March

To everyone who so faithfully follows our blog I am sorry it has been a while since I posted. In February we found out that Ben was through with the introduction phases of his treatment and ready to begin maintenance. To begin maintenance Ben's ANC had to be at least 750 and it wasn't until last monday that his counts went up high enough. On Monday last week his counts were 2465. This is a good number and the highest Ben has been in a while. He went to Louisville on Tuesday last week to start his maintenance treatment. He had a lumbar puncture and the administered the methotrexate into his spinal fluid. He also recieved Vinchristine into his port. This will be repeated every three months. Initially we thought it would be every two but they let us know at the appointment that it would be three. He has more Chemo that he will be taking at home. Every day for the next three years he will be taking a Chemo pill called 6MP every night before bedtime. He will also be taking Methotrexate (the same that has been given into his spine) every Thursday except when he has spinal taps because he will recieve it in his spine those weeks. He will be taking Steroids the first five days of every month as well. He has taken Steroids and 6MP before so we have a good idea that he handles these drugs pretty well. He has never taken the Methotrexate orally before so we will be giving him that this Thursday for the first time and are praying for God's blessing that he will do well with this too.

Ben is very excited that his hair is growing back! He takes off his baseball cap and shows everyone the new growth with a big smile on his face. It is growing in very dark brown which is different than how it used to be. They told us that Chemo can change the color of your hair, the texture, and some kids even get super curly hair when it returns. So far it seems to be as straight as ever but just quite a bit darker.

We love you all very much and I will continue to post every couple of weeks unless something changes. Please continue to pray for Ben that God will continue to heal his body and that he will not come out of remission. Thank you all for provide to us in your prayers. We can see God working in our lives every day.

Love
Jamie