He woke up hungry!

Isaiah did just great at his appointment today. He was strong and had a great attitude the whole time. He was helped-along by the "Little Wish" folks at Sutter who delivered a complete basketball uniform that Isaiah "wished" for during his hospital stay in May/June (we watched a few NBA playoff games together during that stay).

Isaiah's counts were too low (for a third week in a row) for his oral chemotherapy to resume, though he did still receive chemo through his port as well as through a spinal tap.

These days at the hospital are always long and emotional as we often hear difficult news about other kids we've come to know and care for who are fighting this fight.

Thanks for coming along-side us today.

gearing up for Monday

Isaiah has had another great week. At his regular Tuesday appointment, his counts were (again) too low to continue chemotherapy. So he's been chemical-free for two weeks and loving it.

We're scheduled to go back to the hospital on Monday. The plan is to administer three types of chemo, including one through a spinal tap. This means Isaiah will be fasting until early afternoon.

Please pray for our little guy. He's feeling so encouraged lately but this next week will be tough. Pray that he won't get discouraged.

With Papa at the Beach

isaiah update

Friends, Isaiah is feeling great these days. His counts dropped way back down early this week so the doctors took him off all chemo for a week. I wish we could just be done with the chemo...he's nearly back to his old self. We're pursuing physical therapy for his back (his compression fractures continue to bother him). Overall, things are moving along well. During this phase (interim maintanance) you don't make up weeks of treatment that are missed. So we're still moving toward beginning the most difficult phase (delayed intensification) sometime during the last week of September (assuming his counts are above 750).

Thank you for your continued prayers and support.

Does a ship really float?

Hi everyone! We know it has been a long weekend without an update. We apologize for the delay and hope you were not worried. Isaiah is very well! We appreciate every post and all the support and prayers for our family. Nathan and Sienna traveled to Minnesota for a special wedding: Levi Oates, Isaiah's uncle, got married yesterday! Isaiah and Carmen traveled to San Jose to visit Isaiah's new cousin Ethan Wong! Isaiah titled this post and would like to be the author of this post, so get ready to hear from him.....

"We went to see baby Ethan for the second time and it was really fun. I forgot what he looked like so I wanted to see him again. I spent the night at Auntie Angie's house and I tried throwing a stick up in the tree for like two minutes [really 20 minutes] and I finally got it in. Then I wanted to get it out. I had a second birthday that was kind of "Carsish, Chicken Littleish" because the table cloth was Cars but the pinata was Chicken Little with a tiny bit of blue on the bottom. I broke the pinata open. I was really happy. Baby Ethan was very cute. Sometimes he had really happy times and sometimes he fell asleep. He mostly falls asleep and mostly wakes up and then goes right back to sleep. Thank you to my tia Gloria, Lucila, Cristina, Grandma, Aunties and cousins for my second birthday. I was really happy. Then I finished my trip and came home."- Isaiah

Isaiah had a great weekend just hanging out and being a 5 year old boy (sword fighting, eating cake, laughing, arguing about bathtime with mom, reviewing Star Wars trivia and begging to watch just one more cartoon). Tomorrow we go back to the Dr. for a bloodcount check and physical exam. He continues to take chemotherapy by mouth daily. Today we begin week three of "Interim Maintenance" the third stage of Leukemia treatment. It is followed by "Delayed Intensification" which will begin sometime in September. Thank you for praying for his healing and strength.

The last thing he said to me Sunday night was, "Mom, sometimes when I pray and have no one's hand to hold I hold God's hand."

5 years old!

We're thanking God for 5 amazing years of sharing life with this beautiful boy and the privilege of being his parents. Some family joined us tonight for a "Chicken Little" party. Celebrate his birthday with us! Thank you for your support!

coming up

Isaiah's counts were up to 702 today. He seems very encouraged by how well he's been feeling lately. We needed to be at 750 to continue chemotherapy, so the doctors are postponing that again until Tuesday.

After the appointment we went to lunch together and had a great time talking about all sorts of different things. At one point I asked him, "What's your favorite thing about Mom?" He responded quickly, "Everything." :)

Isaiah and his favorite cousin, Maicee

feeling good

We're all watching Isaiah with a measure of wonder. Even though he received Vincristine (which normally puts him in bed for a couple days) on Monday, he's been playing and kicking a soccer ball and wanting to wrestle. He's got a new enthusiasm for taking his pills and supplements, like he's taking ownership over trying to get healthy. He keeps telling his mom that he can't run yet but that he "really wants to run."

Tomorrow he and I go back to the clinic to check his blood counts. On Monday they delayed his daily chemo treatments because his ANC was so low. We'll keep you posted. Thanks for all your encouragement and support. Please pray for protection from infection and illness.