We Have Arrived

Finally.  After 14 months of treatment, we did it.  We successfully avoided the hospital for one entire month.  No ER visits.  No clinic visits.  Heck, I didn't even email or call Fionn's doctors in the last 4 weeks.  Amazing!  Instead, we have been living.  Enjoying the heck outta this last month of summer before Kindergarten starts (i know!  don't even get me started).  The boys and I have been busy having lots of play dates, adventures, and just good old fun with the backyard hose.

(We've also been playing with food dye and Fionn's science kit as the blue mouth and hands in the above pictures reveal.  Thanks for the gift that keeps on giving, Mom!)

After a whole month off, we returned to the hospital today for Fionn's checkup.  Fionn also had his scheduled spinal tap (or "poke" as he calls it).  He did great as usual.  He was the first kid on the docket which always helps since he can't eat anything until after the procedure.  By 10:45 am, he was already awake and chomping on a cream cheese bagel while watching Planes: Fire and Rescue.  (They even had new movies on the hospital TV -- it had been that long since our last hospitalization!). 

Fionn's numbers are looking great.  He is right where they want him to be in terms of his ANC which was 1870 today.  Apparently, the ideal range for Fionn's ANC during Maintenance is between 1000-2000.  If his ANC rises above 2000, they start to worry that his bone marrow is being overactive and could possibly be starting to produce some immature blast cells.  If this happens, they would increase his chemo to settle the bone marrow down.  As it stands right now though, Fionn's bone marrow seems to be behaving itself.  We are in good shape.  Thanks as always for your kind thoughts, prayers, and support.  We are lucky folks to have such wonderful people backing us up.