Since the last posting Gabe has not had too much going on.  He did finally get over the  c.diff infection and has finished his meds for that.  He went thru a week of chemo last week and was so full of energy the entire week that it was rather difficult to keep up w/ him.  His brother Zeke was here too for a few days along w/ a good friend (Charity) of ours that helps out w/ watching Zeke a lot of the time.  She is very helpful and we thank her so much for her continued support.  Zeke was rather busy the entire time he was up here too since it has been several months since he had been here, he had to of course run around and check everything out again.  :)  It was good to have him here though and Gabe really enjoyed being able to play w/ him more. 

When chemo was over last friday (7-17) we went to Palestine to spend the weekend and pick up Zeke from the family and Gabe got to play outside and have lots of fun!  He pooped out Sunday afternoon/evening though and slept all the way home to Bedford. 

His blood counts yesterday were fair...as to be expected.  We decided to go ahead and have him come up to the clinic today (Tuesday) to see what his counts were today and get the needed transfusion(s) and go ahead and admit him since we have learned from the previous rounds of treatment what to expect (to a degree at least).  Good thing we did too because as we initially thought, his counts crashed overnight.  His WBC went from 2.7 to 0.2 and his Hgb went from 8.3 to 7.2 and his platelets went from 80,000 to 41,000.  His ANC went from 2484 to 90 meaning his is neutropenic again and cannot leave his room until his ANC recovers to 500 or above.  This will take days to happen as he is still dropping in counts.  His received a Packed Red Blood Cell (PRBC) transfusion this afternoon to get his Hgb up and will most likely receive a platelet transfusion tomorrow at some point in time.  He will then receive more blood and platelets later in the week/weekend.  As of now, he has still not spiked a fever, which is not normal.  He always spikes by early afternoon on Tuesday following his chemo, but today he has proved otherwise.  I'm figuring he will spike in the middle of the night as his counts drop more. He usually has 3 PRBC transfusions and 2 platelet transfusions after his chemo. 

He does have some thrush starting on his tongue and some redness in his mouth and he is not eating well (actually hardly at all) but he is still drinking fluids.  He has been started on the fluconazole for the thrush.  He also has the option of getting morphine if he is in pain.  We did  have to give him some morphine this afternoon for having some stomach pains that he was complaining about for awhile.  Hopefully we will not have to put him on any pumps this time for continuous pain meds like we did after his 1st round of this chemo.  The 2nd round of chemo went smoothly except for the c.diff infection. He didn't need any pain meds after that round. 

His doctor, Dr. Sharon Smith, will be leaving Thursday to take another job in Michigan.  I would like to wish her the best as she moves on w/ her career and that she will be missed.  The downtown Riley docs will be filling in a couple/few days a week up here.  From what I gather, it is still a mess as to what exactly is going to happen w/ scheduling and clinic visits and all.  I'm sure it will work out eventually and it is going to be a rough couple months before the new doctor that has been hired to replace Dr. Hock can begin in November, but we will manage somehow.  I have voiced my opinion about having to move downtown for treatments and sick admits and let them know that we will not transfer back down there.  We will stay were we are at or go elsewhere. We are very comfortable here at Clarian North/Riley North and everyone treats Gabe very well and he knows them very well.  He likes it here a lot, which we couldn't say the same about downtown.  The doctor we had downtown, Dr. Shih will be the doctor that Gabe has been assigned to if there are any questions or concerns regarding his treatment.  He will be the one who suggests procedures/treatment recommendations etc if the need arises until the new doctor begins.  Please pray that the next few months go smoothly w/ no problems or hiccups. 

Gabe is doing very well and looking great considering all he has to endure.  We spend almost 3 weeks of every month in the hospital and home for a week.  This is very trying on everyone, but it is for the best for Gabe.  Please pray that his next scans show positive results from this chemo and that we can try to move to another step (if there is one at this time). 

I would like to congratulate my friend Jackie (who I went to high school with) and her daughter, Sydney.  Sydney has been battling cancer and has kicked cancer in the butt!!!!  She is cancer free now!!! 

Thanks again to everyone for your support and prayers, we ar so grateful to you all!
Brandy