pretty amusing to me. If you saw him, you'd be laughing too.

Friday, May 30, 2008

Mission Complete

YAY!!!! Kaden actually went to bed before 9:00 last night! Hopefully we can keep this up. It was a little hard though because he kept screaming, "Mama" over and over. When I opened the door to tell him goodnight (again), he yelled "No!" So I told him I loved him and shut the door. Then he started yelling, "I wanna lub you" at least 4 times before I walked back in and told him I loved him too.

And I know how this goes. Once you start bragging about how good of a night it was, it will go the complete opposite direction the next night. We'll see. The kids are staying with their Aunt Wendy for a little bit today. I'm a little nervous I have to say, but I'm that way when they stay with anybody for the 1st time. Wade's doing his treatment and I'm going to my cousin's graduation with my mom. The kids love Bryce and Taylor so I know they'll have a good time.

So, here's to another good night with both of my boys. I pray that Wade has another great round of chemo (if you can even use great and chemo in the same line!).

Thursday, May 29, 2008

Go To Bed!!!!!!

Okay, so the last few nights of trying to get Kaden to bed have been brutal. He will get in his bed, tell us goodnight and then it's all over. He's up a million times. It ends in him crying and us practically pulling every last hair out of our heads! Tuesday night, Kaden cried for over an hour straight. It was so strange. It was as if somebody took over his body. We have had to take him into our room and lay down with him until he falls asleep. Even doing this on Tuesday night didn't help. A little help from Motrin was the cure. We're going crazy and I dread night time every night. This used to be so easy. I know our routine has been a little crazy lately so that doesn't help. We have to get back in the groove and get things back to normal...and fast!! I think the final departure time for him on Tuesday night was close to 1:00. Last night it was 10:30 which is still way too late.

So, we have a full size bed in storage that we're going to get out. We'll probably start changing his room around to make it more inviting for him. Hopefully with time this will get better! So, it is now 8:40 and the time has come to put him down. Keep your fingers crossed.

By the way, Wade starts round 2 tomorrow. It's a little later in the day so this will help with me or Wade's mom not having to take off work. However, only 2 1/2 more days of kids. I think I can, I think I can, I think I can....

Monday, May 26, 2008

Happy Birthday My Sweet Baby Girl!

My precious baby girl,

It's so hard to believe that one year ago today we welcomed you into our chaotic yet sweet loving family. I will never forget the day I finally laid eyes on you. You were incredibly beautiful and so much like a little girl. I never thought I would have a little girl. You were better than I had ever dreamed of. You have been such an amazing girl from the start. I love how when you laugh you have this high pitched squeal. You are overcome with excitement. You have the sweetest little smile that will melt anybody's heart. Your daddy ALWAYS goes to get you out of bed after you've been asleep for a couple of hours. You have the cutest sleepy face and you smile from ear to ear and cuddle right up next to daddy. He loves on you and kisses you for a few minutes, lays you back down and you are out again for the rest of the night. You said "Happy Birthday" on your birthday. It couldn't have been more perfect. The funniest is when you say, and very clearly, "Go away!" And the entire time you are waving your little arm in the air as if telling that person to really go away. You did it to me today in the pool when my arm was next to your float. I say you told me, but I really think you were telling my arm!!! You have taken several steps now, but you're really in no hurry. That's okay though. We'll be there when you're ready to take off because we know it's coming. You take your time like the little princess you are! You do stand up a lot without holding on to anything. You'll just stand there and clap. Your favorite song is "Itsy Bitsy Spider". You love to move your hands like a little spider and when we say, "...And washed the spider ___", You fill in the blank with "out". It's so cute and it always makes us laugh.

Your birthday party was yesterday. It was a huge success. You had so many friends and family there to celebrate your big day. You, of course were adorable! You had on a little polka dotted dress that matched your pool. But you didn't want to stay in the pool long. You wanted to slide down the big slide with all of the other big kids. Once Papa showed you how to do it once, that's all you wanted to do. You had a blast! Your cake was strawberry and though you were a little shy at first, you dug in quickly and made a mess. Your brother helped you out a little bit. He was so excited for you to be having a birthday party. Plus, he loves all the presents you got too. He plays them with you (or at least he tries to share them).

So my sweet little angel, every time I think about you being 1 I get a little teary eyed. It has been a wonderful year and I know I say it a million times, but my goodness, where does the time go? You have given us one unimaginable year. I look forward to all of the years with my little baby girl. You will always be my little girl! Mommy loves you more than you will ever know!
Love,
Mommy

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Day 5

Today is Wade's 5th day of doing chemo. He's very tired and dizzy. He sleeps the majority of the day. He goes tomorrow to get unhooked from his backpack. It's all so strange. I forget how awful all of this is. I wish more than anything I was the one who had to go through it and not him. But he's a fighter and will make it through stronger than ever before.

