Ethan is nearing the end of his chemo admission, and here's a first...he hasn't thrown up once!  The nausea has been under control despite receiving 5 days of very strong chemo.  

Praise God for that!

His discharge will be tomorrow, Wednesday, July 25th, instead of today so that's disappointing.  However, he's had his friends coming in and so he doesn't feel forgotten!

Please pray that he can have the next two weeks off without mouth ulcers or fever.  His next admission should be August 8th.

 

Thanks to everyone for the prayers.  Ethan was admitted last week (July 11th) for chemo and did well.  He was discharged Sunday but, unfortunately, a mouth ulcer started to appear on Monday. . . just the beginning stage, so not painful.  However, he was to be admitted again on the 18th, but vomiting with a mouth ulcer just isn't a pretty thought.  So, by Wednesday it was still there, and we opted to delay his admission.  

Frustrating on the one hand, but at least he had a few days to spend with his good friend who just got back from being away for 6 weeks!  Ethan is getting pretty good at looking at situations from different perspectives so he can find the positives . . . such an important area of growth!!!

Today his mouth looks almost better, so he will be admitted tomorrow, July 20th, for the "heavy-duty" chemo, as I call it.  Please pray the the 5 days of chemo won't be as exhausting as it was the last time . . . he really felt awful when he had the last 5-day course. 

Also pray that he could be discharged Tuesday evening instead of Wednesday afternoon .  . . depends on how quickly our admission process goes tomorrow and how soon the first dose of chemo is ready . . . even one less night is such a mood boost for him!  

Thank you for the cards and notes . . . much appreciated!!!  As always, we pray that God would be glorified and Ethan's body would be healed at the end of all this.  :)

Love,

Karen

Ethan is doing a lot better today, but had a rough week b/c of a huge mouth ulcer.  He's pretty tired of smoothies, so moved on to Wendy's Frosties (that looks funny plural . . . but he ate them in plural!!)  Today was the first he could chew since last Friday, so the biggest prayer is that he can make up for lost time and put on a pound or two before he is admitted next Wednesday (July 11).  Hopefully, the sores will be gone by tomorrow; they've improved each day as his white count rises.  He misses pizza!!! 

Amazingly, except when the pain was at its worst, he has remained in good spirits.  His friends have been great at hanging out with him and their distraction is really helpful.   He turned 17 on Saturday, but we had fortunately celebrated the previous Thursday while Jordan was still home (she left for Haiti the day before his birthday).  Praise God that we celebrated early, because he didn't have any mouth sores then so Jordan took him to breakfast and spent most of the day w/ him and then we all went out to dinner.  Little did we know that that would be the last he could chew for a week!!  I truly thank God for the timing of all that.  :)

As always, continue to pray for total healing of Ethan by the end of all this.  He is drawing closer to God and making such mature decisions . . . we thank you for your ongoing prayers about all aspects of his life.  Our community of friends and family is truly a daily blessing to us.  

Ethan is partway through his "heavy duty" chem admission and he isn't feeling as badly as he did the first time he had this chemo. That's a praise item!

 

Continue to pray that he doesn't get a fever over the next two weeks when his white count drops so he can stay out of the hospital until his next planned admission on July 11.

 

Praise God he didn't get mouth sores after his last admission.

Praise also that he saw his surgeon Wednesday and was given permission to drive (might get those hours in for that license after all!) and bend his knee up to 90 degrees. :) 

Ethan is home!  Yay! 

No cause found for the back pain, but it is mostly gone.  No infections were found either.    

He seems to be getting some more mouth sores so please pray that they go away as his white count continues to increase.  We would hate to see his next chemo admission delayed PLUS he can't eat well with mouth sores.  

Thank you to everyone who is praying and helping with visiting, transportation and meals.  :)  It lowers my stress level considerably.

Ethan stayed in the hospital last night; his white blood count was almost unmeasurable, but his fever stayed pretty stable. He started antibiotics last night.  

They will keep him at least  48 hours or until his blood count starts coming up. Apparently this happens a lot with this type of chemo which he will now be getting every month.

Continue to pray that Ethan's blood count comes up so that he can be discharged asap. 

Praise - Ethan's surgeon said that if necessary he would do a HOME VISIT for Ethan so he can get his follow-up appointment in before his next admission.  Thank God for this surgeon whose care and concern is a blessing for Ethan and the Blackbirds!

Praise - Thankfully Ethan's chest x-ray was normal!

Ethan came home today.  Yay!  

He made it through another long week, but feels so much better now that he's home...and without mouth ulcers.  He doesn't eat much in the hospital anyway, but he made up for lost time when he got home.  So nice that he can chew again! :)

  

Please pray that his white count does not drop so low that he gets an infection.  This new chemo is likely to cause that.  If all goes well, he won't be admitted again until June 13th ....in 2 weeks! 

 

Thanks again for traveling this journey with us.  We are so thankful for God's provision of friends and prayer warriors!