Luke becomes a Jedi

Today we felt the power of all your prayers as Isaiah handled a very long day of fasting with grace and determination. Because of all the chemotherapy involved, he went "last in line" today for his spinal tap. This was hard but allowed him to sleep and recover in the same room where his spinal tap took place. He woke up groggy and frustrated but also hungry and thirsty enough to sit up and replenish his body with some green tea, an almond butter and honey sandwich and... a surprise whole wheat, ginger snap cookie made with love by Angela Henning!

Despite a queasy afternoon, Isaiah ate dinner and finished the evening off with some good light-saber time against daddy. His smile, "sass" and wild pony nature emerged the winners against the challenges of the day. Though we cannot see what is happening on the inside of his body, we praise God for signs of life and healing on the "outside."

Praise Him with us and continue to pray for a healthy heart and body.

"delayed intensification"

On Monday we begin the fourth phase of Isaiah's treatment. We'd like to ask you to invite others to join us in praying hard for Isaiah's health for this upcoming season. He'll be handling a lot of medicine, including several new types of chemotherapy. Please pray especially for his heart. One of the more significant side affects of this phase is damage to the development of the heart. Please also pray that he'll stay on top of this emotionally. He's been feeling very confident lately. We want him stay strong and courageous.

We're going to our "fighting colors" for the next six weeks. ("These are Jedi colors." - Isaiah) Thank you for fighting with us!

no chemo this week

Isaiah's appointment today went well. His counts are the same as last week: 1100. This is our last week of phase 3: interim maintenance, so he's off all meds. Phase 4 begins Monday (with another fast and spinal tap). We'll tell you about that a little later.

We've been enjoying Isaiah's spark and non-stop chatter and singing. Thank you for your ongoing support. We're grateful for your encouragement and prayers.

aunt janet

Recently Isaiah enjoyed some good hang out time with his "aunt" Janet.

one step closer

I took Isaiah to his regular appointment today. He just needed to get his blood checked (his ANC is up to 1100). The quote of the morning is from the nurse as she came back with the lab results:

"Well, he's doing great so the doctor wants to increase his chemo."

Now, I understood what she meant and I'm familiar with the protocol. But that just sounded so...wrong. Someday I think we'll look back on this method of cancer treatment and mutter, "how barbaric."

We're grateful for the team of folks who continue to work so hard on Isaiah's behalf.

And we're grateful for all of you.

strong and courageous

We want all of you who read this blog to know that your willingness to continue to walk with us through this challenge is a source of great encouragement. We have received so much support and we're very thankful.

We met a family this weekend whose daughter had leukemia at age 5. She's now 14 and healthy and was very sweet with Isaiah. She showed him her port scar which is now nearly invisible. Carmen and I talked with her dad about questions and fears that very few can understand. It was a conversation we'll remember for a long time.

Today Isaiah's ANC was up to 1500 so they resumed the chemotherapy. He's had a very strong month which has been great for his confidence. On Sunday he went to his Emmaus Kids class for the first time since May and loved it. He laughs all the time and has his mischevious little "spark" again.

It's so good to hear him laugh.