Ethan will be admitted for chemo tomorrow, Wednesday, February 28th, and he will probably be discharged on Monday. He will be admitted again on March 12th.  His oncologist is honoring my desire for him to take the SATS on March 10th. :)  

These four consecutive methotrexate admissions will take their toll on Ethan.  He is in for 5 nights each time and it just starts to drive him nuts to be there that long.  They added these next 2 admissions because they could not move the surgery earlier and in the long run this should allow him to be finished earlier with treatment.  

Please pray that Ethan can dwell on the idea of finishing treatment earlier when he is bored and feeling tired in the hospital.  Praise God for his friends who have been so faithful at coming in to visit with him and play games or watch a movie.  That always lifts his spirits and reminds him that he's not forgotten.  :) 

We continue to feel amazing peace about the process and the outcome.  Ethan is growing so much emotionally and spiritually...hard to believe at times!

Thank you for your prayers!

Ethan is being discharged today, Saturday, February 25th.  He handled the chemo well, but he had some vomiting early in the week and now he's feeling kind of sluggish. 

Please pray that he will feel refreshed over the next few days.  They have added an additional round of chemo before his surgery so that the cancer cells are constantly under "attack."  He will be admitted for more methotrexate on Wednesday, February 29th. (No mention of a shortage so far this time.) 

The doctor was sympathetic to working Ethan's admission around his SAT schedule so his brain will have some time to de-fog before he takes the SAT's on March 10th. Yay! Thanks for those who were praying about that.

Praise God that methotrexate is available for Ethan to be admitted today!  He will be inpatient until Saturday, most likely.  

He had a great weekend off because his Thursday admission was delayed because of a national shortage of his chemo drug...A wonderful example of God working!  

Thank you for your diligent prayers about his chemo.  I will post more this week.

A quick update

Here's the update:  They have been promised a delivery Monday morning (always an outside chance it won't happen, so keep praying!) from the manufacturer.  

Ethan will then be admitted Monday afternoon, so that's not a problematic delay at all.  They'll call me Monday morning to confirm, but it sounds pretty certain.

Thanks for continuing to pray ...

Urgent Prayer Request

Ethan is scheduled for high-dose methotrexate today and tomorrow, but there is a shortage of this chemo nationwide.  They expected a shipment yesterday and did not receive it . . .Hershey has been in phone mtgs at a higher level w/ manufacturers to find more.  

Ethan is first on the list and if he is bumped several days, it isn't a big deal . . . it is, however, a big deal if it doesn't come available early next week. . . then they would have to use a different chemo drug which isn't in the protocol . . . could be fine, but obviously not ideal and potentially not as effective.

Please pray that this would be available tomorrow.  We so want to get this last leg of the treatment completed soon and according to the protocol. . . he then won't need more of this medicine for several months.

Thanks to all of you for continued prayers.  The past few weeks have gone quickly . . . feels pretty normal around here!  

Ethan has felt well and so hasn't had to go in for interim blood work.  His next admission is this Thursday, Feb. 9th, for high-dose methotrexate.  He'll be in about 5 days, then readmitted on the 16th for another round of the same.  After that, he'll have some time off from chemo.  

His surgery to resect the tumor and reconstruct his leg now has been scheduled:  March 21.  Pray that he doesn't get ill around that date, b/c he can't undergo anesthesia if he has a cold or anything.

I'm eager to be moving forward . . . thankful for an answer to prayer that Ethan will be able to take SATs on March 10th without being on anti-nausea meds or pain meds (no small task to have that date work out . . . between chemo and surgery . . . the next possible date would be in May and there is little likelihood it would have worked around his chemo admissions).  He's just finishing Algebra 2, so that's perfect!!! :)

We so appreciate the ongoing encouragement from all of you, as well as the support of Ethan's friends . . . they have been awesome!

Update:  Ethan's blood work was good enough for his next round of chemo, so we are comfortably settled into room  7253!  Likely discharge Monday or Tuesday.