Saturday, May 10, 2008

No More Bottles

Well, it is official. Kaden is officially off the bottle...well, and Reagan too. I didn't think it would be so easy because we've tried before, but he cried for his bottle. We knew there was really no point to push it since Reagan would be getting them and he wouldn't understand why we were giving her one and not him. So both of them are done with the bottle. So, he doesn't say no when I try to give him a sippy cup. I guess you could say the sippy cup is the new "bottle" but hey, baby steps here. So, now we work on pottying in the big boy potty. First bottles, then diapers...oh what it must be like to be without! Though I have to say, I think it was harder on us than the kids.

Friday, May 9, 2008

And It all Begins!

I've been gone a while. I didn't mean to. We've just been so busy. We went to Galveston last weekend and had a blast. I got a tad too much sun and I'm paying for it now. Kaden absolutely hated the beach! He was in awe at first and then one big wave hit him and knocked him down. It was over then. And when we put Reagan in the water, Kaden freaked out yelling for us to get her out. He was so worried about her. She crawled everywhere squealing with happiness. Everybody that walked by just giggled at her. She was so cute. I will post some pictures soon. We went swimming at the San Luis after we left the beach. It was so relaxing. Kaden did so good swimming. It took him a little while to get used to it all, but he did great. Last year was pretty much a bust for him since his ears were soooo bad and we were constantly going to the doctor. So it's a new fresh year. Reagan liked the pool too. At night, she just laid her head on the float. She was so calm. This mini vacation was needed. Wade won't be able to get in the water until he has his catheter removed. Which leads me to the next topic...

This is Kaden loving the water.
Then a big wave comes, knocks him down and he is done. (gotta love the earplugs right?)




Yesterday Wade had his catheter put in through the right side of his chest. They gave him the medicine that would pretty much knock him out, a little too late. He felt it all. They told him they hit a bone. Nice! It was quick...no more than 30 minutes. We had to wait to get the X-Rays back so we would know if they correctly inserted the catheter. We waited for 2 hours. We had to meet with the Chemo nurse to go over some information and scheduling. We then found a really good place for Wade to go rest (because the medicine they gave him finally knocked him out for hours). It was a quiet, dark place with lots of couches and recliners. They made sure you had pillows and blankets and were constantly making sure we were all comfortable. After 2 hours, we went back and found that everything was great and in place.

So today he started the chemo. He went in at 10:00 and it took them a while to get everything prepared. Once they finally got everything situated he began the treatment. It only lasted about 2 hours. Very nice! He's feeling great now, just tired. We went out to eat tonight for Wendy's (Wade's sister) birthday. He felt good enough to tear up some crab! So he will go in everyday until Wednesday and on this day he will have the backpack that he carries around (24 hours a day) removed. They say the 10 -14 days are the hardest because all the counts drop (white blood cells, hemoglobin and platelets). They keep a very close eye on all of this. He goes in 3 times a week for bloodwork.

Kaden knows that daddy has bo bo's and that he has special medicine. Wade's such a fighter so I know he's going to do all he can to be strong for the kiddos and me! So bring it on...it has begun!

Thursday, May 1, 2008

This was in an email I sent out yesterday...

Many of you have been asking how Wade is doing so I am emailing an update. He went to the doctor today and got the results from all of his tests that were done yesterday. Good news is that there are no new spots. The two spots that were there before have grown. The doctor said one grew a little and the other she was worried about just because it grew a little more than she had wanted. So now Wade will begin chemo next week. He will go in Tuesday to get a CVC catheter inserted on the right side of his chest. This is where the chemo will be hooked up. We haven't quite decided the day he will start. He could start that day if he'd like. A final decision will be made in the next couple of days. He will go in 6 days in a row to MD Anderson where they will hook him up to Ifosfamide (chemo drug). He will stay in the hospital for about 5 hours while it drips (like an IV). Once the approximately 5 hours are up, they will unhook this but he will continue another chemo drug called Mesna. This will stay hooked up to him for 24 hours a day until the 6th day. It will be unhooked on the 6th day once he finishes his last day of the Ifosfamide. Last time this was kept in a little backpack. It was kind of like being hooked up to an IV pole except instead of a pole it's a backpack. I'm pretty sure it will be the same this time as well. Once he completes the 6 days, he will be given a shot of Neaulasta which basically squeezes the white blood cells out of the bones causing some bone pain. This will help boost the ability to fight infection. He will do the 6 days, have off week 2 and week 3 and then back again to start over. He will do this 6 times. He will also go 3 times a week for blood work so they can keep a close eye on how his body is reacting to the chemo. After 3 weeks, he will go back to visit his doctor for an update. So, the upcoming months are going to be very busy with a lot of traveling, but we are putting this all in the hands of God. We continue to pray for Wade's healing. We are going to enjoy lots of family time this weekend and prepare for the road ahead. I will continue to keep you guys updated as we find out new information.