Chemo - Round 9

 
Chemo – Round 9
 
The numbers are getting bigger and we’re getting closer to being finished with chemo!  We are hoping that January 11th will be his last chemo session.   Received really good news from the doctor this week.  Dakota had a heart test and he was in the normal range.  We had been really worried that he had heart damage from the chemo because he tends to have a lot of chest pain.  The doctor thinks that it’s acid reflux and gave him medicine.  The doctor said that his blood work is looking better every time and that means that the cancer is going away.  Dakota is starting to recover faster after each session.  He’s starting to feel a little normal again by Monday but lives in a fog from Wed – Sun.  We were also worried that he is having a lot of back pain which was one of the symptoms of cancer but the doctor thinks that this is caused by inactivity.  We won’t know if the cancer is gone until he has a bone marrow test.  The test can’t be given until he has recovered from the chemo and everything is back to normal.  I breathed a sigh of relief after this doctor’s appointment because I was really worried about his heart and his back. 
 
I know Dakota is ready to live a normal life again.  He has decided that he isn’t cutting his hair or shaving, and he is going to look like a mountain man.  I’m ready for that day too!  This was a kid who shaved everything and thought chemo might be cool since he wouldn’t have to shave anymore.  It’s funny the things that you miss when you no longer have them.  Dakota has gained most of his weight back and I think he looks really good and much healthier.  I know he is ready to get back in shape and plans to start that as soon as he is finished with his last treatment.
 
We have learned a lot about how to fight off his sickness.  The Amend that the doctor gave him for the sickness has been a godsend. We have learned that whoever goes to work needs to give Dakota his medicine before we leave at 5:00 a.m.  We give him all of his medicine at that time and then he takes whatever he feels like he needs when he wakes up.  He has learned to doctor himself up before he goes to treatment.  Remember that this is the kid that wouldn’t even take aspirin when we first started.  I told the nurses what he was taking and they said “whatever gets him through.”  He takes one anti-anxiety and two pain pills and this makes him a little silly.  If he doesn’t take the medicine then he gags the entire time and can’t calm down.  We can’t even talk about his chemo without him gagging.  Normally he acts a little silly on the ride up to the hospital and then he crashes for his treatment and that’s always a good thing.  We normally won’t see too much of him until Saturday because he sleeps until then.  He is still blessed with a very healthy appetite and we are very happy that he has gained weight when so many tend to lose weight.  I was showing his nurse the blanket that was made for him and the ties that show when someone has prayed for him.  The nurse said “no wonder he is doing so well.”  I should have told her that we have a whole community and many that we don’t know praying, so YES there is a reason that he is doing so well.   
 
It’s nice to have some good news and glad to report  we are all doing well.