Phase 2 Full Throttle

So sorry for the delay in posting an update. I can't believe a week has gone by. We got back home last Thursday and Brayden was thrilled to get to swing by school and say hi before the last day to his teachers and staff that were still there. It was a last-minute decision and one we're so glad we made. It did a world of good to see Brayden soaking up all that love and encouragement. He was sad to miss the last field trips, the cowboy day, the last day of school celebration and awards assembly. But he has so loved all the emails, phone calls, and encouragement his awesome classmates have sent him. Bryan and I used to think no way we'd allow calls from girls at his age! So ya have cancer and mom and dad let the rules slip! He was a busy boy Monday with 5 calls from girls! He was chatting away and loving every minute of it! So thank you guys for the calls! We hope everyone has a good summer and are glad to finally be done with schoolwork and have a break! We'll be working hard to stay on track for 4th grade and kick off 2nd semester back with the group!!!
The test on his kidneys last week in Radiology didn't give any results due to some other circumstances, so we left last Thursday with a strong start to Phase 2 and a heavy dose of chemo. We did treatments locally 2 days after and we're so thankful he's still doing well. We had fun celebrating with some ice-cream and a walk in the park for the first time in FOREVER!! Mom picked up a bug while at ACH last week and came home with a fever of 101. Thank goodness I threw on the mask when I did and we quickly isolated myself :-( It was tough, but we're thankful Brayden didn't get sick and after a weekend of Bryan playing mom AND dad to two of us, we got through it to enjoy Sunday again together as a family.
This last week has really flown by! Brayden had his treatments again today in Little Rock: spinal with chemo, foley, and iv chemo. We're thankful he was able to complete the Radiology test today on his kidneys. The good news is everything looks great and there aren't any issues. I mentioned about a month ago how he was born with something different and we weren't sure if/when it would affect his treatments. The good news is it's nothing to worry about and his body is still responding well.
He's still rockin' the faux-hawk (sp?). We're hoping it will still be around at least for another week or two. All his nurses are having fun teasing him about it and inevitably people are commenting on how cool it is!! He's said more than once he was glad he cut it so no regrets! I think it totally fits him and we'll have to try it again in the future. I'm sure I won't have to remind myself of this when he's 15 since he'll prove it to me with this in writing!
The procedures today went well all in all. He definitely felt more effects today than before and we saw more nausea than before. His counts have definitely dropped in the week since Phase 2 aggressive chemo began and we'll be watching those closely next week. We'll continue chemo locally for the next 3 days and those teams have been great to get to meet and know. Apparently Home Health isn't available in our area anymore for kiddos and so this group is seeing him and we're so thankful.
We're praying he continues to stay healthy and strong. We're praying no secondary infections delay us, although we know they are highly likely as his counts drop from the chemo. We're praying he continues to have good results and the resiliency he's shown continues to grow and strengthen. We're thankful for peace for Brayden and God's love that has enveloped him so strongly since having to face all of this.
We were thankful to see some family two weekends ago for the first time since leaving ACH 4 weeks prior. It was a great boost for all of us, especially Brayden to see his cousins. Brayden's Quote that keeps sticking with me: "I really missed them. It felt good to have them here." Thanks to Zach for all the COOL autographed sports stuff! WOW!! Thanks to the Praise Team for the awesome MP3 player loaded with many of his fav songs he can't stop singing. Thanks to Chris for the cool drumsticks! He knew right away they were from you!! Thanks to everyone for the cards and goodies. Thanks to Ms. Kathi for the AMAZING Hogs gift box of stuff! He's still looking through all the programs page by page!
Thanks to everyone for the cool cards and postcards from your vacations! COOL IDEA! Thanks to my sweet circle of friends for the awesome web cam I'm intimidated to set up but working on. Thanks to Aunt Kimmie for her donation to Locks of Love in Brayden's name. That is an amazing, selfless gift. We love you!!