strong and courageous: the porch swing at Lyle and Mary's

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

the porch swing at Lyle and Mary's

All week, Isaiah has been waiting to hear if his counts are back up again. This morning we went to Sutter for a check up and blood count and received good news: his counts are up to 1100. Thank you for your prayers and messages. We love to hear from all of you.

7 comments:

Annelies said...: What good news....know that I continue to pray fervently for you. Hope each day is brighter and filled with more good news. Hugs, Anne Dease; October 1, 2008 at 9:44 PM
www.sixhennings.com said...: That is great news!!! Every little battle in the war is a victory. We love you Isaiah!; October 2, 2008 at 8:52 AM
Cyn said...: This is fabulous news!!; October 2, 2008 at 9:33 AM
Anonymous said...: Way to go Isaiah! What good news to hear that your ANC is back up. Let's keep it there!! What a warrior.

Roxanne
SCCN; October 2, 2008 at 5:05 PM
Meghan said...: We are so happy to hear the good news. We have been thinking of you all and sending our prayers your way as always.
Love you guys!
Meghan and Dustin Hein; October 2, 2008 at 7:43 PM
mollyllilja said...: Great news!

The Liljas; October 2, 2008 at 8:02 PM
Auntie Angie said...: Dear Isaiah, we think about you all the time. We are so happy to hear that you are doing better! Guess what ethan can do now? He climbs up into the refrigerator, climbs up onto the oven, and he likes to stand up on his rolling lyon toy! He likes to stand up on it with no hands and pretends to be surfing or snowboarding. He is so silly!! We miss you, and hope to see you sometime soon. Give Sienna hugs for us! Love, Angie, Patrick and Ethan.; October 2, 2008 at 10:04 PM

update on isaiah's progress

We're received quite a few questions recently about Isaiah's treatment. Here's a quick update:

Is he in remission?

Yes. He's officially been in remission since the 17th day after diagnosis, early June 2007.

Is he still on chemo?

Yes.

Mercaptopurin (chemo) daily, orally, with a 3 hour fast.

Methotrexate (chemo) weekly, orally.

Bactrim (antibiotic) daily, orally.

Dexamethasone (steroid) every 8 weeks, orally.

Vincristine (chemo) every 2 weeks, intraveinously.

Methotrexate (chemo) every 12 weeks, in the spinal fluid with a "spinal tap".

Currently he is at the clinic at Sutter Memorial every two weeks for a blood check, etc.

When's he done with treatment?

The protocol for boys with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia is 36 months beginning after the initial 60 day treatment. We anticipate he'll be done with chemo at the end of July 2010.

Merry Christmas Friends!

Thank you to all of you who have sent us pictures and updates! It's great to see your faces once again. We've not been able to put something together this year (yet!), so here's a quick update for those who visit us here:

Carmen: doing a great job teaching our kids at home this year, running, hiked Half Dome, lovingly and consistently caring for all of us (and lots of others).

Sienna: super-creative and always nurturing, loves studying at home, played soccer, raised chickens and looking forward to horse-riding lessons in '09. See pictures of her 8th birthday here.

Isaiah: 08 highlights include playing t-ball, learning to swim, riding his bike, a trip to Disneyland, trip to Alabama, and lots of playing.

Nathan: ran a 25K trail run at Stinson Beach, loved our family vacation in San Diego, and is so grateful for our staff, church community, and the ongoing adventure of leading/serving Emmaus. Nate blogs very infrequently here; you can access his pod/vodcasts here.

2008!

There are many ways you can continue to pray for Isaiah. He has some exciting goals ahead in 2008!
Here is the list:

1)Get Strong! He does physical therapy at home 3-5 times per week and at the office 2 times per month.
2)Play Ball! He is working hard to get ready for T-Ball season. Pray he will play and that his compression fractures will heal.
3)Learn at Home! He is working on Kindergarten school work at home. Many factors make school work a challenge. Pray for a healthy brain and a desire to learn.

even more thank yous to...

the students of Amber Bobst's 2nd grade class from Eastside Christian School in Belleview, WA for the cards
all those who have contributed to our gas and groceries fund...you're keeping us going!
all the Emmaus families who have brought dinner to us in recent weeks
the Harrington family for the picnic package
Anne for the book and CD
The Hoke family for the birthday bird
Goebel, Linville, Nutti, and Ferrara families for the great gift certificate
Doris for the pint of ice cream
Emmaus for being the Church and supporting us in countless ways...for the gifts for Isaiah and Sienna...we're so thankful to be sharing life and discovering Jesus with you.
Betsy for the care package for the kids
Diane for the one-prize-a-day gift
Glenda for the beautiful superman quilt
Mrs. Liden for the SuperIsaiah cape and blanket
The Keaton Raphael Memorial Fund
everyone who is praying
friends and family for the financial support
Shirli and the Needle Arts Group for the blankets and hats
Susanna for the cleaning supplies
Susan, Laura, Sandie for nutritional help
Bob and Elaine for the motorhome
The Arena for the Batman blanket
Anne for the quilt
The Arena and The Ridge for supporting Carmen
Sunrise Church for the prayer quilt
Ms. Della Roca's 4th graders at St. Mary's for the beautiful cards
Josh and Lisa for the superman blanket