It seems we’ve reached the point of treatment where we are really starting to see and feel the rollercoaster that is chemotherapy. While we are forever grateful for these medications and treatment methods, it is very difficult to watch our child and our family experience what we are going through.

Hunter was able to complete chemotherapy Thursday September 3rd, after his week long hospital stay and while my sweet parents were in town. This was the first of four treatments during the second half of phase two. Erin’s dad (Papa) went with so he could see how clinic days work and was able to be in the room with us when they accessed Hunter’s port. Hunter’s buddy Lorenzo the service dog stopped by to say hi! We completed another round of chemotherapy injections at home Friday 9/4 through Sunday 9/6 and the kids continued to get to enjoy their time with Nana and Papa.

Hunter was admitted to the hospital Wednesday 9/9 with severely low glucose which could have been a result of the oral chemotherapy medication he was taking at home as well as his lack of appetite and inability to eat enough food to keep his body nourished. He completed chemo session two in hospital and was released on Friday 9/11 with good numbers. His third chemo session in this half of phase two was last Thursday 9/17.

We are currently at the hospital with a persistent nose bleed due to severely low platelets. He had a platelet transfusion and will receive blood and plasma (for low clotting factors) while we are here. They are admitting him for observation so hopefully we will be able to go home tomorrow 9/21.

If all goes well between now and this Thursday 9/24, he will finish this phase of chemo on 9/24 and move onto immunotherapy, which will provide him with a month long break from chemotherapy.

All in all Hunter’s energy is great on the good days. He is still his goofy self, always wanting to go fishing, go to the grocery store, play rescue trucks and fire fighters (like his uncle Jack.) We’re hopeful this next phase will provide him and us with some relief and an opportunity to get out of the house a bit more than we can now.

Please pray Hunter is able to eat more and keep his strength up and that these transfusions will put him back on track to finish phase two on Thursday 9/24. Pray for patience for all of us as we navigate these emergencies and hospital stays. Pray for Jackson to remain understanding and supportive as our attention is divided and pray for us to keep our eyes open for opportunities to lift his spirits as well. Hunter occupies a lot of our time and emotional bandwidth and we aren’t always great at balancing that with Jackson’s needs. I do hope we learn how to do better moving forward and we’re eternally grateful for the family and friends who have stepped up to fill that gap for Jackson.

As always, thank you for your prayers and support, we could not do this without God and the fellowship of our family and friends.

These days it feels as though time is slipping past us, it has been over two weeks since my last update!

My sister Lauren flew down from Kansas City on 8/12 and the boys could not have been more excited! We drove to Austin to pick her up but before we left, Hunter had already said “Aunt Lauren is sitting by me!” Once we had the goods we stopped for a snack in Round Rock and had some delicious breakfast tacos with chips and salsa and the entire ride home was full of chatter, each of the boys fighting for the chance to grab her attention. By the end of it, we were all so overstimulated we enjoyed some quiet time at home.

Hunter’s clinic on 8/13 went well, albeit long. James was able to get away from work to finish his appointment with us then we went home to build a blanket fort and hang out for the evening. We made homemade pizzas, bought the kids a water slide because why not! When you’re copped up at home you have to find new ways to have fun and nobody loves a good clearance Sam’s Club find as much as I do! It was a hit! Then Jackson started school and it was time to kickstart the end of summer with the second half of phase 2 of Hunter’s treatment.

We’ve been doing two visits a week for the last four weeks, Mondays have been reserved for checking blood counts and other numbers and Thursdays are still chemotherapy/lumbar puncture days. In the last few weeks Hunter has had very low platelet counts and has needed platelet infusions a couple of times. He had his last appointment in the first part of phase 2 on 8/20 during which he had a blood transfusion and experienced a mild allergic reaction.

We were set to start the second half of phase 2 this Thursday and continue for four more weeks provided he makes counts every week. It is typical for kids to have to wait a week for counts to recover before continuing treatment, however, this week has turned out very different than we planned. Hunter presented with a high fever Friday 8/21 and we were admitted to the hospital for a staph infection. Hunter has been pretty miserable the last three days but the antibiotics are working and his high fever has not returned. We’ll be here until Friday at the earliest, he will need to continue to have negative blood cultures and his ANC will need to rise from 0.

It’s unbelievable the twists and turns life takes you on when you least expect it. I had hoped we would get lucky and make it through the bulk of his treatment with no hospital stays, I know now that was wishful thinking. We’re praying hard that we can get back on schedule and stay on track so Hunter can make it to the next phase of treatment by October. Phase 3 is supposedly much easier on patients because we switch from chemotherapy to immunotherapy. So keep those prayers coming! Prayers for healing and positivity, prayers for Jackson starting school and making good friends he can talk to about what’s going on in his life through all this, prayers for James and I to be able to decompress and destress whenever possible so we can take the best care of our kiddos and each other. Thank you for loving us and supporting us!